AboutDr. David Sumner Expertise My expertise is print journalism, especially magazine writing, editing and publishing. I can answer questions about the magazine industry, magazine trends, how the Internet has affected magazines, the history of magazines,as well as ethical and legal issues in publishing. I can also offer advice about magazine jobs and careers.
Experience Professor of Journalism and Head of the Magazine Program at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, since 1990. Freelance magazine writer.
Co-author: "Magazines: A Complete Guide to the Industry" (2006) and "Feature and Magazine Writing: Action, Angle and Anecdotes." (2005)
Organizations Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
Publications Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year, 1989-2006
Encyclopedia of International Media and Communication
Encyclopedia of American Journalism History
History of the Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia
Education/Credentials Ph.D. University of Tennessee
B.A. Stetson University
Awards and Honors Who's Who in American Education (Marquis 2006)
Past/Present clients Consultant to magazine start-up ventures including
"Radius: The Magazine" and "Hope: A Magazine for Christian Women"
Question Thanks for your time and expertise.
I have a B.A. in philosophy. Perhaps due to my philosophy/analysis background, I enjoy writing and believe I have an interesting outlook on many situations. Getting to the questions...
How does a person get into writing freelance articles in magazines? What's the best way to get into this field? In other words, how can I get magazines to read my articles and even, welcome my submissions? A final question that goes along with this: how would an inexperienced/unaccomplished writer of relevant/noteworthy material get a publication, such as Sports Illustrated, or Newsweek, to read these articles?
Answer Bo: I get asked this question very often and there is no short or simple answer. The quickest way to understand the magazine publishing process is to buy or find a library copy of "2009 Writer's Market" which most libraries will probably have (www.writersmarket.com). It offers listings and descriptions of 3,500 magazines that publish articles and what they look for. The first 100 pages contain a section on how to get started as a freelance magazine writer. Writer's Digest (www.writersdigest.com) also offers online magazine writing courses that I highly recommend; that's how I got started.
Dr. David Sumner
Ball State University
