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Download the PDF file for the QN Guidelines for Submissions
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QN Guidelines for Submissions
Quilters Newsletter is a specialized publication for quilt lovers and quiltmakers. Its domestic and international readership of approximately 200,000 includes professional and nonprofessional quiltmakers, quilt collectors, historians, teachers, and rural and urban dwellers.
QN is regarded as a leader, authority, and primary resource in the quilt field. Six magazines are published each year. The magazine is available on newsstands, in quilt shops and libraries, and by subscription or single copy from the publisher, CK Media, at 741 Corporate Circle, Suite A, Golden, CO 80401, or online at quiltersnewsletter.com.
Point of View
Our content includes articles on quilt design, history, patterns, trends, techniques, current events in quilting, personalities, and product comparisons and reviews. We cover exhibitions, contests, significant quilt-related charitable efforts, major awards, and trade news. We review quilt books and electronic media. We offer quiltmaking lessons and workshops on techniques. Many quilt teachers use the magazine as a text or reference in their classes. We provide useful information for beginner, intermediate, and advanced quiltmakers, and maintain a balance between traditional and innovative quilting.
Opportunities
Although we are sometimes overstocked, we are always pleased to consider any previously unpublished quilt-related material. We do not make article assignments based on queries or after being directed to a web posting. To be considered, materials must be sent to the editorial office either electronically or by surface mail. Material submitted for publication should have in-depth information about the subject matter and careful, documented research with all sources acknowledged. We expect that the material has not been previously published nor is it currently submitted elsewhere.
Feature articles: We are interested in subjects ranging from historical topics, design techniques, and product surveys to quilt-related issues, to traditional technique updates.
Patterns: We develop our patterns from completed quilts submitted by our readers. We are interested in designs suitable for all skill levels. Originality is preferred, but we will consider a creative interpretation of a public domain design or one adapted from a published source (only with designer permission).
Profiles: We need more than just facts strung together. Why would our readers want to know about this person? What can they learn by reading about this quilter?
Workshops: Workshops are in-depth presentations of a single technique or concept, modeled on an actual retreat or class experience with a quilting instructor: the author provides narrative background on her technique and its inspiration, a gallery of her finished work and/or that of students is included, and step-by-step instruction rounds out the workshop. It is helpful to have photos of finished projects and suggestions for in-progress photo samples when submitting a proposal.
News stories: We often follow up on press releases to develop news stories, and the availability of acceptable photos enhances the likelihood the story will be used. Our News editor can also be contacted directly with information.
Forums: Forums are short expositions of a quilter's point of view. We look for thought-provoking subject matter rather than a viewpoint we agree with. A Forum can also be a light-hearted look at quilters' experiences.
Manuscripts
We do not return unsolicited manuscripts or photos unless a self-addressed envelope stamped with adequate postage and large enough to hold the material is provided. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although we treat them with care.
We will evaluate whether your article meets our needs and get back to you within 8 to 12 weeks. Our decision will be based on the freshness of the material; the interest of the material to our readers; whether we plan to or have recently published similar material; how well it fits into the balance of the inventory we have on hand; how much rewriting or editing it will require; and the quality of the slides, photos, or illustrations you include. All of our artwork is done by staff artists, although rough figures are helpful. We typically plan and shoot our own step-by-step photos for how-to material.
Because we balance the content of each issue carefully, it can sometimes take a year or more before an article or pattern we have accepted fits with other material we are planning. Acceptance of your article is not a promise to publish it, but a good-faith acknowledgment of our intention to do so.
When the material is scheduled for a specific issue, we will send a contract spelling out the rights you may assign us and the corresponding payment. As long as it has not been previously published, we will accept material that has been copyrighted. We will return photos after we use them if you request it.
Editors and artists work extensively with accepted material to present it clearly to the reader and make it consistent with our style. When an article is ready for publication, a prepress copy is provided as a courtesy to ensure that all material is accurate.
Photography
We can accept color transparencies––2" x 2", 4" x 5", or larger. We also use 35 mm slides if they are very sharp and clear originals. Duplicate slides are usually not sharp enough for satisfactory reproduction. We can also work with high resolution digital images: 300 dpi or greater at an image size of no less than 4" x 6". Your digital camera should be set on the highest resolution the camera will permit. We must have the original digital file; we cannot work with printouts from digital images. All photographic material should be sharp, clear, and contrasty, well and evenly lit from top to bottom, but not overexposed. Be absolutely sure the photo is in focus. Any quilts shown should be seen in full, including the binding. Whatever is holding the quilt should not show on the front of the quilt (clips, fingers, pins, etc.). If people are shown with the quilt, their heads and feet should be in the picture. Avoid unattractive clutter in the background. A quilt may be draped so that most of it can easily be seen arranged in attractive surroundings, or it may be photographed on a bed at an angle that clearly shows its pattern.
Lack of excellent, sharp, clear pictures is a stumbling block to the acceptance of many submissions.
If we want to use your material but your photos do not meet our requirements, we may offer to do the photography in our studio at our expense. In that case, we will make special arrangements with you to borrow the quilt(s) for that purpose.
Please include captions in your manuscript, including quiltmaker if known, date quilt was completed, size of quilt, owner of quilt, and other pertinent information (such as copyright holder, if applicable), as well as photographer credits for all images. Write your name, quilt name and size, and "top" on the slide mount or photo sleeve.
If we accept your photographs or request your quilt for photography, we will send you a permission form and instructions.
Electronic Submissions
We are able to accept Quilting Bee submissions electronically. For Quilting Bee, please send only one picture showing as much of the quilt as possible, preferably with you in the picture. Do not send multiple pictures or multiple email messages. Our best chance of a usable picture is one where the original capture is made at the highest possible resolution setting on your camera. The address is submissions@qnm.com.
Text-only submissions, such as those for Forum, can also be submitted electronically. On all emailed submissions, please include your postal mailing address for our records.
All other submissions can only be accepted if they are sent by surface mail.
Mailed Submissions
Send materials to Submissions, Quilters Newsletter, 741 Corporate Circle, Suite A, Golden, CO 80401. Digital pictures should be on CD with printouts of the images for our reference. Submissions are routed to the senior editors for review monthly. Receipt of your submission will be acknowledged by mail when submissions are routed, but we cannot notify you when your submission arrives. If this is a concern, we suggest you use a trackable method of delivery.
Payment
We pay on publication. Our rates depend on what rights we buy, how much editing or rewriting is required, if you can provide usable sewn samples, and whether we use your photos or do the photography in our studio. We reserve the right to use accepted material in any appropriate issue and for any editorial purpose.
For general articles, as well as for each pattern that we develop from a submitted quilt, payment will be negotiated upon acceptance. We make no payment for material used in our News columns or for feature material sent by industry professionals or their representatives that promotes a person, event, or product. Payment for Top Tips is $25.
When a quilt is shown on the cover, we include related instructional material. Payment for this use is $300 and 10 copies of the issue. Payment for use as Photo Finish is $50 and 10 copies of the issue. Payment to contributors to Quilting Bee, Readers' Quilt Show, About Space, and Forum will be complimentary copies of the magazine.
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