Christian Parenting Magazine Writers Guidelines

The Dabbling Mum: National Parenting Publication

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Writers' Guidelines
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SUBMISSIONS
Please view the links on the left to learn more about our submission process and article needs.

Our article submission page is here.
Our "arts 'n crafts" submission page is here.
Our "donate an article/tutorial" page is here.
Our current needs are listed here.

RESPONSE TIME
We do our best to respond with at least a form letter within 8 to 12 weeks of submission. * Please note: No matter how reliable we like to believe technology is, it sometimes fails. If you feel there's a chance your article didn't go through the submission form, don't hesitate to drop us an email via our back-up email account.

PAYMENT & RIGHTS
Article fee and publication rights are non-negotiable.
To receive payment, your article must never have been and/or never will be given away for free. Please understand no one wants to pay for an article that could have been received for free.

$15 Original Article Fee

Submission Form

$25 Original Article Fee

Submission Form

$50 Original Art Project Fee

Submission Form and Guidelines For Arts & Crafts Projects

$120 Year-In-Advance Columns Fee

$0 Review Fee

original

Christian books or every day movies

Submission Form

$5 Reprint Article Fee

Submission Form

$10 Reprint Article Fee

Submission Form

$0 Article Reprint Fee

Submission Form

DO NOT SEND US INTERVIEWS

PAYS ON ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance means when we receive the final draft of your article and approve it for publication. Payment is mailed within 32 days from the time we say your piece is ready for publication. Checks are written and mailed last day of each month.

Payment: U.S. dollars in the form of a business check.
a byline -- under five sentences, including one web address and business name;
99 x 125 pixel .jpg headshot of author;
an active link back to the author's website; and
exposure for author's book/product—linked using our Amazon affiliate (as long as it's safe for children to read).

ARTICLE LENGTH
Keep articles between 500 and 1500 words or specified length for current topics being accepted.

HEADSHOTS
The theme of The Dabbling Mum is to show our experts as regular people. It makes us unique, more personable, and friendly. Therefore, we require headshots of our authors, for articles placed online; except in our e-zine and recipe center.

EXPENSES ON ASSIGNMENT
We do not pay the expenses of a writer on assignment. We do not pay for long distance expenses should you choose to interview a source by phone. (Consider email.)

KILL FEE
We do not pay a kill fee.

BUYS MANUSCRIPTS
We purchase between 4 to 8 articles per month or 48 to 96 submissions per year.

PUBLISHING SCHEDULE
Articles are published 1 to 4 weeks after acceptance notification, unless otherwise specified at time of acceptance. Articles are published throughout the month.

RESERVE RIGHTS

We reserve the right to change the focus of this publication at any time.
We reserve the right to edit for space, our publication's voice, style, grammar, punctuation, typos, etc.
We reserve the right to change your article's title, condense your byline, and/or rearrange content to flow smoother.
We reserve the right to ask for rewrites to make the piece its best.
We reserve the right to refuse submissions at our discretion. And to choose whether your piece will go into our e-zine or be posted online.

BETTER YOUR CHANCE OF ACCEPTANCE
My philosophy when it comes to accepting articles for this publication is that "more is better". I strive to write and purchase articles that are unlike others found on the 'net. There are many times I will research a topic for personal use and have to weed through hundreds of web pages to get to the meaty stuff--to get to the stuff that is "important". I don't want DM readers to come here and skip on past because it's all fluff. I want readers to stick around. I want them to think, "Wow! This publication offers fresh ideas and informative articles." For me, a web page isn't just about keywords that increase ad revenue dollars that can later pay for more articles. For me, a web page is truly about helping the reader reach his/her goal.

With that said, here are some tips to help better your chances of getting accepted in this publication.

Provide original content.
We don't want to read your article and think, "Did I read that somewhere
before?" Articles should be entertaining, educational, informative, and actionable.
Don't offer material that overlaps with an existing article.
If you feel your article is better than one written on our website, or offers a fresh angle, don't hesitate to request a chance to prove it to us. But don't send us something that duplicates what is already on the site; only written with a different voice.
Be conversational.
Write your piece with a conversational tone, but include more of a journalistic approach.
Stay on topic.
Write your articles on a single topic only.
We don't like articles that barely scratch the surface by offering blurbs.
Give details.
Be as detailed as possible. Give us step by step instructions, take us from point A to point B, don't leave us guessing. Our readers don't want fluff, they want real substance.
Be factual.
There's a lot of misinformation on the Internet these days. We want to help our readers by providing true and accurate information.
Don't be preachy.
We're not interested in having you prove to us how wrong we are and how right you are. We're interested in learning and growing, and forming our own decisions―educated and informed decisions.
Include citations.
When appropriate, use statistics, and information to back up or prove your point.

If you are going to state a fact, statistic, or other figure in your piece, you must use the most recent data. Please do not use information that you researched a year (or more) ago. You must also give credit to your source.
Include quotes and make them count.
When appropriate, include Biblical quotes and references and use a combination of anecdotes, facts, and quotes.

Quotes used must make your piece stronger. In other words, can the piece be written without the quotes and still make sense or do the quotes help solidify the piece?

We want new quotes from recent interviews and a minimum of 2 different experts. All expert quotes must be more than one-line sentences and used throughout your work; not just in one small section.

We do not want a quote from an interview you did last year, and especially not one you did three years ago. We also do not want you taking quotes from other articles to be used in your article.

You can use a quote from a book if you also reference the author's book as the source, (such as the ones used in the article here), but we will not pay the higher article fee for such quotes.

DONATIONS

Use this form to submit donated articles.

Free article submissions don't have to follow our current needs and can be donated under the following conditions:

Book excerpts and adaptations.
Articles distributed for free before.
Articles you plan to distribute for free in the future.
Articles written to build links back to your website.
New pieces you don't want a one-month exclusivity clause on.

Reprint Rights
This article may NOT be reprinted without monetary compensation and written permission from the author. For reprint rights or comments/questions about this article, please contact the author.