Writing Fishing Stories

[fish-n-dive]

G'day,

As I'm now a man of leisure (retired 2 weeks ago) I have been wondering if anyone here has written any stories for the local fishing magazines?

This is not to get rich, just a hobby and some fun.

Anyone done it and is it worth it in terms of the effort put in for the personal satisfaction received?

cheers,
michael

[Lucky_Phill]

Most mags have a readers forum where you can submit a story and pics.

Then there is the regular writers that have to come up with stuff every month.

Ben Collins at Bush'n'Beach is always glad to recieve readers stories etc, make them about 1,100 words long and include about 6 pics.


Phill

[robersl]

also fff magazine in the northern teritory always looking for stories and pay $ 150 but i think prefer top end style work

shane

[davez104]

I wrote one once for Qld Fishing Monthly, a two page spread on Monduran Dam. I think it was worth it for the personal satisfaction of seeing my work in print, I would do it again if the chance ever came up. It didn't pay a great deal, but that wasn't what I did it for either.

Give it a go, when you get one published you won't wipe the smile from your face for a week.

Dave.

[Derek Bullock]

Michael

There are a number of guys who are members of Ausfish who regularly contribute to Bush N Beach as well as some of the other fishing magazines.

I used to write regularly for Bush N Beach about camping and camp oven cooking. This was back when Ron, Bens Dad, was the Editor. Life changes and various other reasons caused me to give it away although I occasionally get the urge and pen something for a magazine every now and then.

We even ran a camp oven recipe competition over twelve months in Bush N Beach. People would send in their recipes and each month I would pick a winner who would receive 12 months superscription to the magazine. At the end of the year I picked the winning recipe from the twelve monthly winners and that person won a Bedourie Camp Oven.

For me it certainly was a buzz to see something I had researched, photographed and written being published and then also receiving feedback from readers. Ron was always good at publishing readers letters or passing them on.

There are not huge amounts of money in it, but what you get will certainly be a lot of personal satisfaction in just doing it. However you may find that if you become a regular contributor it certainly can become quite taxing having to find the material every month and meet publishing deadlines.

You don't have to be an expert writer as long as you can string sentences together to make your story flow. Most magazine Editors can tune your work up a bit.

As Phill said above, Ben at Bush N Beach is always looking for new and interesting articles to publish. Drop him an email or give him a call to ask what he is looking for and what you may be able to do. Details are on the website @ http://www.ausfish.com.au/bushnbeach/index.htm

If you reckon you can do it then I would recommend you at least try. You may even surprise yourself.

Now that I have said all of that I might get back into writing again myself. ;D

Cheers


Derek

[ronnien]

michael,

nq fish & boat are always looking for a good story & good pics.

ron.

[Scott nthQld]

Yep NQ F'nB, my favourite out of the lot, more specific to our region. A couple of others from Ausfish also submit and get stories published. Just be aware though, any story you 'sell' to these magazines cannot be put up in a public forum, the Mags buy your article so people can read it after purchasing the mag, if they could read the content elsewhere, for free, why would they buy the mag? Do you get my drift?

[LeeannP]

You certainly won't get rich... I can vouch for that! ;) Your payment will depend on the mag and the quality of article. There are some mags that don't pay anything and rely on people who are just wanting to see their face in print to send articles through.
The best idea is to speak with the editor and see what they're requiring for the month and have a few topics up your sleeve for suggestions. They may not require anything.
Photos always make an article more interesting so make sure you take some good ones.
Make sure you can spell and that your english/grammar is up to speed. If an editor can make minimal changes to your work and have great photos to back up an article you're more likely to have your article published.
Once you get to the national magazines their requirements are more stringent.
Top quality photos and articles are a must and you must follow their 1001 guidelines to the letter.
Good luck and have fun.

[Nic]

It may be ok to post your article on a forum if you wait until the following issue of the magazine comes out. It's polite to ask the editor first though.

I can't stress enough the importance of good photos, particularly on-water shots (photos of dead fish at home are more suitable for reader photos than a feature article). Digital photos, as a general rule, need to be at least 250kb to be print worthy. If you get much smaller than that they can come up poorly in print, unfortunately.

Another tip is to remember that readers don't know your friends and family. An article that's comprised solely of 'Johnno caught this fish then I caught that fish then Jacko got a double hook-up' etc. isn't very helpful, nor very interesting to people who aren't acquainted with your mates.

Instead, try to include info that will help readers. Explain which bait/lure/fly you used and, if applicable, how you rigged it and worked it, the prevailing conditions and time of year, where you were fishing -- without revealing Spot X! -- what kind of structure you fished, water depth, temp, and so on.

Finally, you'll want to avoid emailing your story or photos to more than one editor, unless said editor has told you they are unable to run it. And if that happens, don't worry -- different mags like to publish different kinds of articles, or sometimes they have a massive backlog and can't take on new work at that time.

Overall, the pay might not be amazing but it's certainly a good feeling to see one's work in print. :)