Submission guidelines for all article submissions
Our ethos is found on our website. Be aware that we don’t do advertorials or encourage consumerism. We take very limited advertising, and our publication is sustained through subscriptions. This puts us in a unique position amongst magazines, as it means our editorial is not compromised in any way. At all times we can remain true to our vision.
Due to the volume of submissions to The Mother magazine, we request that writers send query letters regarding proposed articles.
Please read these guidelines closely as it will give you the opportunity to offer the best and most complete presentation possible. We don’t like rejecting articles.
Your query letter should be no longer than 200 words, and be very specific about the proposed topic, estimated word count, and photos/illustrations included.
The article outline should include the main points you wish to cover, and a sample paragraph from the article.
Please provide biographical information about yourself.
The Mother does not accept more than one submission at a time, nor do we accept simultaneous submissions (sent to several magazines or online publications at once).
We rarely accept articles that have been published elsewhere.
If your proposed article is time sensitive, you should begin the query process at least six months before the publication date of the magazine you’d like the article to appear in. Please note, we do not publish advertorials.
Send your query to the address given below. Please mark the letter as a query and provide your mailing address for our response. You may e-mail your query to: editor@themothermagazine.co.uk (please put “TM Query” in the subject line). All e-mailed queries must be in the format described above, with all information, including a postal mailing address. We will respond as soon as possible, usually within 30 days.
We ask that you do not send your article unless we request it after reviewing your query. Please understand that we do not pre-accept any article based only on a query letter or proposal. We need to review the finished article first. If we have accepted your article proposal, you will be asked to submit the completed article.
When your article has been accepted, please send it by email or CD. Ensure the article is in Microsoft Word, and any photos are sent as jpegs. Please use Times Roman or Book Antiqua font in size 12. Do not italicise, use capital letters for whole words, underline or bold.
Make sure your article has a title and page numbers, and provide your name, address and phone number on the first page; include your e-mail address if you have one.
Once we receive your article, we will let you know within approximately 30 days of receipt whether your article is accepted or declined.
Acceptance/rejection is based entirely upon the editorial team’s perception of content, quality of writing, and how the article fits into our publishing plans for The Mother, as well as its potential appeal to our readers. Once an article is accepted, we reserve the right to edit without the advance approval of the writer.
NB: Once you've submitted your finished article, do not make any further revisions or additions unless we ask for them.
List all references, sources, and endnotes at the end of the article under the title References and Notes. Include footnote numbers in the text to correspond to this list.
Please do not use embedded hyperlinks in the text.
Example references:
Format for book: Robinson, Veronika Sophia, The Drinks Are One Me, Starflower Press, 2008, p. 5. (or pp. 5–10).
Format for magazine/periodical: Los, Kathryn, “Organic Birth, Organic Death: what do they look like?” in The Mother magazine, September/October 2012, p. 26.
Format for Web site: See http://en.wikipedia.org, “John Smith” (accessed March 11, 2012).
We receive a lot of article submissions. Very few are used, generally because the author hasn’t understood our ethos or it doesn’t fit into our current publishing programme. At other times, it is because the submission is unprofessionally presented. We recommend you use a spell (UK English) and grammar check, as it can make all the difference to how your work is perceived.
Please allow us between two to four weeks to make a decision about your work. If we accept your article, you’ll be required to sign a consent form offering us copyright. This means you will not be able to publish it elsewhere, including blogs, online magazines and elsewhere on the Internet or in print, for at least twelve months after publication with us. If it does appear elsewhere after twelve months, the publication or Internet site concerned will need to contact us for permission. Reprints will begin with: This article first appeared in The Mother magazine (date + issue number) and is reprinted with permission. www.themothermagazine.co.uk We also request a copy of the publication with the reprinted article.
Please do not submit work to us if you’ve currently got it under review elsewhere. At all times we seek to publish fresh, original material, and to this end we prefer to have writers who aren’t also writing for, or have previously written for Juno magazine, The Green Parent or Mothering.com.
We do not pay writers. If your work is published, you will receive a copy of the issue in which your article appears, and you are welcome to buy bulk copies at our wholesale rate.
Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson
Editors of The Mother magazine
Email: editor@themothermagazine.co.uk
Mailing Address: Croft House, Glassonby, near Penrith, CA10 1DU Cumbria, UK