Natural Life Magazine's audience is made up of adult readers in
families around the world who want information and inspiration about natural
family living. Our articles contain a strong how-to component with information
that will help readers apply green living principles and practices to their
daily lives. They also focus on empowering readers to think for themselves, to
make and trust their own decisions, and to live self-reliantly.
Natural Life has been, since 1976, a forum for the
sharing of information among readers. So we are looking for articles
written by people who are involved with and have first-hand
knowledge of their topics. Knowing your topic is more important than being a great
writer; we can help you with the "how" if you know the "what."
We are looking
for contributors who can write simply and clearly, in concise,
non-academic prose, rather than as professional "experts." Our style
is friendly but not folksy, polished but not academic. We don't
mind being controversial, but avoid sensationalism.
Most of Natural Life's readers are
quite knowledgeable about green living and natural parenting issues, so articles should not be
presented at a basic or "entry" level of sophistication. We are looking for
in-depth coverage either of topics that aren't covered in other magazines or
media or for a new perspective on green living or natural parenting topics. For a profile of our
readership, please see this
survey. Articles should reflect Natural
Life's international focus; we have subscribers in our
home country of Canada, across the United States, in Australia and the UK, and
in many other English-speaking countries around the world.
We are always on the outlook for how-to articles
about green living, non-coercive parenting, self-directed and
democratic education, sustainable housing, eco-travel, and organic
gardening, as well as interviews with and profiles of ordinary
people who are making a difference in these subject areas. We
occasionally accept well researched articles on natural health, but
not about natural health products.
From the education/life
learning perspective, we are especially
looking for real-life personal experiences of people of all ages who
have learned on their own – either academic subjects or life skills
– as well as articles about democratic schools and progressive education. We
are not interested in homeschooling articles that discuss how adults control
children's learning or that involve curriculum. We favor first-person
experience pieces by parents and learners of all ages who are living a
self-directed learning lifestyle. (We also publish the digital magazine Life Learning,
which is
devoted entirely to unschooling and self-education so you should
consider submitting there as well.)
From the natural parenting perspective, please note that we are
pro-breastfeeding and adhere to the World HeaIth Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
(We also publish the digital magazine Natural Child, which is devoted entirely
to natural parenting, so you should consider submitting there as well.)
Gardening, farming and landscaping articles must focus on
organic, biodynamic, permaculture or other natural methods and not employ agricultural
chemicals or polluting machinery. They should use the principles of re-using and recycling where
at all possible, and not promote specific products.
Food-related articles, including recipes, should not contain
unhealthy ingredients (which includes sugar, food colorings and other additives).
Nor should they contain references to specific products, brands or companies.
We don't favor one type of diet over another, but are especially looking for vegan or vegetarian
recipes. Any health claims made must be
backed up with evidence of research.
Since we are not a naturalist magazine, we seldom accept articles about Nature
experiences (unless they are about getting children involved with Nature),
animals (endangered or otherwise), or conservation projects.
We do not
publish articles written for children. We do not publish event notices or articles about events that
have occurred, nor do we publish poetry. We tend not
to publish news articles about environmental or social problems, or public policy
issues, unless the problem is presented in the context of offering solutions
that individuals can implement; in that case, the solution must be the focus of
the article.
The only products we review or write about in any way are books,
films, and CDs, and those reviews are written in-house. We do not publish "advertorials" or articles
profiling or intended to promote specific products, services,
businesses or organizations. In fact, we generally avoid mentioning products or
companies by name in our articles. Here
is more information on our
ethics policy.
Please do not send us general "I'd like to write for
you, give me some ideas" letters. When you have an article idea that
you think would be suitable for Natural Life Magazine,
query us by email with a detailed outline of the proposed
article; please do not send finished articles unless
requested to do so by the editor. We do not accept
queries by regular mail.
In order to help us decide whether or not your
proposed article would be suitable for publication in
Natural Life Magazine, we would like to see a 50-
to 200-word synopsis of your proposed article that highlights the
points you intend to make. Tell us how the article will benefit our
readers, why the topic is timely, how it differs from other articles
on the topic that we have recently published, and why you’re the appropriate
writer to discuss the topic. Then explain your unique angle or
perspective, and the tone or style you plan to use. Tell us about
the lead or "hook" for your article, what will it focus on, what
examples you might provide, and how you are going to interest
readers in your article. Lastly, identify your type of sources: if
you’ll be writing from personal experience, if you will be
interviewing primary sources or researching the topic in books and
on the Internet.
We appreciate knowing if your article has been
published elsewhere in the past, or if you have submitted it to
other publications recently. We also need to know if you have any
business affiliation with any person, organization or company
mentioned in the article. To be fair to our readers - who pay for
their subscriptions - we don't re-publish material that has been
published on your blog; however, your blog post may be a great
foundation for an article.
Optimum length for articles is 1,500 words, with a
preferred maximum of 2,500. Since Natural Life Magazine is not a
professional journal, we do not publish footnotes. However, most articles
are accompanied by sidebars, which provide additional how-to and
resource information about your topic. Sometimes, we will extract
that information from your article; other times, we will compile the
information ourselves and incorporate it in the layout. Your
submission should, where appropriate, include resource suggestions
for these sidebars, such as book titles, websites, organizations,
etc. If your article draws on published research or "professional
experts," please be prepared to provide us with your direct
references if requested (although they may not be published with the article).
We do not pay contributors, except in copies of the
magazine. (We like to barter, so feel free to make us a proposal.)
We can give you a platform to communicate with a unique group of
knowledgeable, engaged, passionate readers.
Articles are accepted for one-time use in a particular issue of
Natural Life Magazine. That means we require your permission to publish the
article one time in the magazine and to have it appear in that context on our
website and in a PDF version of the magazine, which may be made available on our
website, and as part of third-party CD/DVD versions or compilations of the
magazine. Writers retain all other rights to their work, and are therefore free
to contribute their articles to other magazines or websites without our
permission. However, we ask that you not publish the article anywhere else
internationally while the issue of Natural Life in which your piece is running
is current.
If you wish to submit photographs to accompany your
article, they should be high resolution (300 dpi, 6-inches largest
measurement minimum) electronic files in TIF format. Please include photo credit
information and suggest captions (although we may not caption the
photos). If the photographs have been taken by someone other
than the writer, we require a release signed by the photographer. If
you are submitting photos that include recognizable individuals, you
should have a release form on file signed by those recognizable
individuals or a parent/legal guardian. We reserve the right not to
include your photos if they don't fit with our layout or are not of
sufficient quality.
Here
are some
general copyright guidelines that we have prepared for the use
of all Life Media authors.
Your article will be edited for spelling, punctuation, grammar,
clarity, space, and consistency in tune with the editorial style of Natural
Life. If major renovations are required, your article will be
returned to you for reworking.
We use
gender-neutral language and appreciate our writers structuring their
work to avoid referring to all people as "he" (accepted articles
will be edited to reflect this policy). Prospective contributors are encouraged to read an issue or two
before querying us. Copies of Natural Life
are available on some newsstands and by subscription, or you can download a free digital sample here.
Articles must be submitted by email in text or
Microsoft Word format. Hard copy articles are not accepted.
Please do not format articles in any way (fancy fonts, embedded
photos, tabs, etc.) A schedule of upcoming editorial deadlines can
be downloaded
here.
