Outdoor Indiana magazine accepts manuscripts from a variety of sources, but assumes no responsibility for the care of unsolicited work. Story proposals, in the form of an outline, should include a brief synopsis of the story: vision, scope, direction, list of sources.
We purchase first-time, one-time publishing rights.
The editors work 18-24 months in advance and develop a story budget that includes a mix of editorial features, including articles and departments. Articles focus on Indiana places, events, history, themes, people, wildlife, travel, adventure, conservation. We strive to take our readers places they would like to go and haven't been, to inspire them to experience the Hoosier state. Departments include news of events, new publications, videos, books, plant and animal features and trails. First-person stories, essays, reflections are welcomed. We generally only print commissioned poetry, and rarely.
The magazine seeks quality writing, accurate reporting and well-developed prose. Story length varies. Generally, 800-1,000 words will cover many topics and side-bars can round out a story. Occasionally, longer pieces of 1,200-1,500 words are commissioned. The best approach is to tell the story with common-sense writing, economical prose and engaging language.
Department materials, such as trail stories, plant and animal profiles and people profiles, are single-source stories of about 450-600 words.
Many sources exist within the Department of Natural Resources for history, archaeology, biology, water quality, plant and animal species, conservation, soil erosion; we can assist writers in locating agency sources, but prefer that writers make their own contacts; additional resources abound at state universities and local colleges.
Story proposals that include high-quality sourcing will receive our greatest attention.
Since the magazine does not accept free-lance photography as a rule, we request that you do not query us regarding your photography. Once we have accepted an article for publication, we will contact you regarding appropriate photos. Many commissioned articles will be developed early in the process by the editors, the photographer and the writer. It is important that you maintain an accurate file of places, addresses, telephone numbers and sources for potential photography.
The magazine does not have a support staff to typeset your manuscript, so it is important that you provide electronic versions. Microsoft Word and WriteNow are high-end and low-end wordprocessing programs that will facilitate production. A sure-fire method of getting your story to us is to mail us a diskette in one of the above programs or to eMail your article to us.
For more information, contact Editor Stephen Sellers, ssellers@dnr.IN.gov or Senior editor Steve Polston, spolston@dnr.IN.gov .
