| Contributor's Guidelines |
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Outer Edge is proud to support high-quality, literate adventure writing. We aim to establish the magazine as Australasia’s premier outdoor adventure publication. To achieve this, we need our content to be exceptional.
We receive hundreds of pitches and enquiries from freelance writers and photographers every week. Some are fantastic – others are well wide of the mark. To save everyone’s time, the following is a guide to what we’re looking for in a prospective story and how to best approach us:
PLEASE DO… Read the last few editions of Outer Edge thoroughly before you make your pitch. These will tell you plenty about what we’re looking for in terms of approach, quality and style.
Submit a short synopsis (250 words max, in a Word document) of your proposed piece via email. If your pitch is accepted we will provide a full brief.
Include a contact sheet of accompanying images (or a small collection of low-res jpegs) with every submission. If we proceed with the feature, accompanying digital images must be available at 300dpi. Video content is welcomed, but not essential.
If possible, provide examples of your previously published work (pdfs or hyperlinks).
Be prepared for the fact that we may only accept your pitch on spec, with the caveat that we will need to see the written feature and images selection before committing to publishing it.
Think about your adventure angle carefully. First up…do you have one? (Just because you’ve been somewhere and done something, that doesn’t make it interesting to anyone beyond your mum.) Grab us by the eyeballs in the first sentence and force us to read on.
Provide a rock-solid hook to hang your piece on. You might be writing about the first ascent of a peak/descent of a river, or your piece could revolve around the exploration of a natural/cultural/historical enigma. You might be following in the footsteps of a pioneer, or hiking/biking/paddling with someone with a particular connection to the land that you’re traversing.
Construct your story around a dramatic imperative. What journey is the reader being taken on? What are we uncovering? What is the conflict/drama/resolution story arc? Are there callbacks? What story-telling structure are you using?
Use breakout material to provide a functional element to your feature. Not every reader is going to go parahawking with birds of prey in Ethiopia or launch themselves off 40-metre waterfalls in the Kimberley – but where can they learn more about paragliding in Australia or join a club to pick up whitewater skills near their hometown?
Research your piece thoroughly. Dig up some interesting facts about the area your piece is set in, or when it was first explored, what kind of wildlife fellow adventurers can expect to encounter and what sort of weather conditions they should expect. Surprise, educate and entertain us – we like that.
PLEASE DON’T… Just call up and tell us you’re a freelancer and you’re looking for work – we want inspired feature ideas, not vague offers of ‘help’.
Pitch us the same old story you’ve had published elsewhere unless there is a really significant update you can add to it and you’re prepared to completely rewrite it according to our brief.
Try and sell us stories that took place years ago, unless you have recently revisited the adventure and have a killer postscript to add to the story.
Bore the baselayers off us by sending in diary-style travel pieces. We’re unlikely to read beyond sentences such as “The next morning we had breakfast and…” As a rough guide, if you think something wouldn’t look out of place in the travel supplement of a weekend newspaper – pitch it to them, not us.
Pitch us stories about activities you’ve read about numerous times elsewhere – Overland Walk, Inca Trail, swimming with sharks, blah blah – unless you have an absolutely sensational twist up your sleeve (such as, you were half-eaten by said shark. Seriously – we’ve all seen this stuff a million times, use your imagination – challenge yourself and us, it’s much more fun for everyone that way).
Send in original slides or photographs, or print outs of your piece. Our workspace is untidy enough as it is, and we will not be held responsible for any such material that goes missing in the Bermuda Triangle that we call an office.
Submit material until you have thoroughly self-edited and spell-checked it. We’re not lazy, but word counts are provided for a reason and we do like to see that you’ve at least made a bit of an effort.
STYLE GUIDESubmit materiaPlease download and refer to a copy of our Style Guide. All articles submitted for consideration need to adhere strictly to the guidelines. Those that do not will not be accepted. You will be asked to redraft according to the guidelines before your article is considered for publication. Download the guide here.
IMAGES A digital proof sheet must be supplied initially of all images so we can gauge quality, style and selection to match copy.
All final images must be supplied in highest resolution, able to be used where possible up to DPS (42x29cm) at 300dpi. Minimum is 300dpi at A4.
PURSUIT SPECIFIC GUIDELINES
Off-Roading – All off-road pursuits featured (mountain biking / 4WD /trail biking) must be conducted in an area and on trails where such pursuits are legal.
Fishing (including spearfishing) and 4WD – Pieces must be written from an environmentally sensitive perspective, with a leave-no-trace angle. No targeting of endangered species, cruel or irresponsible practises will be featured. Large species hunting is not an activity we focus on.
REGULAR SECTIONS
IMAGE FROM THE EDGE – Double-page, image-based spread image with small caption explainer. Images must be exceptionally dramatic. File must be high res (300dpi) and useable at DPS (42cm x 29cm)
OUTED – Short Q&As with a personalities you wouldn't expect to be involved in adventure, outdoor and/or extreme sports (…but who are), or get-to-know pieces about interesting personalities in the adventure community who fly under the public’s radar.
WORKING ON THE EDGE – A very short paragraph about someone whose job involves an adventure pursuit (police diver / mountain bike guide / high altitude window cleaner etc). Image will show subject surrounded by the equipment they use at work in a ‘gear explosion’ – full details of all equipment will be required.
HEALTH & FITNESS – Wide topic range but has to have a strong adventure angle. (Please don’t pitch the obvious hydration, general nutrition, bites & stings etc – they have all been covered.)
OUTER EDUCATION – Info-based and functional, structured in a ‘How to…’ style. Again, assume the obvious has been covered – look for a strong, unexpected angle. Interviews with experts are good starting points. Images must demonstrate clearly the points being made.
EMAIL FROM THE EDGE – An intriguing adventure image with a short email from taker explaining the story behind it.
PROFILES – Features about outdoor adventurers and their achievements (famous or not). We prefer articles where the interviewer has gone on a relevant adventure with the interviewee. If your subject is an accomplished rock climber, for example, you will have gone climbing with that person, preferably with a ‘mission’ or objective in mind that links to the angle of the piece.
URBAN EDGE – A profile of an urban-based outdoor or adventure activity. (Please do not pitch parkour unless you have a blindingly new angle!)
SECONDHAND ADVENTURES – A focus feature about a classic adventure book (rule is: you must have discovered a copy of this book in a second-hand book shop), looking at the tale of derring-do behind the tome and following up on what happened to the author or the protagonists of the yarn, and whether there any controversy or subsequent adventures took place after its publication.
COPY NOTES:
Any feature articles must based on experiences undertaken recently (within the last 12-24 months max.)
Any articles must be first Australasian right, not published anywhere else in Australia or New Zealand, or online.
Outer Edge retains the right to use material (images and copy) published in the magazine on outer-edge.com.au in the context of the original story. |