Planet Magazine

Here are the guidelines to PLANET. They call themselves a "a hip culture magazine that integrates style and intelligence." The guidelines are informative, helpful, and for those out there who think a destination piece is a destination piece is a destination piece - read on. (This is what I received when I emailed for their guidelines 11/09/03) --JL Writers, photographers and illustrators interested in submitting work to PLANET° please follow the guidelines below: Overview: PLANET° is a general interest print magazine focusing on worldwide popular culture. Our basic premise is that as the world gets smaller geographically - through the process of globalization - it is also getting larger culturally. In fact, at no other time in history has so much of the world and its various cultural forms been accessible to so many. This is a development we wish to celebrate - rather than view fearfully - though we are not naïve and will make room for discussion of the dark sides and dangers of this phenomenon (to be explored mainly through topical feature articles, interviews, and essays) in order to help encourage change. In its breadth, we intend PLANET° to be pioneering. We will achieve this by anticipating both changes in popular culture and the cultural tastes and expectations of readers and consumers. In the next decade globalization will be the single most important process shaping our lives and determining the social, political, and environmental organization of our world. Inevitably, the same force will have an enormous impact on culture - on a national, international, and global scale. However we do not intend to be the magazine about globalization, but rather a magazine about culture in the era of globalization. Ultimately, PLANET° is as a hip culture magazine that integrates style and intelligence. Writers Like other general interest magazines, PLANET° is composed of a front-of-the-book section of shorts, departments on film, music, books, travel, profiles, interviews, one or two lengthy serious features, some photo spreads (both fashion and documentary), and a few other small sections, unique to PLANET°. We openly encourage writers to brainstorm around our theme, and any suggestions for new departments or interesting sections are welcome. Although our coverage will focus largely on urban culture, we will regularly publish stories on things happening away from cities, whether travel adventures in far-off corners of the globe, or more serious articles on the impact of cultural change on indigenous peoples or species depletion in increasingly populated areas and the challenges of industrial pollution in developing countries, just to mention a few possibilities. Below you will find a detailed breakdown of the various sections already existing in the magazine, with notes on content, style, tone, and length. Please read them carefully and tailor any queries accordingly. Again, some of these sections will change. So feel free also to introduce new ideas. Satellite - this is the section of front-of-the-book shorts covering everything from a new interesting bar or restaurant, a gallery or upcoming museum exhibition, a cool boutique, a noteworthy building or design, products that are pertinent to our theme and readership, an event or a new talent in the arts from anywhere in the world. We will also consider publishing short bits on human interest stories or civic/political action, perhaps novel ways in which a city, town or village is dealing with typical civic problems. We would like these pieces to be tight and crisp (generally 150-300 words), but without losing an aspect of good prose. In fact, as a rule, we want our writing to avoid any affectations of hipness and shoot for clean, literate, flowing prose, though good wit and a smart sense of humor are always welcome. Our readership will be younger (25 to 40) and, yes, hip and style conscious, but they like to read good writing. Although these pieces are short and pay very little, it's a section we devote a large amount of effort to. We feel it's important that this section set the international tone and reach of the magazine, so we are counting on all our writers, even those who generally only write feature-length articles, to generate at least a few ideas per issue. Obviously not all will be chosen, but it is important that we have a rich and varied pool to choose from. Greenspace – environmental shorts - both good news and bad - from around the globe. These are identical to satellites but focus specifically on the environment and will be grouped separately. Voices: Who are the voices of the world? Who is talking to the people? What are they saying? These are questions PLANET° magazine will regularly answer simply by presenting the various cultural personalities with the voices that are currently resonating around the world. Each issue will contain two to three one-page profiles of artists, writers, musicians, poets, performers, who have gathered a following as much for the passionate message of their work as for the work itself. It is our belief at PLANET° that such voices will increasingly become heard as culture inevitably becomes global. This is just one way in which we are anticipating that change, introducing our readership to the world's cultural figures that matter and whose dialogue will be shaping the planet's culture of the future. These pieces should be gauged at 300 to 500 words. Divinity: Two-page spread focusing on a site where humans have traditionally gone in the search for divinity. Such places might range from a hidden Buddhist temple in Asia to a Mayan pyramid in Mexico, the town of Huautla where travelers have come to take mushrooms or a giant western cathedral, a sacred spot such a Ayers Rock or the Ganges. A large gutter-bleed photo with a single long column. About 400 to 800 words. Native: Highlight one indigenous group per issue, perhaps not a full article but a page or double-page spread with a great photo and a very condensed paragraph explaining these peoples and their current struggles against the tide of globalization. Also would like to know which are the smallest indigenous groups left on the planet and whether or not they are threatened with extinction. 400 to 800 words. Interzone: Here we look at international crossroads, past or present, and tell their story in cultural terms. In our first issue we started with Tangier, the place where the term interzone entered into the popular imagination. About 800 to 1000 words. Newswatch: Comparing the press coverage of a certain issue from the international press and how it was covered differently, possibly even being influenced by that country's cultural perspective, if not their specific political interest. If you feel you are well-placed and possess the analytical skills to carry this off, please contact us directly about it. These would be short, concise pieces in an entertaining format. Moviewatch: Comparing how movies are received around the world. This would be one of those small boxed features in the front of the book that is concise and fun, allowing readers to keep track month after month. We would have our film critics from various countries note how certain releases - deemed to have cultural significance. For example, a global phenomenon like Titanic. How was it received in England versus France, India versus Japan, and so on. Critics stationed abroad should contact us if they are interested in contributing to this. Also of interest in this section would be films that have achieved a certain cultural relevance elsewhere but fail to be released in the States. Why? What cultural views prevent that? Travel: Each issue will present one travel article, written in "personal adventure style", which does not mean we are interested in hearing about your snowboarding trip down Mount Everest. These should be literate travel adventures with lots of cultural detail and a compelling story at the heart of the piece. We are interested urban adventures as much as those in the outback. All will be written in first person. 2000-3000 words. For this section we encourage submissions on spec. Art: PLANET° magazine will utilize extensive contacts in the art world's capitals, New York and Paris, as well as numerous connections to the smaller art communities of London, Berlin, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Madrid, Barcelona, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and others to keep our readers up to date with the latest trends and movements in art as well as introducing them to the work of significant artists from around the world. We will run one or two art stories per issue, either profiling a particular artist or an important art event of international scope and importance. If you have suggestions, please send them in. Profiles in this section will run up to 1500 words. Film: Each month we'll feature one article on a filmmaker, writer or actor, of international stature, from the U.S. or abroad. Up to 2000 words. Sound: This is our music section and will feature numerous pieces on varied music artists. Generally we will have one or two longer pieces - between a 1000 and 1500 words - as well as numerous shorter ones. To give an idea, in our first issue we featured Bjork, Badmarsh & Shri, The Clientele and DJ Quest. Food: In upcoming issues we'll spotlight a dish from somewhere around the world, presented with a photo of the prepared dish and a short column of text describing the dish, its name, origin, ingredients, historical and social context, preparation, and so on. All of this should be blended together and told as the story of the dish. Approx. 1200 to 1500 words. We ask our writers from around the world to send in suggestions of dishes from their countries or that they have experienced while traveling. Some examples are: -pozole -kimchi chigue -haggus -tajine -couscous -coq au vin Features: Each issue will feature at least two major articles written on any variety of subjects, from cultural trends and movements to spotlights on specific cities. Some examples are: Paris Noir - The African cultural influence on Paris. Not since the Harlem Renaissance has a predominantly white city been so impacted by a cultural and creative explosion in the black community. In Paris it takes on the added dimension of the people being recent immigrants from Africa, and there are many issues of race, culture, and global change that are brought up here. Mostly, though, it is an exploration and celebration of the rich cultural environment these immigrants have created in their new home, irreversibly impacting and influencing the native popluar culture. The Indecipherable War - An examination of the conflict in Chiapas between the indigenous highland Indians, the Zapatistas and the Federal Government. * All features should be written in a novelistic style, like the New Journalism of the 1960s which utilized the techniques of creative fiction writing to enhance the telling of non-fiction stories. We would also like to fuse this with another idea, "Meta-fiction", a term that has been used to describe the work of certain novelists of our era (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie, Thomas Pynchon), which has attempted to uncover the philosophical, spiritual, mythological, and anthropological meaning, or essence, of the themes it investigates. We desire a similar approach to understanding the subject of the article, whether it be people, a place, or thing. Certainly there are some journalists today, obviously influenced by the work of these writers, such as Tim Cahill, Bob Shacochis (both write for Outside), Adam Gopnik (The New Yorker), Andrew Corsello (GQ), and others, who weave these two schools into what might be termed meta-journalism. However, no one magazine has made it a point of cultivating this view as their signature way of apprehending the world on which they report - the world in which we live. PLANET° is looking for writers capable of examining their subject with such a deep understanding - what we like to call "critical awe" - that they are able to relate in eloquent, meaningful, and enjoyable prose the deep, hidden, even magical aspects that abound in all things in the world around us. If you think you are up to this, please send your ideas. 3000 to 5000 words. We expect queries that demonstrate your ability to handle this style. Tone: In general, all pieces in the magazine should be written in this tone of "critical awe". What is meant by that is a seamless combination of a writer's critical abilities and his or her fascination with the world. We are not interested in the next Hunter S. Thompson. Harsh sarcasm and bitter irony have no place in PLANET° magazine. That is not meant to disable your critical skills, simply to specify that your critical thinking should originate from understanding. Perhaps it's just personal, but it is our belief that sarcasm is more about poking at a thing than about understanding it. We want our writers to transmit understanding. So we want our tone to be knowledgeable and provocative, yet relaxed, at ease, and comfortable. Sometimes humorous and ironic, but never gratuitously. Style: We will make room for various individual writing styles, as long as they are coherent and clean. Above all, your writing should be literate and closer to a literary style than a terse news style. Art: Please make suggestions for artwork to accompany your pieces. In many cases we will develop our own material, however for sections such as travel, interzone, divinity, native and satellites we will only be able to assign and publish your piece if it is accompanied by striking imagery. Payment: For the first few issues PLANET° will only be able to offer writers the opportunity of exposure in a handsome and pioneering magazine. This is due to the fact that PLANET° is getting started on virtually no budget. However, as former freelance writers we understand the need get paid for one's work and believe you deserve it. Following our operating plan we will be able to offer payment beginning with the fourth issue, and anticipate rates between 25 and 50 cents a word for the first year, increasing to $1 a word in year two. Method of contact: We are happy to receive queries or spec submissions via email, however they should be sent as attachments and treated like hard-copy documents, well-edited and well-written. Too often we receive emails that are rapidly composed and do not allow us to discern your writing ability. For those that prefer you may also send queries in via post. Our address is: 876 Valencia Street, Studio B, San Francisco, CA 94110. Email should be sent to editors@planet-mag.com. Quick e-notes by all writers we're familiar with are acceptable, however again we would prefer fleshed-out, well-written queries. Style Also, on all submitted documents please use Arial as your font and space 1.5 times. Articles do not start with indents and body indentations are only two spaces. Thank you and we look forward to your ideas. Photographers and Illustrators PLANET° is interested in developing working relationships with photographers and artists from around the world. Photographers and illustrators of fashion, travel, architecture, portrait and social essay should send us their card or other samples of their work to: 876 Valencia Street studio B, San Francisco, CA 94110. You can also email images (please send low-res files) to images@planet-mag.com. Earth By: This is a special feature on the last page of each issue of the magazine that features a different artist's interpretation of earth. All styles welcome, though we have a preference for work that is a personal interpretation and not merely a figurative representation. Please send submissions to the above address. Note to all writers, photographers, and illustrators: If you wish to have your submissions returned, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. PLANET° cannot be held responsible for lost or damaged submissions. Thank you for your interest in PLANET°.