Writer and Artist Guidelines

Freelance Writer's Editorial Guidelines

Catholic Forester is a full-color quarterly magazine published for members of Catholic Order of Foresters, a fraternal insurance society with more than 133,000 members nationwide. Although a portion of each issue is devoted to the organization and its members, a few freelance pieces are published in most issues. These articles cover varied topics to create a balanced issue for the purpose of informing, educating, and entertaining our readers.

Our audience covers a broad spectrum of ages, ranging from youth to seniors. Nonfiction topics appealing to our members include health and wellness, money management and investing, parenting and family life, senior issues, inspiration, and nostalgia. Although we are more interested in nonfiction topics, we also like to entertain our readers with humor and light fiction or a good story specifically for children.

Complete articles are preferred. Manuscripts should have a good lead, style, and rhythm to hold reader interest. Look for ways to project personal experiences into informational topics. Fiction should move at a rapid pace, capturing reader attention from beginning to end. We like short pieces, 500 to 1,000 words, but occasionally accept manuscripts up to 1,500 words.

We attempt to respond within twelve weeks, although it may take longer. Payment for First North American Serial Rights is approximately .50 cents a word, reprints $50 per article, depending on writing quality and amount of necessary editing. Payment on acceptance.

For photos and art illustrations, we pay one-time publication rights. Depending on size, payment ranges from $50 to $250 for inside use, $300 for a cover.

Email editorial submissions to pbaron@catholicforester.org or send, with a SASE,[1] to Associate Editor Patricia Baron; art submissions to Graphic Designer Danielle Marsh. Sample magazine copy available free with 9" x 12" envelope and 3 stamps. No check or money accepted for postage.

Thank you for your interest in Catholic Forester.