How to appear in print

Do you think you could write or take photographs for Lincolnshire Life magazine? You could be right - around half of the magazine's editorial content derives from freelance contributors just like you. Some are professionals, others write or take pictures just for a hobby... the only thing that matters is the quality of the submissions.

This means that, unlike a lot of those magazines you see on the shelves in your newsagent, Lincolnshire Life is written by ordinary people for ordinary people. If you're determined enough and good enough you'll stand a pretty good chance of having your work accepted for publication - but you'll have to be patient while we sort through the mountains of submissions which we receive unsolicited every week!

You won't get rich if we publish something of yours, but it is our policy to pay everyone for everything that we use in the magazine. Our current rate for front cover photographs is £50, and we also pay for all the text, photographs and illustrations that we publish. The only caveat for contributors is that your submission must have a legitimate connection with Lincolnshire.

All submissions will be considered and returned if not required. But it would make our life a lot easier if you would include with your material a stamped and self-addressed envelope.

Here are some guidelines for would-be contributors:

Writers
Articles submitted to Lincolnshire Life magazine for consideration should take as their subject some aspect of Lincolnshire's heritage, culture or contemporary life. We actively encourage the submission of manuscripts dealing with local history, rural life, personalities, the arts and current affairs.

Features should run to no more than 1,600 words (ideally 800 to 1,600) and be typed double-spaced on one side of each sheet of A4 paper. Or you may submit manuscripts by clicking here and emailing us your material.

Please save files on any disc in Rich Text Format (interchange format). To avoid unnecessary work and undue disappointment it may be best to make an approach first by writing to the editor sending a brief synopsis of your idea to Lincolnshire Life, County House, 9 Checkpoint Court, Sadler Road, Lincoln LN6 3PW.

If you have them it would be helpful for you to submit other articles you may have had published.

We do not publish travel articles and we never feature subjects that do not have a Lincolnshire connection.

You should try to include illustrative material with your article (prints, high res jpegs, transparencies, drawings or engravings), and you should expect to be paid no more than £25 per magazine page for your work. Bear in mind that we are a glossy colour monthly devoted to the culture and heritage of Lincolnshire and that our typical reader is aged between thirty-five and seventy-five with a reasonable amount of disposable income.

Photographers
There is some scope for freelance photographers to have their work published in Lincolnshire Life, but it is somewhat limited by the size of our budget.

We are always looking for good-quality colour transparencies (any format) for use on our front cover. These should be portrait-shaped photographs of Lincolnshire scenes, buildings, people or places - the more 'life' or action that is in them, the better.

We pay £50 for every cover shot we use; rates for photographs used inside the magazine are significantly lower. We prefer colour transparencies for the cover but will also accept colour prints for use inside the magazine.

Provided the subject is in Lincolnshire (and that includes North and North-East Lincolnshire) we are happy to consider any photographs for publication.

Illustrators
Scope for having your illustrations accepted for publication is very limited and what requirements we have for illustrations are met by our freelance artists. If you feel that your work merits publication the best approach would be an email or letter to the editor followed by submission of your portfolio by post or in person.

Contributors

Alan Ritson

Alan is the owner of The Old Bakery restaurant with rooms in Burton Road, Lincoln.

Having spent 30 years involved in agriculture performing a variety of tasks including buying, selling, trading and crop agronomy, Alan turned his hobby into his job and spent 3 years as owner/operator of a scuba diving school in the Cayman Islands. Upon return to this country (due to the alarming frequency of hurricanes) the search was on to purchase a property which would allow his son in law, Ivano de Serio, the opportunity to show his talents as a world class chef working within the family business.

The Old Bakery was therefore purchased in November 2004 and opened its doors the following month just in time for the first day of the Lincoln Christmas Market. With no spare time available, Alan does hope to retire before the onset of age and infirmity, in order to resume his love of scuba diving in warmer climes. In the meantime, the creation of Old Bakery Promotions bringing the very best of Folk music to Lincoln, keeps Alan further occupied and has added another dimension to 'The Old Bakery' brand.

Su Whale

I have been a freelance writer since 2004, as well as writing for Lincolnshire Life, I have also had articles published in magazines as diverse as My Weekly, Birmingham Life and Scottish Islands Explorer. Most of my work however is for Interflora (who are based in Sleaford) for whom I am the floristry editor of their in-house trade magazine 'Mercury'. For Interflora I write floristry articles, review books, organise photo shoots and cover flower and garden shows all over the country.

Married for more years than I care to admit (ok, 21) I live with the 'other half' Brett, who is a tree surgeon who runs his own business, and our dog Jess, who is rather elderly but hanging on in there. When I'm not at the keyboard, I enjoy walking, choral singing and doing cryptic crosswords, which all sounds terribly worthy, but visiting pubs is quite high up on the list as well. I'm also very devoted to food and cooking as well as reading -anything as long as it's well written – and listening to music in which I have a broad taste, from Tallis to Led Zeppelin, taking in bit of blues along the way.

Steffie Shields

Steffie Shields is a garden photographer/writer, who lectures country-wide, with 18th century landscape architect 'Capability' Brown as her specialist subject. She appeared on Channel 4 TV "Great Estates" (2001) to discuss Brown's work at Blenheim. A Cambridge tutor, Steffie runs occasional Garden History courses, for Cambridge Madingley Institute of Adult Education, including at Burghley. She is Vice-Chairman of Lincolnshire Gardens Trust, also serving the (National) Association of Gardens Trusts' (AGT) in a publicity/ public relations role. She is a regular contributor of illustrated articles to Lincolnshire Life.

Born in Wimbledon, originally trained as a teacher, but as the wife of an RAF officer, and with a daughter Gabrielle now in the Cayman Islands, Steffie has lived a peripatetic life all over England, and in Germany, Scotland and California, before settling in Lincolnshire in 1995. Recently, she was delighted to discover a deeper connection with the county. An ancestor on her mother's side, also a garden enthusiast it transpires, used to live at Grimsthorpe at the turn of the eighteenth century. No wonder Steffie has put down her roots so happily!

Scott Murray

As house photographer for the Engine Shed and Moda, Scott Murray has photographed some of the worlds biggest bands and djs. A diverse career has so far seen him photograph aurora borealis to the cover of an international selling novel, with credits and commissions in national music magazines and websites including BBC Radio 1.

Scott also runs Liveimage Photography Studio in Lincolns cultural quarter, specializing in contemporary portraits and product shoots.

Scott lives in Lincoln with his fiancé and daughter. http://liveimagephotography.co.uk