Jessica

If you didn't already know, i'm going to school for archaeology. There's a magazine I read called Archaeology Magazine. They are put out but the Archaeology Institute, and all the best archaeologists write for it. I figured, hey, maybe I could try and publish an article. My idea doesn't follow what their normal articles are about, but i think that might be a good thing.
So here's the guidelines from their website:
http://www.archaeology.org/magazine....ite/guidelines

and here's the email i'm sending to them:

Hello, my name is Jessica Goedtel. I am currently a college student on the path towards an archaeology degree. I have been reading your magazine for several years now, and even though your magazine is geared to a large audience, I have noticed a lack in articles about or for the college audience. I wanted to see if you were interested in a college student's point of view.
My idea for an article would be to talk about what its like for a aspiring archaeologist (namely myself) in facing decisions on deciding a career path. I would write this article in such a way that it would not only reach out to students, but also those already in the field, or even just hobbyists interested in what its like to be in this position. I have a laid-back writing style, and I am confident that I could write a great article that most, if not all, readers would enjoy.
If you are interested, you can give a few guidelines and I can write the article to see if you would like to have it published in your magazine. If not, just let me know you have recieved my email and you are not interested, or if there is another article you would like me to write.

Thank you for your time!
-Jessica Goedtel

constructive criticism welcome! if you think i forgot something, or you think i suck, or etc., let me know

TIA

axemansean

Have you published something with them before? If you have they might cut you a lot more slack than if you are a first time writer. I've noticed magazines/papers like that tend to look not too happily at deviants from the normal. But, send the letter and see what the person says.

Edit: Attach some stuff you've written or that has been published. That way when the guy reads it he can look at your old work and get an idea of where you are coming from.

Jessica

i have nothing published, this is a first time. its not really a deviant article, its just an article about being a archaeologist wanna-be.

axemansean

Deviant as in going away from guidelines. They get 100s of articles and without some guidelines they'd have no way to compare them. But, that being said give it a shot. Worst case he turns you down but having someone in that position read your stuff is important because he may say no for that specific article but might give you something else to write on.

Kestrel

Have you written the article? It gives them something concrete to look at, and if they are inclined to run it they can make specific suggestions to how you might need to change it. Also, I'd imagine there are several archaeology journals, so if this one doesn't work out you could always submit your article to another journal.