What Is an Editorial Calendar in Writing and Publishing?
In this post, we answer the question of what is an editorial calendar in writing and publishing, and we look at how writers can take advantage of this resource to find more success getting published.
Many new and experienced freelance writers know the value of submission guidelines when pitching magazines. But only a select few realize the power of a well-crafted editorial calendar and how it can give them an edge on other freelancers pitching magazine editors.
So, what is an editorial calendar? And how can writers take advantage of it to find more publishing success? Let's look at the answers to these questions and more.
What Is an Editorial Calendar in Writing?
As the name suggests, an editorial calendar is a calendar detailing the future editorial plans for a magazine or publication. Some publications may plan out their editorial content one or two issues into the future; others may plot out their entire year.
For instance, here is the editorial calendar for Writer's Digest magazine. We usually update this editorial calendar each year after our annual editorial brainstorm meeting ideas get approved by the various departments within the company.
In our editorial calendar, we share the general theme of each issue, along with a deeper description of what we plan to cover. The editorial calendar helps guide the editors, but it's really useful for sales reps trying to find advertisers and get newsstand space for each issue. Savvy writers find they're a useful tool as well.
How Can Writers Use an Editorial Calendar to Find Publishing Success?
Smart writers can use an editorial calendar to improve their chances of publishing success by helping to target their pitches with pinpoint precision. While freelance writers should read the submission guidelines and previous issues of the publication to get a general idea of what editors want from their writers, the editorial calendar helps spell out (at least in a general way) where the editors want to take their content in the future.
For instance, a future theme for WD is "Facing the Mysterious." It's probably not the best place to pitch a how-to on writing romance...unless you can give it a mysterious hook (mystery of attraction? mystery of intention?). The editorial calendar helps writers know how to slant their pitches for the best chances of success.
So if you're interested in submitting your writing and/or pitching your ideas to a magazine or online publication, take a moment to find their editorial calendar (or send an email to ask if they have one they could send you) and use it to find more success with your publishing goals.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
