STYLE ANALYSIS

Publications for Women

I. Who am I?

I am just your average college student who loves to express herself through the art of writing. Writing has always been that one outlet for me to enter a different universe and escape the reality that is my life. I am an only child so I don’t have the option in confiding in siblings with my problems. I use writing for that. I guess that it’s obvious that I am an aspiring writer. I am also passionate about art and photography. I have grown up with having artistic women on both sides of the family. Writing is something that I know wasn’t passed down to me, it’s something that I grew up with appreciating and falling in love with all on my own.

As for what I love writing about, it varies from fantasy to mystery to fiction to thriller. I am open in trying out different genres because it helps me gain more knowledge as a writer. I am interested in topics such as entertainment, fashion, and beauty. Politics does interest me but there is a fine line in the amount of politics that I can consume daily.

I bet you’re asking yourself but really who are you as a writer? Would you consider yourself a novelist even though you haven’t published any books? I don’t know the answer to the previous question but I would love to publish a book someday. Anyways, I have to admit that I am stubborn when it comes to just about anything, especially writing. I am not big on trying new genres but I know when I do, my passion grows immensely for writing. It inspires me to write more.

I do have to say that I am not an avid reader. I haven’t read many books throughout my life so far. One book that will always be ingrained in my brain is “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Piccoult. The book is about a school shooting. It has so many twists and turns that just keep you reading on for the next several pages and so on. The book was assigned to my 10^th grade English class and I ended up loving it so much that I purchased the book.

If I end up working for a magazine publication, I would love to produce material that relates to fashion, beauty, entertainment, and politics. I may not be the most fashionable person or one who wears makeup every single day but I am interested in those topics so I would love to write about them. As a lover of music, films, and TV shows, I would love to write an article reviewing a new song or a TV show that I love or interview an actor or actress and ask them what made them decided to pursue a career in acting.

In the end, I would love to see myself writing content for a blog or social media, specifically Instagram. There are lots of blogs focused on fashion and beauty so I could easily write for that type of blog or maybe even one that focuses on entertainment. I also said social media because the market just keeps booming. I precisely mentioned Instagram because it’s my personal favorite platform. It’s incredible how fast an account can grow and how fast it can spread all over the world. I mean my ambitions as a writer may change and that is completely normal. I just know that my passion for writing will be with me wherever I go.

II. Market Analysis

I have chosen the following publications below because they fall into the market aimed toward women and other that interested me such as those relating to world geography and the music scene.

Publication #1: Marie Claire

Editor’s Name: Sally Holmes

Submission Guidelines: The publication wants to make sure that those who interested submitted work to them know their content. They suggest to go back and read previous issues of the magazine. They state that they would rather receive story proposals than completed work and want a query letter detailing the idea to their New York location. The last thing mentioned is that if the editors find the content suitable for the publication, they will contact that person. There are no specific word counts or deadlines listed on their website.

Publication #2: Nylon

Editor’s Name: Alyssa Vingan

Submission Guidelines: Their website does not list any submission guidelines but it does mention that they do internships. They mention to send a resume and cover letter through Indeed and whether the individual is eligible to receive school credit. A huge possibility if the team likes the intern enough, they could possibly receive a job at the publication.

Publication #3: Cosmopolitan

Editor’s Name: Jessica Pels

Submission Guidelines: To submit any articles or stories to the publication, one must determine the appropriate editor to send it to. Editors can be found under the “about us” tab. They say to then send that query to the appropriate contact. If one desires to submit a pitch or query to their website, they suggest to send it to the Web editor. The first link under their “contact us” tab is a link to apply to be a writer for Cosmo. There are no word counts or deadlines mentioned.

Publication #4: Woman’s Day

Editor’s Name: Susan Spencer

Submission Guidelines: The publication states to send an individual’s idea or manuscript to their email: womansday@hearst.com. They do clearly state that they want an electronic version and not a hard copy. They mention that they will only contact those if they are fully interested in the idea being proposed. There no word counts or deadlines mentioned.

Publication #5: Rolling Stone

Editor’s Name: Jason Fine

Submission Guidelines: They suggest to email rseditors@rollingstone.com with a story idea or pitch. There are no word counts or deadlines mentioned.

Publication #6: Where Women Create

Editor’s Name: Jo Packham

Submission Guidelines: There are four different areas where one can submit their work to: “create,” “what,” “work,” and “cook.” Each require different specifications. “Create” requires one to include 6 photographs of the space being worked in, a short synopsis of one’s creative space, and include a link to social media platforms or sites. “What” requires one to include 6 photographs of what one actually creates, a short synopsis of why one is passionate about what they create, and a link to social media platforms or sites. “Work” requires one to provide a short synopsis about their small business and being an artisan entrepreneur, 6 photographs of what the business sells, makes, etc., and a link to social media platforms and websites. Lastly, “cook” requires one include 6 photographs of one’s kitchen and prepared recipes, a short synopsis on about one’s passion and history with food, and a link to social media platforms and sites. They want these short summaries to be concise yet there is no word count specified.

Publication #7: National Geographic – Traveler

Editor’s Name: Susan Goldberg

Submission Guidelines: The platform wants writers who are interested in writing about places in the U.S. or abroad. The accept freelance queries for most of their departments and may assign special features to those who present the highest level of writing skill. To send queries, they suggest to mail them to the query editor. Feature stories run from 1,500 to 2,500 words and general stories run from 750 to 1,500 words. As for writing style, there are no limitations as long as the writing is dynamic and fascinating.

Publication #8: Vanity Fair

Editor’s Name: Radhika Jones

Submission Guidelines: The folks at the publication suggests to get familiarized with their content that they publish. Then, submit pitches that appropriate. Pitches should be brief and to the point and should include a “news peg.” A “news peg” is an explanation why one would be suited to write a certain piece. They also suggest to include a short biography. Lastly, submit the pitch to vfmail@vf.com and it will be directed to the appropriate editor.

Publication #9: Seventeen

Editor’s Name: Kristin Koch

Submission Guidelines: Their website has a direct link to submit your story in which must be targeted for teens and college girls. They want to hear a hilarious, memorable or an embarrassing story or about topics such as body image or bullying. There is no specific word count or deadlines.

Publication #10: Dame

Editor’s Name: Kera Bolinik

Submission Guidelines: Email one’s pitch to editorial@damemagazine.com and include brief detail in the subject line as well as a sentence on what the pitch is about. Include links to a possible website and social media platforms. One must make sure that their pitch is relevant to the material they put out. They want to be “knocked out” in the first few sentences of someone’s pitch. They want to get know the writer and their work.

III. Introduction

For hundreds of years, women’s magazines have been taking the world by storm. They continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the magazine world. Now that it’s the 21^st century, women’s magazines have become more modernized to fit the demographic of women today. Now, there are magazines that focus on the topics of fashion, beauty and lifestyle. As a young female, I do enjoy reading women’s magazines because of the content they put out to their audiences. Recently, these magazines have been including relevant topics to today’s society like politics and current events. For this assignment, I decided to choose Marie Claire for my print publication and Nylon for my online publication. Marie Claire began its journey in France in 1937. In 1994, Hearst Corporation decided to adapt an American version of the publication. It focuses on women who have a point of view and a sense of humor. Nylon started out as a print publication in 1999 and went completely digital in 2017. It focuses on lifestyle content for young women.

IV. Subjects Covered in Publications: Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle, Oh My!

Marie Claire puts out a new issue every month with a different cover star for each issue. The main topics that are covered in each issue include what’s on the cover and what pages the content is on, “first” which is where certain articles are shared or what readers liked about the previous issue and what they could relate to, new beauty trends as well as new fashion trends, and an interview with the featured cover star. When someone first opens the magazine, they are bombarded with fashion, beauty or perfume advertisements. Eventually, they open to the table of contents and a letter from the editor. The first article in the June 2019 issue is one written by Megan Ditrolio. It is about Julie Cordua, CEO of Thorn, which is an organization founded by actors Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher to address the role that technology has in facilitating human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. The article explains how Cordua is trying to combat these issues by using technology to fight back.

The next article is an interview with Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View and she told her story to Colleen McKeegan. The article entails Hostin’s background, how she practiced law, and how she witnessed a crime committed against her uncle. The middle section of the magazine includes the beauty category. This section includes the luxe lip beauty trend, beauty products that match one’s zodiac sign, an interview by Taylore Glynn focused on women from Miami’s art district and what they love about themselves, and the 411 on sunscreen.

The magazine ends with the interview with the cover star. In this issue of Marie Claire, the cover star is actress Charlize Theron. The interview includes photos taken from the photoshoot that was done specifically for the interview. On the photos, one may notice that there is a paragraph of small text that mentions what outfit is on Theron as well as her makeup and the name J. Errico who is the fashion editor. The interview goes through her acting career, her latest film with fellow actor Seth Rogen, her childhood, and her family. The final article in the June 2019 issue is written by Christa Hillstrom. Its title is “The Invisible Victims” and it is about the disappearance of thousands of Native American women and a movement that was started by Native women themselves to find the missing women.

Nylon is an entirely different platform than Marie Claire because it is entirely online. This online publication is like the one in print by that they both cover similar topics such as fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Nylon approaches the topics much differently compared to Marie Claire in the sense that they are trying to reach a younger audience with the content that they share on their website. The style of the publication gives me the sense that it is made for young women.

When first going onto the website, one may see the cover star for the newest issue in which is a link to the interview with them. As one keeps scrolling down, two articles are underneath the cover story. The first article is based on 5 Generation Z actors defining young Hollywood. The authors for this article include Kristen Iversen, Bailey Calfee, Allison Stubblebine, Sesali Bowen, and Taylor Bryant. Each author interviewed one actor out of all 5 separately. The article next to this one is May horoscopes written by Gala Mukumolova. It details the horoscope for each zodiac sign during the month of May. As one keeps scrolling, there is a “what’s new” section which include new articles from all the different sections of the publication. The next sections are fashion, beauty and life is closer towards the bottom.

As for the monthly cover star, the May 2019 issue features actress Kiernan Shipka. The feature includes an interview with the actress and photos from a photoshoot that was done specifically for the interview. When the article loads, there is a moving image or a GIF of Shipka at the very top. The author of the article is Kristen Iversen and the photos were taken by Lindsey Byrnes. The interview goes in depth about the actress’ background, her past acting gigs, her role as Sabrina Spellman on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and her latest project which is a film based on John Green’s book called Let It Snow.

V. Audience of Publications: Unleash Your Feminine Side

After going through the magazine, I would say that Marie Claire targets well-educated women and women who are interested in fashion and beauty, and are between the ages of 20 and 45 who live around the globe. I say that the magazine targets this age range because many of the articles contain mature content or topics that might be too advanced for those younger than 20. The reason why I ended the age range at 45 is because while the content in Marie Claire has a maturity to it, it still has a youthful feel to it. Most of the articles are aimed toward women and some of the articles are based on women. The very first article that I mentioned earlier that is in the June 2019 issue, “Tech vs. The Bad Guys” is about CEO Julie Cordua from the organization, Thorn, and her attempts to use technology to combat child sex abuse. The article focus on one woman who is trying to make a difference in the online world.

Secondary or hidden audiences of this publication could include men in the same age range. There are some articles that can be geared toward the public. The article, “The Invisible Victims” may be about women but the article is full of information that men should know such as the line, “… 85% of Native American women have experienced rape, stalking and beating…” It’s good for men to know that women get hurt and abused like this. Our world would be full of more men who would be more educated on these harsh topics. I still say that Marie Claire is aimed more toward women than men because they focus more on fashion and beauty than politics and current events or just topics that men may not be that intrigued by.

As for me, the celebrities who they have had to cover their magazine tells me a lot about their target audience. Many of their cover stars have been women who are actresses, singers, and models. I feel that women who are between the ages of 20 and 45 will find something in this magazine that they would want to read such as certain article or the interview with the cover star. One major factor with building a target audience for magazines like Marie Claire is who they put on the cover. If it is an actress, singer or model someone is interested in, they will pick up the magazine and read it. They may even find other articles that are fascinating to them.

The advertisements in Marie Claire are out in full force. This is the only downside to the publication. The advertisements range from fashion to beauty advertisements which target women who are intrigued by fashion and beauty trends. Something that stood out to me was the amount of men’s cologne ads which could be target for women who possibly want to buy their significant other a gift. One of the ads have actor Ryan Reynolds in a suit with the jacket open to show the Giorgio Armani logo. One of the ads that is aimed for women is one of a woman, whose face is cut off, holding a large square-shaped purse with the quote, “Bags with a Mission for Women on a Mission” in all capital letters.

Nylon targets young women between the ages of 18 and 30. The reason why I ended at 30 is because the magazine seems to be targeting young women who understand the content that Nylon puts out. This goes along with the way the writers write their articles. They try to focus on reaching those who don’t want to conform to mainstream magazines like Cosmopolitan or Seventeen. The platform is different than mainstream magazines and it’s not just because it’s online, the way they convey the information in the articles they put out is totally different. The articles range from those based on fashion trends and what celebrities are wearing, beauty trends and beauty looks from celebrities, entertainment such as music, movies and television and life-related issues such as anxiety and politics. Specific topics that covered in these articles are “Topshop is Shuttering All Its U.S. Stores” by Bailey Calfee, “This Natural Shaving Cream Makes Me Enjoy Shaving My Legs,” by Jenna Igneri, “Ariana Grande Cancels Tour Dates Due to Unfair Food Allergy” by Bailey Calfee, and “Why Morning Anxiety Has Become Such a Common Problem” by Jill Gutowitz. These are just a few of the articles that one can read. There are many more from where that came from.

The visual layout of the website is full of graphics, moving images, colorful photographs and a few videos here and there. There is something for everyone visually and literally. The first item to pop up on one’s screen is the interview with the cover star for that monthly issue. Below the interview are two featured articles, “Roll Call: Meet the 5 Gen Z Actors Defining Hollywood” by Kristen Iversen, Bailey Calfee, Allison Stubblebine, Sesali Bowen, and Taylor Bryant and “Your May Horoscopes Are Here” by Gala Mukomolova. The first section to pop up is the articles that were recently published on Nylon’s site. The next section is fashion with beauty following underneath. Entertainment is next and life is the last section to appear.

VI. Purpose of Publications: Conforming to a Non-Conformity

As indicated on their website, Marie Claire is “a fashion publication for a woman with a point of view and a sense of humor.” The point of view part of their mission is hiding in the article “Tech vs. The Bad Guys” which can be seen in multiple points of view such as those that are positive, negative or even neutral on the issue. The article is about using technology to stop child sex abuse. The main purpose of the “@work” section in the magazine is to attract working women. An example would be the article in the June 2019 issue titled “The Shocking Reason I Ended Up on TV.” I mentioned this article earlier and it details the background of co-host, Sunny Hostin, from The View. The “@work” section in this issue is short because it only includes the one article and an excerpt on how to relax during the summertime. Readers can expect a few articles based on women for women in each issue as well as the blast of advertisements. Readers can also expect an overview of the content in the issue in the letter from the editor section. The editor-in-chief, Anne Fulenwider, always lets the readers know what they can expect from each issue.

The purpose of Nylon is focusing on telling stories in innovative ways with topics based around beauty, fashion, entertainment, and everything in between. In the “about” section of their website, the first sentence says that they are “one of the world’s leading creators of lifestyle content for young women.” It’s noticeable that the site is trying to reach young women because the topics they cover. Unlike Marie Claire, Nylon approaches the content that they put out differently with the fact that the articles feel less formal as for writing style. Since they cover beauty, fashion and entertainment supposedly for young adults. Readers can expect new articles to be posted every other hour instead receiving one issue every month. Readers can access information in an instant.

VII. Writing Style of Publications: Formal vs. Informal

Marie Claire has an insightful and informative voice. “Tech vs. The Bad Guys” informs readers about Julie Cordua, CEO of Thorn, and her efforts to use technology to fight child sex abuse. The author, Megan Ditrolio, starts out with an introduction to what led to the creation of Thorn so the reader understands what is going on. Ditrolio ends with an inspiring message from Cordua, “horrible things have happened but we are making it better and we’re winning for these kids.” The magazine is also descriptive in what’s popular in fashion and beauty.

For example, “Sunscreen Burnout” which is an article by Kiera Carter is not laid out like a typical article would be. It’s in a question and answer format which can even help the reader connect with the author. One of the questions that Carter answers is “How does sunscreen actually work?” She answers this question in a thoughtful and insightful way to help readers feel confident in the information they are receiving on the topic. Carter mentions the different types of sunscreens and explains the difference between chemical and physical sunscreens. Although, these two articles have different writers, they help establish the voice of the magazine as helpful and enlightening.

The magazine as a whole tries to spread positivity and have their readers learn something new every time. Every article in Marie Claire is distinct in writing style because it depends on the writer who is telling the story. This is what makes the magazine unique because their readers know that this is only place where they will find articles about sunscreen or even fighting against child sex abuse. I noticed how most of the articles are written by women so female readers can relate in that sense being that they are told from a feminine perspective.

Writing for Marie Claire magazine would not entirely change my writing style. I have written essays in the past that had to be informative or persuasive. I also try my best to keep up with any new fashion and beauty trends as well as political news. I believe that I can be either persuasive or informative with my writing which would fit well into the publication’s writing style. Finding topics to write about in this field would be easy since the culture of fashion and beauty is constantly changing on the daily.

Nylon covers a plethora of topics in which the writing style differs on each article. I believe the style is based on the writer. I believe the publication as a whole has a playful yet informative voice. Each writer has a distinct style and tone of voice. The titles of some of the articles are clever and enjoyable. “Excuse Me, But Dr. Martens Can’t Make a Comeback” by Jenna Igneri is full of sarcastic remarks on the once popular pair of shoes. She uses phrases like “UmMmMm, no” and signs off the article with “okay, end rant!” Igneri bases her article around models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. She mentions how Jenner was spotted wearing the shoes and how Hadid was spotted wearing a different style of the shoe. I find the article to be quite witty and light-hearted. Igneri also gives the reader a quick background on Dr. Martens.

Since the online platform aims to reach young women, the writers have to shape their style and tone into one that speaks to that group of women. Nylon isn’t as formal as Marie Claire is since they use slang terms such as “Gen Z” instead of Generation Z or “iconic” to note that something is symbolic or memorable. Words and phrases used in the articles of this publication are used to attract female millennials or Generation Z women because these words and phrases are some that they may use on a daily basis. This could be on social media or in a face-to-face conversation.

Being a young woman from Generation Z would mean that I wouldn’t necessarily have to change my writing style. I am guilty of using many shortcuts and slang words especially on social media. There may be times where I may have to change my writing style which is totally okay because I am always set in my own ways so it would be great for me to step out of my comfort zone. Having the ability to change my tone and style will help to expand my skills as a storyteller and writer.