Reader's Digest Magazine, Canadian Edition

Writer's Guidelines

If you are interested in writing for Reader's Digest, then we are interested in you. We are an eager, even hungry, market for top-notch Canadian stories, but a demanding one, sometimes difficult to break into. This page is intended to explain our needs and procedures and to answer some of the questions and explore some of the problems that crop up from time to time. We cannot respond to unsolicited manuscripts; we will only contact you if we're interested in your story.

What makes a Reader's Digest story, and why? First, most Digest stories should be of lasting interest - as gripping and satisfying to read a year or more from now as today. A Digest piece should appeal directly to a large number of readers; we leave the special interest articles to more specialized magazines. And it should reward the reader in some way - either emotionally, by sharing a powerful story, or with useful, practical information, or by bringing an urgent national issue into clear focus and making recommendations for solutions.

Beyond these primary criteria are other requirements. Are there enough events in the story, and enough vivid anecdotes, to maintain a tight, fast-paced narrative for 2000 or 3000 words? (Sometimes stories of dramatic events are suggested to us in which the action is over in the first paragraph - for instance, an individual is hit by lightning and survives.) Another question we ask: Does the protagonist win by his or her own efforts? Or merely by luck, which is a shaky foundation for a story?

In our profiles, we look for people with a track record of achievement, whose lives are rich in anecdote.

If you propose an idea in which we are interested, we will list it here as an "author's interest," in effect a prior claim to the story. Bear in mind, though, that Reader's Digest may not consider the claim exclusive in all circumstances - particularly if the subject area is a broad one, in the public domain, or if another writer is in a markedly better position to pursue it, or if you don't follow up with an outline within a reasonable time.

Your outline should be a brief version of your story, opening with the lead you might use in your real story, developing the story line you propose to follow, and giving us a taste of the kind of detail and anecdote that will bring the story alive. A couple of pages might do for a relatively self-evident subject, while you might need three or four pages for a complex issue, or one unfamiliar to us. Don't be diffident; give us a hard sell.

One of our editors will reply and, if you are new to us, that person will probably become your "sponsoring editor" who will work with you from then on. The reply will confirm an assignment if your proposal is accepted, cite the fee and deadline (if necessary), and add any suggestions we might have on how the story can be more sharply focused, or comments on areas that seem to us worth extra attention.

Don't expect to hear from us instantly, since we usually have staff consultations on story proposals, and that takes time.

If the idea comes from us, then we owe you an outline, explaining how we see the focus and shape of the story. If our briefing letter is not clear or complete enough, or if you disagree with our suggestions, speak up! No one has ever lost or ever will lose points with us for engaging in stimulating journalistic debate and making us think again. It is far better to have any disagreements ironed out, or murky ideas clarified, before the reporting and writing have been done.

What about expenses? We pay all reasonable expenses, but we need receipts for everything, including taxis. And if your story is going to require a trip to another city, please check with your editor first.

There are many ways of beginning a Reader's Digest story, as you'll see in any issue of the magazine. We admit, though, to a slight preference, in most kinds of stories, for the example or anecdotal lead, unless a better kind of lead suggests itself. However you begin, you need an early, clear statement of your theme, which in effect tells the readers why they should read on. Plan your story. If it is an issue piece, for instance, plan it around the most important points you wish to make; if it is a dramatic narrative, plan it around the emotional or dramatic high points. Build up those high points with generous use of detail. That way, you can give your story texture, create "peaks and valleys," and bring it to a powerful climax.

Someone once described a Reader's Digest story as a series of anecdotes strung together with transitions. That's hyperbole, of course, but it does underscore the importance we accord to anecdotes - to illustrate a point or illuminate an idea, and generally to involve the readers and hold their attention.

One don't. Don't make the common error of assuming your readers are familiar with your topic; most are not. Do add that extra explanatory detail for the reader who lives at the other end of the country. Do organize your story so that everything you wish to say about one aspect - for instance, your hero's biography - is all in one place. Do keep proper sequence in mind, whether in the chronology of your hero's life or the relation between events, or simply in terms of putting action before reaction.

Sometimes, to protect the privacy of persons you write about, it is necessary to change names. But occasionally our research department has run into - and we have deleted - cases where a writer has extended this idea and written about "typical" cases that supposedly represent hundreds of people or situations where "it could have happened." Our rule is that there must be real, checkable persons behind each case. That check can sometimes be made with a secondary source, such as a doctor who must protect a patient's privacy. Our researchers will accept a doctor's assurance that he is citing a real case, rather than inventing a case typical of many he has seen.

You've written your story and you send it in. Your editor will now route your manuscript to at least two colleagues for their detailed comments before getting back to you with our collective judgement.

Don't be surprised if we ask for revisions; very few stories cannot be improved upon. Here again, of course, is an opportunity for you to debate our points or suggest further considerations before you make revisions and send your manuscript in again.

On most stories, we like to have about 3500 words, which we cut back to 2500, or about five Reader's Digest pages. Why do we work that way? Even the best of writers let some unnecessary verbiage or digressions slip by, and we like to think that every word in the Digest is there for a reason of substance or style. A second reason is that we want you to cover all bases of a story without a worry about length and if any particular section or anecdote doesn't work, we shall still have enough to put the story through without coming back to you for more material.

After your story is edited, you will receive a copy of our cut. Once again, if you have any quarrels with what we have done, speak up. We'll listen attentively.

You are still not through, for once your story is scheduled for publication, the checking begins. Our researchers check every fact in your story and go back to your sources and verify every quote. (Our regular writers find it a great door-opener and confidence-builder to be able to assure sources that anything we use from them will be checked with them.)

At this point, a source list, which you should send along with your manuscript, is essential; it should include names, addresses, precise titles and phone numbers, or in the case of written sources, titles, authors and date of publication. Usually the researchers find cause to recommend some changes, and every experienced Reader's Digest writer and editor has had reason to be grateful to them for catching errors.

Although, as previously mentioned, we do send you a copy of the condensation, there may be last-minute cuts for space, or minor changes in the proofs, that we cannot check back with you, simply because of the accelerating pace of the production process on every month's issue of the magazine.

By then, if you are like most writers, you are glad to see the last of the article until it appears in print. By then, too, it will have that ring of authority, clarity of expression and accuracy which we (and, we hope, you) think are hallmarks of a Reader's Digest story.