HOW TO GET STARTED
- If you have a story idea, contact BLADE with it. This can save
you a lot of time and effort if it is a story we have already done
or already have on file.
WHAT WE’RE INTERESTED IN
- Pick up several different issues of BLADE on newsstands
(Books-A-Million and Borders book stores have them) and study them.
This should give you an idea of what we’re after. What we need are
stories that are brand new in scope and content. Knives being used
for unusual purposes, in adventure settings, etc., are always good.
New, state-of-the-art knife designs, steels and other knife
materials and how they are made are good. The knife collections of
celebrities are good. Stories on how to collect knives, what to
collect and why, etc., are good.
WHAT WE DON’T NEED
- We assign profiles, show stories, hammer-in stories, etc. We
don’t need those. If you’ve seen the story on the Internet or in
another knife or knife/gun magazine, we don’t need it. We don’t do
stories on knives used for self-defense. Sorry, but that’s just not
our bag. There’s a place for it but that place is not in
BLADE.
FORMAT
- EXCELLENT, MAGAZINE-QUALITY PICTURES are a must. Stories for
BLADE must not only be newsworthy, educational and informative,
they must entertain–and a key element to entertainment is
outstanding illustrations. - As noted, pictures must be excellent and magazine quality.
Prints, slides and transparencies will work. If digital, the image
must be AT LEAST 300 DPI and AT LEAST 1500X1500 PIXELS, or AT LEAST
72 DPI and AT LEAST 2000X2000 PIXELS. Please do not send cutout
pictures from other magazines, etc. Those are unusable. - Word length varies. Anywhere from 500 words on the short end to
1700 on the long end, though there are exceptions to every rule.
The best standard to go by is “Use as many words as needed to write
the story in a clear, concise and entertaining way, AND NOT ONE
WORD MORE.” - You can email the story, preferably in a Word format, to us or
type it on paper. If typewritten, it should be double-spaced. - PAYMENT: We pay on publication. We pay $150 for shorter
stories, $250 for profiles and $300 for feature stories.
Please query BLADE editor Steve Shackleford, at steve [at] blademag [dot] com.
