Article Submission Guidelines

Earn Up To $350 For An Article Appearing in the Peak-of-Flight Newsletter

Peak-of-Flight Writers Guidelines

I would like to thank you for your interest in writing an article for the Peak-of-Flight Newsletter. I really do appreciate it, as I would like to free up some of my own time to devote to other projects.

 I'm looking for well-written articles that can be used in the newsletter. The "feature" article is usually the big one, and I like it to fill up at least 6 or 7 pages. That gives my readers a lot of meat-and-potatoes to digest. The word count is generally in the area of 3000. I like to have illustrations and photos to go with that too, as it keeps the article more interesting.

If there is room, I also like to put one or two shorter articles in the newsletter. For lack of a better term, I'll call them "spotlight articles." These are simpler and typically need to be in the 500 word count length. Again, photos, charts, tables and diagrams are welcome and encouraged.

What Kind of Articles?

The Peak-of-Flight Newsletter is unique to readers. Most people are smart and know that I use it to advertise for Apogee Components. And they allow that. But I can only do that as long as the articles have some direct value to the reader. They want to know new things that will make them a better modeler, a better teacher, or to save them both time and money.

Think "Education"!

Most of the submissions authors send to me are about their "projects." For example, they might be about 'how I built a two-stage rocket.' The thing that I don't like about these type of articles is that they show ONLY ONE WAY of solving a problem. That doesn't teach the readers, because they can't make comparisons between two or more solutions. Therefore, I reject these types of "project articles." 

An educational article is a "how-to" article that shows multiple ways to do something. That gives the reader choices, depending on the situation that they are in. For example, if they have power tools, they might approach the problem from a completely different way than if they had only rudimentary hand tools.

No Launch Reports Either...

Also, I don't like to put in articles like "launch reports." They are nice to read, but if you don't learn anything new from them, then they can get boring pretty quick... Example: "Bob flew a nice blue rocket on a H120 motor for his certification flight." To be honest, I don't want those kinds of submissions because I won't print them.

Here are some of the more common articles that I reject all the time:

• How to get a L1 Cert
• How to get an L2 or L3 Cert
• Building Cheap rockets
• How to 3D print parts
• Building Low Cost Launch Equipment (pads and controllers)
• Getting Back Into Rocketry After a Long Hiatus
• How to Build a Rocket Kit

Remember, I like articles that teach something new. Titles that start with the words "How To" are exactly the kind of things that my readers want. They'll even archive those articles in their own personal libraries. And because of that, I'll pay a premium to get them. How To articles that are a minimum of 3000 words, and include at least four pictures are worth $350.00.  Articles less than 3000 are pro-rated per word.

If the feature article is shorter than that, or if I have to provide all the photos, then I'd pro-rate the payment for the article. It is really on a case-by-case basis; depending on how much work I'd have to do, such as generating additional text or graphics for it.

The Spotlight articles, since they are much shorter, are worth $100 if they exceed 500 words and include graphics. Again, the rate would be pro-rated if they are shorter than that, or if I have to massage them with additional text or graphics.

I don't have a list of articles or topics that I want. That is one reason I pay so much for articles. Coming up with an idea for an article is actually the hardest part for me.

Looking for Inspiration for a Topic?

Here is a post I found on LinkedIn that might help you generate a topic idea. The author Shlomo Genchin gives this graphic to the right that you may find helpful for content ideas.

What's in it for Apogee Components?

As you know, I don't charge anyone for my newsletter. Anyone can sign up for free. So I don't make any money on it, except for the sales it generates because people read an article and it entices them to purchase something from Apogee. In actuality that is pretty rare. When I've had special sales in the past to try to track that sort of thing, I'd maybe get 4 or 5 orders. That's pretty pathetic if you think about it. Especially when you consider that there are over 18,000 subscribers that receive the newsletter (as of December 2009). The dirty secret is that magazines and newsletters don't generate revenue, which is why Extreme Rocketry and Launch Magazine are now history.

I'm willing to pay for articles because it frees up my time to do other projects. I'd love to have more time, and I'm willing to pay for it. The $350 is a good estimate on how long it takes to generate a 3000 word article at a rate of $50 per hour. It usually takes me 6 hours of work (after I come up with the topic idea). That is about average, while some articles take longer, and some a little shorter.

The reason I still do a newsletter even though it loses me money in the short term, is that I consider it an investment in future sales. The articles will stay in my archives for years, and eventually it will pay me back for the time it took to generate them.

What Should You Do Next?

If the terms of this letter are acceptable to you, then I'd love to have your help. There isn't a limit to the number of articles I'll take. It just may be that I won't use them for some time. By the way, payment is made after the article goes out to my web site. I pay by check, or you can have a merchandise credit if you want to exchange for rockets.

The next step for you would be to send me an email with a proposed article idea or topic. I'd like to know in advance what is coming in the pipeline, and to offer suggestions that might make it more appealing to my readers. Just email me right now.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you submit the article to other publications? Yes. But I get first dibs. I don't want to reprint articles that people have already read somewhere else. But after I've published and paid for them, you can submit them to other publications. The only thing that I ask is that you then include a statement like: "Reprinted with permission from Apogee Components' Peak-of-Flight Newsletter (www.ApogeeRockets.com)."

2. How else might Apogee Components use the article? If I think it is really good, I may use it in a future product, like a book. Most of the information in my book "Model Rocket Design and Construction" has first appeared in the newsletter. And I'm always looking for ways to expand it into a future edition. I may take your article and reprint it at some future date. I'll be sure to give you a credit in the book, but there will not be any other compensation.

3. What is the submission format? For the text, a simple text document, like MS Word is fine. It doesn't need to be formatted. If you save it as simple text, that is just fine and I'll know I'll be able to open it. For graphics, I can open just about anything you can send. Photographs can be in jpg format.

4. Can I use A.I. (like OpenAI or other LLM) to write the article for me? No. Not unless you want your check to be sent to the A.I. Our readers are totally able to ask A.I. assistants to give them information on a topic. But A.I. doesn't create new information, it only rewrites information already found on the internet. We want to be the place where the A.I. gets its information. So write the article yourself. 

Now What?

Email me when you have you're idea for the article you wish to submit. Either I'll like it, or I won't. If I like it, I'll tell you, and you can get started on writing it. If I don't like it, I'll try to let you know that, so that you can either write about something else, or submit it to some other magazine.

Thanks!

Tim Van Milligan