Magazine Freelancing as a Business Enterprise: A Market Systems Approach.

Conflicting information has made it necessary to examine the key factors involved in submitting magazine nonfiction for publication in order to provide better insight into the mechanics of magazine acceptance. A preliminary study tested the applicability of the market systems approach from the perspective of the magazine editor. Subjects, 28 editors of major United States magazines, were interviewed and their remarks were coded by content analysis. Thirty trade books on freelance writing were also examined. Findings suggest that (1) existing information on magazine freelancing is unreliable; (2) magazine freelancing is best viewed as a business enterprise; and (3) an appropriate and complete approach to investigations of freelancing is one derived from business research, the market systems approach. (Seven tables of data are included, and 38 references are appended.) (MS)