# I got published !



## oldmanmirage (Jan 8, 2022)

Hey, I wrote a sailing story and it got published ! Lol, it's my first so it's kind of a big deal to me. I have the tune "Cover of the Rolling Stone" playing in my head.  

Anyway, it's in the latest issue of Latitudes and Attitudes, which has been around for a long time. You can read the online version free. Home - Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine (latsatts.com) 

My story is Delivery Deja Vu


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

Cool. Congrats. What do they pay?


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## VIEXILE (Jan 10, 2001)

$100.00 last I knew. But that was 15 years ago. Could've gone up. But that doesn't take anything away from the feeling of publication.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Congrats!! 
I'm out of internet range so can't read it. But really fantastic! 😍 

Send them another, 😊


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## oldmanmirage (Jan 8, 2022)

Yeah, funny but I don't know what they pay either ! But what the heck, it's something and it'll go to the boat kitty. I do plan to try and write a series if articles about our re-fit of our boat, we'll see how it goes. Thanks !


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

Good for you!


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## shoffman57 (Jan 21, 2013)

Congratulations!! It's a great feeling getting published.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

I don't mean to put a damper on your achievement, but $100 is ridiculously low for this kind of work. Even if you don't plan to make writing a serious part of your activities, you should consider pushing for higher rates. You're worth it.

I speak as a long-time magazine writer.


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

ah yes ............................. the current


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## mstern (May 26, 2002)

MikeOReilly said:


> I don't mean to put a damper on your achievement, but $100 is ridiculously low for this kind of work. Even if you don't plan to make writing a serious part of your activities, you should consider pushing for higher rates. You're worth it.
> 
> I speak as a long-time magazine writer.


What is a fair rate for that kind of work?

Given that most of the content in Lats and Atts is from subscribers and non-professional writers, it may be an exception to the general level of compensation.


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## oldmanmirage (Jan 8, 2022)

I don't think even Sail magazine pays more than $500 for a featured story, unless you happen to be somebody. If you're known in the sailing world, say like Tania Aebi who writes a regular article in L&A you probably get more. But I'm truly a completely unknown. even so, I'm still tickled about it.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

The pay on one's first achievement has nothing to do with it. It takes years and hundreds of articles before a writer is honed enough to make them really worthwhile to the industry. It's like expecting to be paid for going to school. 

But the first one published is a wonderful achievement. Magazines are inundated with submissions so to cut through and have something readable is excellent! 

But writers write, so, congratulations wheres the next one? 


Mark


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## VIEXILE (Jan 10, 2001)

How do you think Goodlander started? I remember him sitting in the cockpit at Independent Boatyard clacking away on a typewriter while Carolyn worked on the old Hughes, grinding bottom paint off and fairing away next to my boat and the ongoing "clack clack clack." I said ". . . hey, Fatman, I gotta get one of those!" He says ". . . a typewriter?" I says, noooo . . . a wife that will do all the boat work while I F off! Now I see he did an NPR interview and etc., etc. Good for them!


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

mstern said:


> What is a fair rate for that kind of work?
> 
> Given that most of the content in Lats and Atts is from subscribers and non-professional writers, it may be an exception to the general level of compensation.


Like all professionals, writers value their time and price accordingly. _At minimum_, I'd be looking for $300, plus a per-photo fee. But it also depends on what rights were sold, or licensed. 

I assume this magazine is a standard commercial for-profit venture. They make their money by selling access to writers' works. Writers should not be expected to subsidize someone else's business.


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## TimBordelon (10 mo ago)

happy for you! I think these are quite normal conditions! everyone offers what he wants, and it's up to you to agree or not


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## justified (Jun 14, 2007)

Congratulations on your first published article. It was a very nice fun read. Keep writing.


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## peikenberry (Apr 26, 2000)

Congratulations: Good article. It was very enjoyable reading. I look forward to seeing many more. Just a little advice. I was asked to write an article for Pacific Yachting in 2008. It was a technical article on fuel tanks. It was about 1000 words and I took all the photos they used. They paid me $600.00 bucks for it. So as some have said $100 is a little low, but perhaps they will let you work up to that.

Also ask for their Editorial Guidelines. Magazines usually have a set of rules for articles and these are their guidelines. They may not specify what they pay, but some do. Some pay by the word, others specify a length and a flat fee.

I suspect you will do better than I did. Shortly after my article was published in January 2009, Pacific Yachting was sold and there was a big shake up and a new editorial staff. The editor I was working with left So much for my writing career! LOL.


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## 22catcapri (Feb 21, 2017)

oldmanmirage said:


> Hey, I wrote a sailing story and it got published ! Lol, it's my first so it's kind of a big deal to me. I have the tune "Cover of the Rolling Stone" playing in my head.
> 
> Anyway, it's in the latest issue of Latitudes and Attitudes, which has been around for a long time. You can read the online version free. Home - Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine (latsatts.com)
> 
> ...


Congratulations!


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## FTLSailor (Jun 19, 2020)

oldmanmirage said:


> Hey, I wrote a sailing story and it got published ! Lol, it's my first so it's kind of a big deal to me. I have the tune "Cover of the Rolling Stone" playing in my head.
> 
> Anyway, it's in the latest issue of Latitudes and Attitudes, which has been around for a long time. You can read the online version free. Home - Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine (latsatts.com)
> 
> ...


Congrats! Fantastic! I'm gonna go and read it!


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## redgar (8 mo ago)

Nice Déjà Vu story! Plus I've been enjoying your YouTube stories. How are you doing on the 30,000 miles under the keel? I wondered if you got a better deal on the Cape Dory 28 after the previous owner ran into the piling and dock on your sea trial...  Great attitude about it all. "Excuse me, I'm coming through..."


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## oldmanmirage (Jan 8, 2022)

Thanks ! Lol, man I'd forgotten about that 30,000 miles comment, that seems a long time ago. And the "docking incident" absolutely got me a better price ! I really did like the Cape Dory but I think overall the Endeavour is going to work out better. At least she's big enough that my wife wants to come along for some of the cruising. At least to the Keys and the Bahamas she says. Crossing an ocean does not appeal to her, but who knows maybe she'll change her mind after we make a few shorter hops...


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

Wonderful to have your work published. A pity that authors are not paid more. Perhaps the economics of the magazine industry fosters this sort of "exploitation". I believe people who "self publish" such as youtube channels can make very good money. I think it works by having ads and counting number of clicks/visits to the page. People are doing YTs about every topic under the sun.... and people out there on the www are tuning into YTs as a replacement for TV.. cable and so on.
I do watch things like CNN, MSNC for world news..... but never (extremely rarely) any produced TV or cable shows... I think we watched some interior design shows... or fixer uppers like Chip&Joanna Gains. And Below Decks which is a waste of time Doesn't interest me, but the wife like this sort of thing. And travel and food shows... not totally uninteresting.
Long story short actual writing an article is not paying what it should... consumers want to watch not read.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

SanderO said:


> Wonderful to have your work published. A pity that authors are not paid more. Perhaps the economics of the magazine industry fosters this sort of "exploitation". I believe people who "self publish" such as youtube channels can make very good money. I think it works by having ads and counting number of clicks/visits to the page. People are doing YTs about every topic under the sun.... and people out there on the www are tuning into YTs as a replacement for TV.. cable and so on.
> I do watch things like CNN, MSNC for world news..... but never (extremely rarely) any produced TV or cable shows... I think we watched some interior design shows... or fixer uppers like Chip&Joanna Gains. And Below Decks which is a waste of time Doesn't interest me, but the wife like this sort of thing. And travel and food shows... not totally uninteresting.
> Long story short actual writing an article is not paying what it should... consumers want to watch not read.


I've been a full-time freelance writer and journalist since 1990. The business has changed dramatically with the coming of the Internet, and especially the WWW. I could write a book on the subject, but in short, publishers are demanding more work and more rights from writers, and are paying less and less. 

For the first 20 or so years of my career one could make an acceptable living writing for magazines and newspapers, and then later websites and other info sites. But slowly this began to change as publishers decided they could take more and more, and pay less and less. 

Today, it's virtually impossible to make any real money from periodical writing (including online). And the same model seems to apply to utuber-type work. The economics of it mean the owner (Google) extracts most of the value, leaving very little for the actual creators. Very few tuber creators make any real money.


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## oldmanmirage (Jan 8, 2022)

For anyone interested, I did get the check over the weekend, it was $250. As Mike says, it's definitely not something that would support a cruising lifestyle. I do think there are well known writer/sailors who probably are paid quite a bit more. And there's always the possibility of a book. But for sure, it's a lot of work for not much money.

Also, for what it's worth I spend more time trying to write something than I do when editing one of my Youtube videos. That doesn't include the filming, but I would do that anyway. I've been finding that it is really helping me remember my projects and adventures much better.


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