blueroomelectronics said:
Dean, any tips on getting an article published in a magazine?
Sorry to interupt, but I might have an idea, although not specific to electronics literature. I'd contact the editor of the magazine, preferably by phone. It's easier to "sell" your article through talking with someone - I wouldn't even bother trying to cold-email an editor. Talk to them first, and ask if you can send along a sample of your work.
The number one rule of sales (and you're selling your article) is not to give up, especially when people say no. You may have lost that customer/editor, so maintain your dignity and move on to the next one. If patterns emerge in reasons for why people are saying no, take those into account and adjust accordingly, but do not give up just because the first or ninth person says they can't make it happen.
Editors don't run magazines, unless you're talking scholarly journals. Ad sales people run the show, because the number of pages in the magazine is dictated by how many ads they can sell, which dictates how much content a magazine can publish in any one issue. I'm just mentioning this to give you some insight into the key factor that effects editor's decisions. It might not be that your content isn't good enough or that it doesn't suit the wishes of the editor. It might just be that the editor has a lot of people submitting articles for publication. It's very rare that a magazine doesn't have enough resources for content. Remember, you're asking the editor to sacrifice money-making ad space to publish your article. Sure, people might buy the magazine specifically to read your article or their favourite regular feature, but what they pay for the magazine is a pittance in comparison to the money coming in from ads. Of course, nobody sees the ads if there's nothing to read in the magazine, but for whatever reason that bit of logic tends to be discounted in the content-decision-making process.
You mean you want an article published that you've written, right? That's better odds than trying to find a writer and editor who'll both take interest in what you've got. Remember, as informative and interesting as your article may be, you're essentially asking for free ad space (of a sort), so be prepared to make a strong case.