Off Assignment is a literary magazine with a penchant for journeys and a fascination with strangers, looking for writers who travel, poets who wander, essayists with a sense of place, reporters with swollen notebooks, and gourmands with street cart taste.
“We’re not here to guide vacations. We don’t cover spas or centennials. We have a taste for offbeat places. We care about voice and story. We want the writer on the page—sweating, tripping, and telling a tale.”
Sonoma County author Nicole Zimmerman’s “The Nature of Beginnings” was recently published in Under the Gum Tree.
This Sacramento-based, reader supported, quarterly literary arts magazine publishes creative nonfiction and visual art in the form of a micro-magazine.
What does it mean to “tell stories without shame”?
“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.” —Brené Brown
Under the Gum Tree has been championing the mantra of telling stories without shame since 2011. We see our mission as sharing stories that remind readers of our shared humanity. Too much of the human experience gets hidden behind constructed facades based on what we perceive the world expects from us. Stop hiding. Live a story. Tell it without shame.
If you write true stories, also called creative nonfiction, (and literary nonfiction, by some) and you’re taking storytelling to a level beyond “I was twelve years old when my mother died,” then you might be ready to submit to us.
We publish personal essays, memoir, and creative nonfiction stories that:
reveal authentic vulnerability. These are stories that you’re embarrassed or afraid to share because you’re more worried about how people you know will react than what you learned and how it changed you. Those are the most powerful stories because you’re risking something for the sake of helping someone else.
provoke conversation. The stories that are the hardest to tell inevitably make at least one person say, “Wow. Me too. And I thought I was the only one.” The stories that are the hardest to tell give others permission to tell their hard stories, and it perpetuates a cycle of storytelling.
examine a universal truth. Most people keep the hard stories to themselves out of fear—fear of how others will react or judge them—but once a story gets shared, we finally realize how common the human experience really is. Sure, everyone’s individual experience is unique. (Isn’t that what makes a good story?) But we can always relate to things like love, forgiveness, perseverance—you know, the stuff that everyone encounters no matter their circumstances.
We consider submissions (2,000 words or more) for the following departments:
Features: Longer features may explore a department topic or any other unspecified topic.
Stomping Ground: This department is for stories about family—and we use that term liberally, because isn’t the friend you’ve had since you were eight, almost nine, years old, more like a sister?
Sound Track: This department is for stories on interacting with music and how it interacts with us. Is there a specific song, group or artist that has had a significant impact on your life? Have you had a meaningful live-music experience? Are you a musician who also writes about how music affects the human experience?
Fork and Spoon: This department is for stories, and even recipes, on how food, cooking, eating and drinking affect life. The dinner table means different things to each of us—it can be a comfortable place that facilitates intimate communion, but to someone else it might be an awkward place of forced conversation. These food interactions shape us more than we know.
24 Frames A Second: This department is for stories on film, perhaps one of the more powerful storytelling mediums. Is there a specific film that has changed you in some way—caused you to think differently or see the world from a new perspective? Are you consistently moved by the work of one particular actor or director?
Those Who Wander: Tolkien wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Travels are from one neighborhood to another, one state to another, one country to another; on vacation or a pilgrimage, for family or for work, so many of these changes in our physical locations trigger meaningful reactions in us and the way we view the world around us. This department is for stories about travel and the individual ways moving around this globe affects us.
Flash: Every issue includes a flash feature, which is a short-short piece of creative nonfiction, under 1,000 words.
Visual Art: We consider submissions of visual art and photography. Every issue features two artists: a photographer and a visual artist. Art should be recent, no more than 2 years old, and should be previously unpublished in literary magazines or journals.
Under the Gum Tree accepts submissions on an ongoing basis, and all submissions will be considered for one of our quarterly issues. To submit writing, photography or art to be considered for publication, please read and follow the guidelines.
Please don’t email with questions until you have familiarized yourself with these guidelines and the details on this page.
With the submission fee, you receive the current issue (digital—a $7.99 value!) FREE.
Guest Blogger and expert travel writer Michael Shapiro reveals his success with freelance writing.
Every June, Michael Shapiro marks the anniversary of leaving his full-time job at CNET in SF. It’s been 15 years with lots of highs and lows, and he’s never regretted the decision to walk away from the rigidity of full-time work and hang his virtual shingle. Here are some tips that have helped him succeed in the world of freelance writing, especially travel writing.
Making a Living as a Freelance Writer
It’s not just an adventure, it’s a job: Travel writing can be romantic, but recognize it’s a job — don’t start out writing grand epiphanies about your summer vacation. Focus on service (consumer or advice) pieces, such as a story on five little-known museums in New York. You don’t have to be a superb writer to be a competent reporter. By providing service pieces, you can develop relationships with editors that lead to more interesting assignments, including destination stories. A good way to break into magazines is by writing “front-of-the-book” features, which can be as short as a couple of paragraphs.
Stick to a routine: Get up in the morning; take a shower, get dressed (including shoes), have breakfast and go to work. Slippers and a bathrobe don’t cut it. You can tailor your schedule to fit your personality. Be sure to carve out work-free blocks of time. I find it essential to take at least one full day off each week. Part of the attraction of freelancing is flexibility, so I give myself some leeway, for example to spend a couple of weekdays on a river trip or to take an occasional afternoon off.
Accuracy first: Be a thorough and accurate reporter above all else — then strive to be an excellent writer. Clear and concise prose is important because editorial space is tight. You don’t have to write with the lyrical beauty of Pico Iyer to get published. You do, however, need to get the facts right. An editor will hesitate to give you another chance if you make significant errors. Most newspaper travel editors are too busy and don’t have the resources to fact-check, so double-check your facts before submitting. Use online resources to fact-check but be aware that not all info online has been vetted or updated. Confirm by phoning or seeking multiple sources for corroboration.
Find a niche: Develop an area of expertise and work it. Only after choosing Internet travel as a niche was I able to make it as a full-time freelancer. My goal was to get editors to think of me as the Net-travel guy, so when they needed a story on this topic they’d contact me. This opened the door to more literary destinations stories. Because the Washington Post had run my Net-travel pieces, the editor there knew my work and published my Cuba by bike story.
You don’t always have to travel: Not all travel writing involves travel. My SF Examiner story on frequent-flier programs won a Lowell Thomas award, and I didn’t leave the house.
Send tips to editors: Help editors by sending them information or advisories without expecting compensation — keep yourself at the front of their minds — they’re more likely to think of you when they need a story done. Think of it this way: You’re a brand and your own PR agency.
Read editors’ stories: Read everything you can that’s written by prospective editors. When John Flinn became travel editor of the Examiner-Chronicle travel section, I read his work to get a sense of his style and what he might like. I even asked him who his literary heroes are (Tim Cahill and Bill Bryson) and read most of their books. Don’t try to copy another writer’s style — that would be a weak imitation. Be yourself, but tailor your stories to fulfill that editor’s requirements.
Consider new publications: New magazines are generally more open to new writers because they don’t have a stable of regulars. Even if you don’t get in before the first issue, scan the magazine racks for new publications and query them.
Pitch to a specific department: Your odds of success increase if you target a magazine’s regular department. Pitching a story for a department shows you read the publication, especially if you understand the requirements of the department. As a first-time writer for a magazine, don’t expect to land an assignment for a 2500-word feature. Your odds are much better if you try to write a short “front-of-the-book” piece or 750-word story for a department. Finally, pitch to a specific editor, not the editor of the magazine but an associate or deputy editor who’s more likely to read your query.
Consider non-travel magazines: Travel stories appear in more than just travel magazines – you can often place articles in lifestyle and food magazines, to name just two examples. The wider you cast your net, the better your odds.
Know when to pitch: Though this is not etched in stone, I usually pitch to newspaper editors on Thursday afternoons or Friday morning — this is after they’ve put the Sunday section to bed.
Self-syndicate: Major metro newspapers typically pay $250 to $600 (sometimes you can earn more by selling photos) for travel features. It’s nice to get one newspaper to accept your story but before you pop the cork, send it to several newspapers as long as their circulation areas don’t overlap. If you submit a story to the Chronicle, don’t send it to the San Jose Mercury News unless the Chronicle rejects it. Several newspapers, such as the Washington Post, require first national rights. So try to sell to them first and then to newspapers in Dallas, St. Petersburg, etc.
Keep it tight: Editors have always appreciated brevity, but today space is tighter than ever. Try to keep stories under 1,500 words, 2,000 tops. A 750-word story has a much better chance of selling than a 2,500-word piece.
Promote yourself online: Create a website featuring your published work, expertise, photos (if you shoot) and contact info. It’s essential to be able to refer editors to your site and much easier than sending them a sheaf of clips (though some editors may request hard copy). If you don’t have published work, you can publish online to show editors how well you can write. And be active on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to build a community of interested readers. * Please see note from Marlene at end about online publishing.
Join a writers group: At best, a writers group is a supportive community offering honest feedback. Members also share strategies for getting published. But don’t take all criticism as gospel – listen to it, incorporate what feels right, but remember it’s your story.
Consider joining a professional organization: During the first few years I tried making a living as a freelancer I shunned professional groups such as the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW). I figured that all they did was schmooze and booze – I wanted to be roughing it in Guatemala or Cambodia. In 1998 I was invited to lead an SATW workshop during the group’s annual convention in Jerusalem. I found that schmoozing could lead to story assignments.
Define your goals: Do you want to make a living as a freelance travel writer or simply publish a story now and then? Either way, even if you don’t have an assignment, pick a destination, write a story with a narrow focus, and send it out. Be realistic about the time commitment required – you can’t make a living by viewing travel writing as a casual endeavor. Then again, you may not want to make a living; some writers want to keep their day jobs and write an occasional story. That’s probably a wise decision in the current journalistic climate.
Rule of fives: Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, credits the Rule of Fives for his success. His theory is to do five things every day to sell or market your work. Start now and don’t expect instant results. Though it sounds hokey, this type of perseverance can help you succeed and make a living
A final thought: Malcolm Margolin, a naturalist best known for The Ohlone Way said his ideal in his 20s was to be a poet and playwright. Early on he realized his chances for earning a living as a poet were slim, so he turned to natural history books because he thought they would sell reasonably well. Native American history and nature guides were his passion – he wasn’t writing them just to earn a dollar. Margolin, now the publisher of Heyday Books, said that his few attempts to create books for sales potential were flops and that the books he’s passionate about have sold better. Follow your bliss and be willing to sweat — the rewards make it worthwhile.
Michael Shapiro’s article on Jan Morris’s Wales was a cover story for National Geographic Traveler. He also writes for American Way, Mariner, Islands, and The Sun – and contributes to the travel sections of the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. Shapiro is author of A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration and wrote the text for the pictorial book, Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya.
A student at the first Book Passage Travel Writers Conference in 1992 and a 13-time faculty member, Michael has developed a productive freelance career by employing the techniques listed above. He has also worked with writers to develop, polish, and edit stories. He can help writers place articles in top publications.
Contact Michael Shapiro for more information.
*Note from Marlene: A way to publish online is to post your writing on this blog: Post your writing in response to the Prompts. Contact Marlene if you want to be a guest blogger or book reviewer.
mcullen – at – comcast.net
