Contributor Guidelines
flourish!, celebrates, connects, inspires and informs Kansas City’s dynamic, savvy business and professional women. We seek snappy, entertaining, insightful and informative features and department articles addressing issues of health, finance, technology, travel, entertainment, lifestyles, business topics including finance, management and marketing, trends and relationships. A typical submission should include examples, quotes from credible sources, expert opinions and a “More Info” box of additional resources at article’s end. Also, articles should be narrow in focus and relevant to our reader who is typically a busy, strong, independent woman, aged 35-54 and is working toward balancing and building a rich personal life and a rewarding career.

What types of articles do we want?
flourish! magazine accepts manuscripts and queries for features and agendas, explained below.

FEATURES. These are in-depth articles--approximately 1,000 to 2,500 words in length--on a fairly narrow topic. The goal is to provide readers with enough information so they can deal adequately with an issue. Case studies of successful businesses, career strategies, and trends are examples of acceptable feature stories. Successful women profiles are written by the Editor, so we do not need to receive solicitations on that subject. Feel free, however, to suggest a woman whom you think should be featured.

AGENDA. These items are similar to features but are shorter and narrower in focus, with heavy emphasis on providing practical hands-on, how-to information. Agendas are a maximum of 500 words long. Agenda subjects include Finance, Technology, Trends, and Public Policy.

Writers are responsible for fact-checking and are expected to revise manuscripts upon request and attach a list of contacts. A Copyright Release form will accompany all assignments and must be signed and returned. Writers usually are given three to five weeks to complete an assignment. We use The Associated Press Stylebook. Please also consult the Libel Manual before submitting your article.

How to get an assignment
All submitted articles, regardless of type, must be original, unpublished works. When submitting a query, please enclose up to two samples of your work, each containing 500 or fewer words. We prefer that potential authors send us article outlines before they begin writing. This helps us focus potential articles to our specific needs, and avoids repetition and wasted effort.

Outlines should summarize the main points of the article, as well as the evidence, potential sources and subtopics to be covered. Outlines should be submitted via email to editor@flourishmagazine.com (See the end of these guidelines for contact information.) PLEASE NOTE: Submission of more than two samples or those exceeding 500 words must be submitted by e-mail only, to editor@flourishmagazine.com.

How we decide what to publish
Before submitting your idea, consider that we evaluate it based upon the following:

1. Original, cutting-edge information. flourish! magazine does not publish articles that have appeared elsewhere.
2. Relevancy. Articles that will likely appeal to the widest range of our core readers are the most likely to be printed.
3. Provide information from a number of knowledgeable, credible sources. The best stories quote many sources-both subject matter experts and those who perhaps directly deal with that issue or idea (i.e. an article on blogging might quote sources from companies providing the technology along with quotes from business people using the technology).
4. Includes take-away points and subheads. Our readers are very busy, so articles that include descriptive subheads and are accompanied by charts and graphs illustrating the story’s key points are most likely to be published.
5. Does not include promotional writing. We do not accept advertorials. Articles must be unbiased. To be accepted in flourish! magazine, articles must be objective, offer advice that is broadly applicable, provide quotes from multiple experts and include information about competing products or services.