Why You Should Write For Us

For one thing, we're a paying market.  

You, as a writer, probably don't want to hear platitudes about the site being a "labor of love" and how difficult it is to earn much from advertising revenue.  It's true, though.  The good news is that the site is growing in popularity every month.  Gardening is an extremely popular hobby, and even people who live in apartments can garden indoors.  

We've been averaging 3,750 visitors per month.  That may not seem like much, but when you consider that our visitors are all houseplant hobbyists of some sort, drawn in by their own volition rather than being sent here by a mistaken click on a pop-up ad or e-mail spam, it's not bad at all.  

Many websites that solicit writers offer the promise of "exposure."  Your work, and your byline, will be seen here, but we'd never imply that such "exposure" would be enough compensation on its own.  That said, if you have a book to promote, or a business to advertise, we'd be more than happy to include that information with your article.  

What We Need

We purchase one or two articles each month, when we receive appropriate material.  Please look over the site carefully to find out the sort of material we use, and to see what we've used in the past.  We receive too many submissions that cover topics we don't, or that we've already published.  Currently, our needs include the following:

Featured Plant - includes background and care information.

Techniques - a how-to article regarding houseplant care, a creative idea for gardening indoors or decorating with plants, etc.

Feature Article - this could be a craft project, a review of your local conservatory, or even an essay about your experiences.  Though the topic is open, it must always have a positive slant and be accurate whenever specific information is given regarding care or species.

We may also include product reviews, web site reviews, and fillers (short tips and anecdotes, less than 100 words).  If you have a suggestion for something we haven't mentioned, we'd be happy to consider it.

Pay:

$15 for original articles.  We purchase one-time rights and require 30 days' exclusivity for both electronic and print publications.  All articles will be archived indefinitely, unless specifically requested otherwise.  You retain copyright and are free to sell the articles elsewhere after 30 days have passed.

$5 for reprints.  You must include information about where the article originally appeared.

For other types of material, pay is negotiable.

Payment will be via Paypal or by check, at the writer's request.

How To Submit:

QUERY.  Don't waste your valuable time by writing an article for IJ unless we ask you to do so.  

If we like the idea, we'll invite you to write and submit it on spec, which means that we can't guarantee that we'll buy it.  Don't be alarmed - we'll try to work with you until it's ready for publication on the site.  We want your content, but it has to be well written.

Submit queries and reprints to Pamela Kock at pkock@indoorjungle.net .  In the subject line, include the letters "IJ" to ensure it won't be overlooked.

Response time varies, but you can expect a reply within a month.  Feel free to follow up.