Her Sports is for smart, active women who use sports and fitness to balance their busy lifestyles and who are looking for more in a magazine than the mainstream health and fitness publications offer. Our readers are strong, independent women who participate in a variety of active sports—including running, triathlon, mountain biking, skiing, surfing, snowboarding, hiking and other popular individual sports, or who are motivated to adopt an active lifestyle and are looking to Her Sports for the encouragement to get them out the door.

Please keep in mind that Her Sports publishes only six issues a year. This means we must be selective in choosing stories that fit our readership best. To ensure your queries have the best chance of being accepted, please familiarize yourself with the departments of the magazine as well as the types of stories we publish.

Sample issues can be purchased on our online store or by calling (727) 502-9202.

Following are guidelines to assist you in sending successful submissions our way:

Tone and Style

Features:
- Profiles
- Training Articles

Departments:
- Body & Mind
- Fit Foods
- Weekend Warrior
- Her Gear
- Discoveries
- Her Story

Submission Requirements

Payment

Photography

Tone and Style
All accepted Her Sports articles are well-researched and well-crafted and appeal to intelligent, active women. The voice of Her Sports is one that is intelligent and lively, while also motivational to women athletes of all ability levels and ages. Please keep in mind that creating a "motivational" tone can be tricky. Stories should encourage women to lead active sports lifestyles through compelling language and stories that avoid clichéd approaches to writing.

Features
Her Sports features generally fall within one of two distinct categories: profiles and training articles. Generally, feature stories range from 1,200 to 2,000 words and should include relevant sidebars that will be described in detail by the editor upon acceptance.

• Profiles
Her Sports publishes stories on professional athletes who will inspire the "average Jane" athlete to continue her active lifestyle and test herself further. Profiles should always have an interesting hook, and the subjects should not fit into a mold that's too typical. In general, professional athletes should have an element of depth to them beyond just excelling at their sport. We also profile amateur athletes who have fascinating lives or careers, as well as active women who are making a difference in their communities or elsewhere. Above all, we're looking for women who manage to lead exciting, active lifestyles in the face of many other commitments.

Typical word length: 1,100 to 1,500 words

• Training articles
Training articles should always be written by experts in a given field, i.e., a certified instructor or coach. Unless otherwise stated by the editor, articles should include workout ranges for a variety of ability levels. For instance, if you are pitching an article on "How to PR in Your Next 10k" include ranges for the beginner runner as well as the runner looking to improve her fastest time. Training articles should include a persuasive introduction that will hook readers into wanting to follow the plan, as well as a detailed description of how each week of the plan will unfold. Appropriate sidebars will be assigned by the editor.

Typical word length: 1,400 to 2,000 words including training plans

DEPARTMENTS
Body + Mind
Her Sports recognizes that being fit goes far beyond working out. Body + Mind stories include more holistic approaches to well-being, including new information on yoga, Pilates, meditation, massage, sports psychology and general wellness. These articles are generally 800 to 1,200 words and should be written by experts in the related field, i.e., certified instructors or degreed professionals.

Typical word length: 800 to 1,200 words

Fit Foods
The latest research and information on nutrition as it relates to athletic performance and overall health can be found in our Fit Foods section. In general, stories are written by registered dietitians. Articles should be backed by scientific research. Her Sports does not advocate "fad diets" or weight loss trends. Sample article themes include eating for greater energy, dispelling nutrition myths, good fats vs. bad fats and the top protein sources for women.

Typical word length: 800 to 1,200 words

Weekend Warrior
Weekend Warrior stories are brief introductions to individual sports, and include useful, "insider" tips to help women quickly get started in a new sport. They're geared toward women with limited time during the week, and who fit in their sporting moments where they can. Straightforward and practical stories such as "10 Tips for Kayaking" or "Mastering Your First Snowboarding Lesson" are appropriate here. Gear sidebars may also be assigned for this section.

Typical word length: 1,000 to 1,200 words

Her Gear
The Her Gear section highlights the latest trends in gear and apparel for active women. Contributors to this section must have experience in product review writing and/or be an expert in the related product field, i.e., former product designer for running shoes or active apparel.

Typical word length: 800 to 1,200 words

Discoveries
We're looking for vivid, fact-filled, intelligent writing on active destinations in North America and beyond. In most all cases we work with only experienced travel writers for this section to write on any destination that would make for a great weekend getaway or active vacation.

Typical word length: 1,200 to 1,700 words

Her Story
While we highlight compelling women throughout the pages of Her Sports, Her Story is reserved for our back page, and includes a one-page story on athletes who are colorful, unique, inspiring or who remain active in the face of challenges or unusually busy lifestyles (remember, just because someone has three kids and still manages to exercise regularly doesn't mean her story is unique). We are inherently choosy about the women we feature in this section—they should be the exception, not the rule.

Typical word length: 600 to 650 words

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Query letters via e-mail are preferred, although completed manuscripts will occasionally be accepted if they are in keeping with the magazine's tone, style and overall philosophy.

Send queries to:
editorial@hersports.com

Submissions should adhere to standard AP Style and should be sent in a Microsoft Word e-mail attachment. Due to the large number of queries we receive, please realize it may take up to six weeks to receive a reply to your query, depending on when in our production cycle it's received. Lead time for submissions is four months minimum, and six months is required for seasonal material.

Payment
Payment will be determined on a per-article basis based on the research requirements and story length, as well as the proven experience of the contributor. Her Sports buys all North American serial rights, and payment is made on publication. General fees range from $150 to $450.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Her Sports uses a variety of both stock and original photographic material. In general, we are always seeking dynamic stock images of women engaged in the sports we cover. If you have images you'd like to share with us, please e-mail a low-res image to:

Kristin Mayer, Creative Director
kristin@hersports.com

If you have slide transparencies without the ability to scan a digital version, please e-mail the creative director prior to sending them for consideration.

Additionally, each issue the creative director generates an e-mail detailing stock needs for that issue. If you feel your work fits these needs, please send a note to the e-mail address above. If your work meets our standards you will be included on the monthly call for images.

In most cases, Her Sports photography will be taken by proven professionals. We accept both slide transparencies and high-resolution (300 dpi or higher) digital images.

Our pay rates for photography vary based on how the photograph is used, and at what size:

General Photo Payment Guidelines
Cover images: $500 to $800
Photo used inside the magazine: $100 to 400 (depending on size and placement)
Day Rate Assignment: $500

PUBLISHING FREQUENCY
Her Sports is published six times annually