Dissecting magazines for an author's gain

In a past life, Mr. Obie Joe had a familiarity with magazine journalism. Since many authors crave magazine coverage of their talents and their books, the cane points to a how-to-read a magazine for one's advantage:

-- Flip to the masthead. Write down names of editors of departments relevant to your book, or author platform. Go through the names in both the editorial and art departments.
-- Find names of freelancers, in brief bios close to the masthead, or recognizable in the bylines. Later, you'll google their names for e-mail addresses, which can be easier to find because freelancers usually belong to groups, teach, or have own web sites.
-- Go to the departments. See the writing style -- you'll want to match that in your press release or e-mail pitch.
-- See what trends are more prevalent than others. Does the magazine emphasis fitness as a stress reducer, or a way to look younger? You'll want to match that viewpoint, too.
-- Count the words. Unless you have a remarkable author platform (are you famous, odd, or unique?), chances are your pitch will go for a short article. Count the number of words for the short pieces. About 100 words for the shorts, and 750-1000 for the longer features.
-- Flip through the pages, one by one, and see if there are other parts of the magazine for your pitch. If your book is about health, you could pitch a money story, and you could pitch a feature about a person profiled in your book.
-- Find the creative writing section. These are sections for essays on problems solved in your life, a solution you'd like to pass on, and so forth. While these essays may not promote your book specifically, these do include a short bio at the end stating your name, and the name of your book.
-- Remember, the goal is not for a book review, but for a type of article that extends the promotional reach of your book and author platform.