Write For Guitar Chalk

The Guitar Chalk magazine's primary function is to provide high-quality content for the guitar and music education community.

If you consider yourself a guitar or music nerd with valuable tips, tricks, learning methods, techniques, or insight into music theory, guitar or bass, you're more than welcome to write for us and add to our online magazine.

Getting started

These guidelines will provide all the information you need to get started with your article.

Please consider and review recent articles on Guitar Chalk as they are your absolute best template to aim for, since they represent the level of quality expected, in order to accept and publish your material.

You should also refer to our publishing policy, in addition to the information provided here.

What your article should accomplish

Sharing actual examples of guitar playing (usually in the form of a tab or audio) and music learning methods are two of the most important aspects of our content. Thus, you article should follow suit by providing readers with the following:

1. New insights and ideas
2. Shared expertise (mistakes, what you've learned, things you wish you had known, etc.)
3. A deeper understanding of the topic you're discussing
   

The more practical and concrete you are in your explanation, the better.

Ambiguity, fluff and broad generalizations should be aggressively avoided in your submission copy.

At the same time, this doesn't mean you shouldn't express your own opinion. You can and should "be you" when you write and carry on a conversational tone but, without filler or paragraphs with no real point or value.

To be more specific, here is a do and don't list for your submission.

Do

• Write in a conversational tone
• Give practical, concrete examples, advise and knowledge gained from personal experience
• Include media, pictures, diagrams and photos
• Use bulleted lists (like this one) and shortened paragraphs for easier consumption
• Proof read your content and send us a reasonably clean copy
• Provide an author bio at the end of your post with a link to your own website
• Cite your sources

Don't

• Drone on about how great something is without telling us why that thing might be great.
• Use vague guitar improvement tips like "try a guitar app" or "try Skype lessons." We'd rather see how YOU used that guitar app to improve your own playing and how it actually worked to help you.
• Write about something you DON'T consider yourself an expert in. For example, maybe you're steeped in pedal mods? Write about that, and avoid topics that you aren't familiar with.
• Make broad generalizations in place of definitive statements. Avoid things like, "XX is probably the most common way to learn guitar in some cases." Be confident and clear in what you're saying. If you can't be, you shouldn't be writing it down.
• Send in copy that's plagued with grammar and spelling errors. A few are unavoidable but, the copy you're submitting should be cleanly proof read.

The Process

We want to publish well-written, thorough and unique content that is pristine and valuable for the long term.

This means that the substance of your writing is vastly more important than the length. Quality far outweighs quantity. However, we typically publish content that is around 2000-3000 words, which, if you follow the above guidelines, shouldn't be a problem.

Good writers do not have trouble writing a lot of words. In fact, after your first draft is done, your challenge should be to REDUCE your copy, and have a lower word count.

Take your time and get it right.

Payment

Editors and contributors can be reimbursed for their submission based on the following criteria:

1. Length of article
2. Structure and cleanliness of copy (spelling, grammar - less editing on our end)
3. Overall quality of the article
4. Agreement established prior to writing

The exact nature of the compensation and requirements on our part are intentionally negotiable, so we can more easily come to an arrangement that benefits everyone involved. So before publishing we make sure that both parties are satisfied with the terms. 

Some Guitar Chalk Metrics

• Monthly pageviews: 200,000 +
• Unique visitors: 180,000 +
• Average time on page (dwell time): 4:10
• Newsletter subscribers: 10,000 +

Good to go? Take the next step

Based in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Guitar Chalk typically works with writers in the surrounding middle regions of the Commonwealth, though we can accept content from anywhere in the world.

If you're interested in writing for us, please use our contact page to get in touch.

We'll review your submission and get back to you quickly.