Write for Buddhism Magazine. A not for profit venture.

We are interested in publishing anything that enlightens, discusses, and explores life as a contemporary Buddhist practitioner.

Benefits

There are many benefits to writing, including (but not limited to):

Understanding – It is often said that if you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others. Putting your thoughts together logically is a great way to fully understand a topic. Writing a piece for publication can be a great encouragement to research and answer a question you have. Comments and responses from readers can also help with your understanding.

Income – We may be non-profit, but we want our writers to profit from their writing! Besides the publicity value for your enterprises (see below), you can link to an Amazon wish list, book, ’store’ or product, if you would like to earn affiliate income from your writing (you keep 100%). Regular writers are invited to add affiliate links to our regular round-ups of recommended products, books and services.

Publicity – Your writing can gain interest for a particular teacher or center, a book, exhibition, festival or something else you are involved in. And of course, submitting guest articles are the number one way to provide audiences for to your own blog or website. The same approach can be used to provide valuable publicity for worthy Buddhist centers, stores, or charitable cause you might wish to support.

Professional Advancement – More and more people are making a living as professional writers, online and offline. Published writers can add ‘Writer, Buddhism Magazine’ on their CVs and applications. You can also use it to link to quality posts you have submitted.

Community – Buddhists can live isolated lives from each other, and it can be difficult to get to your Buddhist center as often as you would like. Contributing to an online dharma community can extend your Buddhist practice into your everyday life.

Books! – The most commented on and linked to articles will receive one of our favorite dharma books.

Guidelines

Some guidelines for writing for Buddhism Magazine. Whilst all published articles will fulfill the following guidelines, we hope they are helpful tips for any writer. Feel free to copy and paste these headings into your draft if it is useful.

Title

Please include a catchy title with your piece, that is descriptive of the content, as well as invites readers into your piece. Read this article for more tips. Questions (Are You Making these Four Common Buddhist Errors?) or lists (The Top 10 Buddhist Teachings That Everyone Should Know) are particularly engaging for readers. We may change your title to maximize your article’s usefulness and readability.

Content

Keep in mind our focus, which is the current development of new, Western approaches to Buddhism, and thinking about how to integrate traditional Buddhist teachings and practices into our busy Western lives.

Type of Articles

Brainstorm different types of writing you might unknowingly be good at! We accept reviews (of exhibitions, books, retreats, courses or centers). We publish scholarly articles, news (even gossip), interviews (a favorite), and lists of resources (also useful). Humor, Obituaries, or How-to articles are also welcome. Travel writing and advice on traveling to Buddhist areas of interest is also encouraged.

As well as writing, artists have submitted their artwork (drawings, paintings, or cartoons) that we use to illustrate other stories. Video submissions (via a YouTube link) are also welcome (provide a written introduction). Or you may have an idea that falls outside of these categories!

Introduction

Please also include a brief introduction about yourself as the author – a little about you. Or, if you are writing on behalf of a Buddhist Center, give a brief introduction to its history or focus (two lines).

Jargon and Buddhist Terms

You should aim your articles to the level of reading of an intelligent, already practicing Buddhist, at a beginner level. More advanced discussions are of course welcome, but make sure to explain your terms or ideas used, to bring all audiences along with you.

Articles that introduce a particular tradition, teacher, or center to different Buddhist communities are welcome, as are ‘refresher’ articles on already familiar teachings. However, feel free to also explore more advanced topics, whilst following the above approach of readability.

Text Endings

It is polite, useful and enlightening to others to end your piece with a question, inviting further comments from the Sangha. Even a simple ‘Have you any thoughts about this?’ or ‘What do you think?’ will encourage others to respond and add to your discussion.

Word Limit

There is no word limit. We are fortunate in being able to publish any article, long or short. As with all good writing, take care not use an unnecessary amount of words to explain a particular point or topic.

Editing

We are a small organization run by volunteers, and we do not have time for detailed editing of works. Please run your articles through a grammar and spell checker before sending them, and if this is your first time being published, try to have someone else proof read your article before submission. Overly verbose, or otherwise poorly edited articles cannot be published.

Please make sure your article is engaging, entertaining, and well researched. Most importantly – it is essential to ground your own personal realizations within some sort of objective framework, for others to be able engage with your ideas. Such outside contexts may be a particular teaching, wise quotes, or some outside book, film, or event. Even framing your issue within a particular city, travel itinerary, journal or tradition can be enough to bring objective interest to a piece of writing.

Originality

The text should not have been published previously online. Quotations not forming the majority of the text (with references) are the only exception. We will search online for any close variations to your text.

Credit

Please supply a link – to wherever you would like people to go – if they enjoyed your article. This can be your link to an Amazon wish list, book or ’store’ if you would like to earn income from your writing, or a website or blog if you want to promote your own enterprises. If this doesn’t apply to you, you can always recommend a link to further reading for people, a charity, Buddhist center, or other nonprofits that you wish to support.

Images

Photographs, or a link to images (or the type of images) online that you think would best illustrate your text are also very useful, and will be used if they fit our magazine. Please do not insert any extra text, logos, or advertising onto your images.

When you feel like you have read and followed all of the above (!) you can paste your articles into this submission form. Thank you, and we look forward to reading your ideas online!