Magazine Articles Submitted

A while back I shared with you all that I'd been approached by Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine to submit a couple of article ideas to their recent scheduled pow-wow of planning for future issues. To my delight they accepted my proposals and I was given the okay to work on the articles as well as step-by-step photos if possible. For me, it's easy to write the article, but hard to do the photos. Because, you actually have to document the making of an actual project. And boy, that's a lot of pressure!

I decided to tackle the hard project first- granulation. I first spent a few evenings designing a project that I felt was worthy of making not only for a national publications, but also for the technique. Then it took me a couple of more days to set up a backdrop and take some pics to see if the lighting, etc... looked good. Then, my camera's smartcard died. Of course. So, I had to use my expensive and nice Nikon. Which I wasn't upset about, it's just I'm so used to my other cheapie Sony camera. I take every jewelry shot with it- it's so small and easy to use. But to be honest, this was a great opportunity to further get to know my Nikon, and I really do think it took better close-ups than I ever could have gotten with my Sony- without melting the Sony. Because I would have had to have gotten so close to the subject, that I would've probably destroyed the camera. Maybe my camera knew that and destroyed the smartcard as a survival technique?

In the end, it was actually very helpful to take the step-by-step photos first, because I used that as a foundation to create not only my instructions, but also my tools and materials list. I was pleased with how the articles came out- even though they were only 900 words. That may seem like a lot, but it was challenging to edit down a process like granulation into the most succinct and yet descriptive language possible.

The keum-boo article was easier to accomplish in 900 words. There are not as many steps or things to watch out for or explain.

So, now I wait for the magazine editors to decide if they want to use the articles, and if so, what changes they may want.  I'll also be curious to see if they offer me payment. Last year I wrote an article on etching for Art Jewelry Magazine. It turned into a 5-page article and they paid me $300.  Belle Armoire features a lot more articles in it's pages by many contributors, and this may only be a 2-page article, so I'll be curious to see what they pay. Of course I'd probably do it for free (don't tell them!) because of the nice publicity (albeit to an audience that is learning, not buying) and credential it offers me.