Writer’s Guidelines
American Gardener is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society. Published bimonthly, the colorful 60-page magazine goes out to more than 20,000 members across the United States and beyond. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Society.
What We’re Looking For
American Gardener is primarily freelance written. Our readers are mainly experienced amateur gardeners; about 20 percent are horticultural professionals. We cover:
- innovative approaches to garden design
- profiles of individual plant groups
- profiles of gardeners or horticulturists whose work has a national impact
- plant research and plant hunting
- plant conservation, biodiversity, and heirloom gardening
- events or personalities in American horticultural history
- people–plant relationships (horticultural therapy, ethnobotany, and community gardening)
- environmentally appropriate gardening (choosing plants suited to one’s region, using native plants, conserving water, etc.)
- plant lore and literature
- instructions for constructing simple garden features such as ponds and paths or gardening techniques such as propagation and proper ways to plant trees.
We stress environmentally responsible gardening practices, including minimizing use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, preventing illegal collection of plants from the wild, and avoiding plants with the potential to escape and damage natural ecosystems.
Submitting an Article Proposal
Do you have an article we might be interested in? Please send us a proposal before developing a story. Note: We do not accept simultaneous submissions. Email proposals to editor@ahsgardening.org. All proposals should include a description of the proposed topic and an explanation of why it is of interest to a national audience of knowledgeable gardeners, as well as an outline of the major points to be covered in the story.
If you are querying for the first time, please submit relevant writing samples and briefly describe your personal experience with the subject matter you’re proposing to cover. We look for writers who have some gardening experience or training, but who also have an ability to write in an authoritative and engaging style, complete with lively quotes from interviews or written sources. While ideas for articles are evaluated separately from photographs or artwork, it is helpful to the evaluation process for submissions to include information on possible sources for photographs or illustrations.
Feature articles run 1,500 to 2,500 words, depending on subject and assignment. Column stories run 900-1,000 words.
Payment
Payment for feature articles ranges from $300 to $700 on publication, depending on the article’s length and complexity, and the author’s background and publishing experience. Reimbursement for travel and other expenses can sometimes be negotiated at the time an article is accepted. Payment for column stories ranges from $150 to $200. We pay a 25-percent kill fee in those instances where an author has completed revisions of the text requested by our editorial staff, and the article is still for any reason considered unacceptable.