Happy Inauguration Day everyone! While the entire District of Columbia grinds to a halt, I’m working from a “secure remote location” 500 miles away. Can’t say I’m missing much but the crowds!

Here’s your weekly dose of information.

• An interesting note: If you live near a metro area, you probably get a magazine in the “Edible” series. In DC, that magazine is “Edible Chesapeake,” in Minnesota, it’s “Edible Twin Cities,” and so on. Parent company Edible Communities says there are over 50 of these regional food-themed magazines. Each magazine is locally owned and operated (it’s like a magazine franchise, if you can imagine such a thing). What I didn’t realize is that each magazine is responsible for setting its own editorial guidelines and–most importantly–pay rates.
  For example: Edible Chesapeake’s writer’s guidelines say:

  Articles vary in length, from 250 words for Notable Edibles to 800-1200 words for features. Edible Chesapeake generally pays $25 for Notable Edibles and $100-$150 for features.

  That works out to somewhere between 8 and 18 cents per word.

  Whereas Edible Los Angeles has this to say:

  At this time, payment is anywhere from $.18 to $.30 per word for original articles.

  Hmm! Might be worth checking out Edible Aspen or Edible Phoenix or any of the other 50 quarterly Edible magazines if you’ve got a food-related idea.

• Speaking of regional magazines (click to read guidelines):
  1. 5280 is Denver’s premier guide to the arts, entertainment, dining, and lifestyle issues in the Mile-High City. (This is a slick, nicely-produced magazine. Trouble is–for me at least–I’ve never been to Denver!)
  2. Recognized for “original regional coverage and literary merit” by the New York Public Library, award-winning Portland Magazine is proud to publish some of the finest magazine features and short fiction on the market today.
  3. I used to enjoy reading The Rake, but that Minneapolis-based publication no longer has a print edition as of March 2008. It looks as if they’re soliciting submissions on their new Web site.
  4. Remember, if some famous person has local ties to a community, that’s excuse enough for a pitch.
• The people who publish the Bylines Calendar are soliciting submissions for the 2010 edition. Honestly, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. Writers (must be published writers to submit, not aspiring ones) are told they get exposure and help arranging book signings, which is all great, but I’ve never heard of any of the names they tout as contributors. So much for exposure.
  Payment is $5, deadline is Feb 1; maybe people just starting out might be interested in this, but I’m not sure. Info here.