Contributor’s Guidelines for Venture Magazine

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Venture. Most of the features are commissioned in advance and are written by freelance photojournalists who supply a complete words and images package for a single fee.

The following guidelines may be of help when considering submitting ideas or articles for consideration:

1.Read the magazine – this may seem obvious, but we receive a large number of inappropriate submissions. We also receive a lot of articles that bear no resemblance to the type of travel that Kumuka offer or countries that we do not visit. Back issues are available to read online from this website - click here

2.Read these guidelines in full – These are written for a reason, and we receive a lot of submissions that do not fit these guidelines and are therefore discarded when they might otherwise have been considered.

3.Suggest as many ideas as possible – the more options we have, the more chance you have of having something commissioned.

4. Have a story to tell – often the most original angle is personal experience

5. Be informative – Venture is all about passing on information to the readers so that they can go out and visit the destinations or do the activities we feature.

6. Enjoy it – enthusiasm shows.

How to Submit Ideas
Proposals should be submitted via email in the first instance, alternatively in printed form by post, and each proposal should have a brief synopsis of 50-100 words which should include (but not limited to):

The 'Where, What and Whys'
The background of the piece, along with the ‘hook’. Perhaps it centres around a religious festival, a stunning trek or an undiscovered destination. But if it doesn’t grab us in around 100 words, an extra 2000 won’t help.

If it’s a Completed Trip
Often we get ideas in, then when it comes to commissioning we are told a proposed trip has fallen through. Please tell us if it’s an article you can produce from stock, and if it isn’t then the current status of the planned trip.

Photography
We use photojournalists, so the quality of the images is crucial. If it’s a trip from stock we would like to know the number of good images available and their format and if possible a couple of example images. If it’s a planned trip please include low-res scans of other examples of your work, or a link to a website.

Additional Information
Other information that is always welcome is your rough availability during the year and list of previous credits. In the first instance please do not provide full articles as we simply don’t have the time to read all that we receive. If an idea interests us from the synopsis, then we will investigate your work further. We are not prejudiced against using new writers, as long as your idea is strong plus your writing and photography are up to scratch, then we don’t care if you haven’t been published before.

Please include all proposals on one email, or if there are several it is often easier to include them together in a Word document or plain text file.

Email Submissions:
venturemag@kumuka.com

Postal Submissions:
Venture Magazine
Kumuka Worldwide
40 Earls Court Road
London UK W8 6EJ

Image Rates
Cover shot £150
Contents DPS £50
Photo-story, multiple images £200

Story Rates
Main stories anywhere between 1000 – 2500 words between £150 to £225 depending on length
Shorter features between 750-1000 words between £100 to £150
Globetrotting up to 500 words £75 to £100

Main Stories
Each issue has various specials where we take a longer look at a particular country or activity. The feature will cover the range of sites and activities on offer to a visitor and will use a toolbar at the end to give key information about the trip.

Shorter Features
They should be in the region of 750-1000 words. Venture is a destinations magazine, and as such the features should be about places that Kumuka clients will visit and activities that they may perform without the need for 6 months training and their own specialist equipment. Diving the Red Sea, trekking up Machu Picchu or climbing Mt Kinabaulu are great- potholing down a disused mineshaft isn’t. Give the features a personal touch, but also try to include background information including details about the history and culture of the region or country. Features should focus on people and places, but also be informative and detail trips and/or activities that are accessible for the reasonably adventurous traveller.

Globetrotting
This is an anecdotal back page feature focusing on a certain highlight of a country with a particular feature that Kumuka visit on one of it’s tours, going a little more in depth about the feature itself.

Images
If you do not shoot on slide film we are happy to use digital images as long as they are of sufficient quality. Our features usually start with an A3 DPS at 300dpi, so less than that and you might struggle. Please include a selection of your work with the submissions, as using photojournalists they are just as important as the story.

The images supplied should be varied and reflect the different aspects of the trip and the country. The best shots tie in with the main story. Take varied shots of the places you stay, the people you meet and even of more obscure things such as the meals you eat. It is important to number each image and include full captions explaining what/where each shot is – ‘child on bike’ is unacceptable. If the images are unacceptable, then we will not run a feature, even if commissioned.

Once Accepted
If we like a synopsis then we will contact you further with a view to issuing a formal commission. All commissions are subject to sufficient high quality images being supplied. Ideally articles should be emailed to us and images sent in on slide, DVD or CD as appropriate. If images are not of an acceptable quality, the fee is subject to negotiation. 35mm colour transparencies or medium format originals are essential for all features. We are very rarely able to use prints.

Payment
When submitting a commissioned feature please use invoices which include your bank details including your account number, sort code and bank address. If you are VAT registered we also need your VAT number. Payment is usually made 1 month after your feature appears in print.

Finally
Due to the overwhelming number of proposals that we receive, it is unfortunately only possible for us to contact the people whose ideas we would like to take further. We do our utmost to contact as many people as possible but please accept our apologies if you do not receive a response.

Summary
Please read the magazine and get an understanding of the types of feature we run and how they are laid out
All submissions should be in synopsis form, with full details of whether they are from stock, planned and the images available.
All commissions are subject to sufficient high quality images being supplied.

We hope these guidelines will be of assistance and look forward to receiving any ideas or articles that you wish to submit.

Kumuka Worldwide
Publishers of VENTURE
venturemag@kumuka.com