You’d think this would be a no-brainer, wouldn’t you? Yet just about every week I read an article by some editor or other bemoaning the fact that would-be contributors don’t appear to have done any research into the publication, preferring instead to offer an article regardless of how well it fits.
What’s the point of wasting time and energy like that? And what’s the point of setting yourself up for disappointment down the line when your idea is rejected or ignored?
These days, there really can be no excuse for not looking at the publication on the internet, and even buying one or two issues should a free sample not be available (always worth checking that in the contributors’ guidelines).