and trade journals that we find a distinctly sectional circulation. Some
of these publications serve subscribers in only one state or section,
and others issue separate state or sectional editions. The best basis of
differentiation among magazines, then, is not the extent of circulation
but the class of readers appealed to, regardless of the part of the
country in which the readers live. The popular general magazine, monthly
or weekly, aims to attract readers of all classes in all parts of the
United States.

HOW MAGAZINES GET MATERIAL. Magazine articles come from (1) regular
members of the magazine's staff, (2) professional or amateur free-lance
writers, (3) specialists who write as an avocation, and (4) readers of
the periodical who send in material based on their own experience.

The so-called "staff system" of magazine editing, in accordance with
which practically all the articles are prepared by writers regularly
employed by the publication, has been adopted by a few general magazines
and by a number of class periodicals. The staff is recruited from
writers and editors on newspapers and other magazines. Its members often
perform various editorial duties in addition to writing articles.
Publications edited in this way buy few if any articles from outsiders.

Magazines that do not follow the staff system depend largely or entirely
on contributors. Every editor daily receives many manuscripts submitted
by writers on their own initiative. From these he selects the material
best adapted to his publication. Experienced writers often submit an
outline of an article to a magazine editor for his approval before
preparing the material for publication. Free-lance writers of reputation
may be asked by magazine editors to prepare articles on given subjects.