Submit to Minor Mogul!

No, not that way. Well, all right, that way as well; welcome your new media overlords! But that’s not the only way that could be taken . . .

Minor Mogul invites submissions from anyone who has something to say on the subject of making movies independently. You should write for an intelligent but non-specialist audience, including creators, hardcore cinephiles, less-ardent movie fans, and civilian viewers. Minor Mogul also seeks reviews of movies, books, and gear.

We are definitely not interested in “how to break in to / work in Hollywood” articles. Some good movies come out of the Hollywood entertainment-product manufacturers, and they can be lots of fun to watch. But for Minor Moguls everywhere, Hollywood is irrelevant to our creative and business careers. If you want to read articles about that stuff, check out pretty much any movie-making site on the Web; you'll find more stuff than you could read in three lifetimes. That's why we don't cover it here.

A good rule of thumb is: If your movie hires SAG actors or IATSE crew, you're already too much a part of The Industry to be relevant to Minor Mogul movie-making. We here are big supporters of unions and guilds! They protect their members against exploitation and abuse by more-powerful people and entities. But the Minor Mogul has no ambitions in the Hollywood ecosystem.

Articles are usually between 1,000 and 2,500 words, but any length is acceptable. “Say what you have to say, say it as well as you can, and then shut up.” The Editor will return your edited article for your approval prior to publication.

You retain all copyright to your work. Minor Mogul wants to publish your article on the website and in the print magazine, and wants a three-month (from the date of acceptance) exclusive use of your article. After that, you can publish it elsewhere or do anything you want with it.

Payment is a mere pittance: ten cents a word (“That’s what they pay me ... ”), paid on acceptance of the article. So if you write a 1,000-word article, you’ll get $100. If it takes you three hours, that works out to about $30 an hour — not bad! Of course, if it takes you 20 hours, that works out to five bucks an hour — not so good.

Please send the Editor a query letter or pitch for your article. Or send the completed item if you want to do all the work upfront!

Review a movie

Minor Mogul welcomes discussion and analysis of all movies, from Hollywood blockbusters to undiscovered gems hidden in the corners of YouTube. Don’t worry if we have already reviewed a movie; if you’ve got a fresh view, send it in.

Include as complete a list of the movie’s credits as you can; also, link to the movie's IMDb page, if it has one. Credit where credit is due!

Give us a brief summary of the story. Don’t worry about spoilers. We’re here to discuss movies; you should assume that the readers have seen the movie under discussion. But this summary should not be the main component of your review.

Include any (substantiated) tales from the making of the movie. We love insider gossip! Especially useful to creators are behind-the-scenes descriptions of how the movie was made.

The heart of your review is your analysis of the movie. Describe what worked for you, what didn’t work for you, what excited you, what actively annoyed you.

Review a book

Review gear

Minor Mogul especially welcomes how-to articles on upgrading commercial gear or making DIY gear. The audience doesn’t care how you get the shot!

Comment on an item

Sometimes, lord knows why, people get the urge to respond to something they’ve read on this website.

Submit a movie pitch