Global Arts

Name, location, title
Na'ima B. Robert, Egypt (business based in UK), Editor and Publisher

What is the purpose of SISTERS?
We are filling a gaping void in today's market: the need for Islamic information and inspiration that is rooted in real life and that celebrates our identity as Muslim women who are striving to practise Islam. It also serves as a way to address issues that are important to Muslim women while providing employment to our writers and staff and extra income for members of our SISTERS Club (direct sellers to the community)

What makes SISTERS unique?
We are one of the few magazines that addresses Islamic life holistically. We are dedicated to inspiring our readers to be the best they can be spiritually, intellectually, physically and emotionally. We look at deen (religion) issues but we also look at the other aspects of our lives as Muslim women: food, fashion, shopping etc. Our approach to life is devout but fun!

How has SISTERS grown since it was first launched?
SISTERS started with 2 staff members and a design team, publishing online only. We have since grown to a team of 10 people based all around the world, have made the move into print and are sponsoring a nationwide writing competition for Muslim children, as well as expanding into South Africa insha Allah (God willing).

What is the target audience?
Any Muslim woman with an Islamic awareness of some kind will find something relevant and meaningful in SISTERS. But our overall target audience is English-speaking Muslimahs around the world.

How often is SISTERS published and printed?
4 times a year

Where can we get copies of SISTERS?
Internationally, the SISTERS website is the best place to get copies and purchase subscriptions (www.sisters-magazine.com). In the UK, SISTERS is available at Islamic bookshops all over the country.

Where do you see SISTERS in five years?
I would like SISTERS to be available everywhere where there are Muslimahs, in local editions where possible, in different languages. I would like the SISTERS website to become a hub for Muslim women to come together to learn, to share and to promote what they are doing.

What other writings have you dealt with? What is your writing background consist of? Are you a writer?
Up until 2005, I was a children's book author, publishing with mainstream multicultural publishers. Then, in 2005 my book 'From My Sisters' Lips' was published by Bantam Press and it was the response to that book that inspired me to create SISTERS. For more information about my other work, please see www.nbrobert.com

Will non Muslims be able to understand when reading Sisters? Explain.
Although SISTERS is written with a Muslim audience in mind, there are many aspects of it that would appeal to a non Muslim woman. If nothing else, it will show any reader that there is more to Muslim women than hijab!

What should non Muslims know about Muslims and Islam?
Whatever you've read or heard, seek the truth for yourself.

How are some ways a non-Muslim can learn about Islam and Muslims?
Read the Qur'an, get to know Muslims. Don't trust everything you read on the Internet or everything you hear on the news.

Were you born and raised a Muslim? Are you a revert? If so, how did you find Islam?
I am a revert and grew up in a non-religious family. I first encountered Islam in Egypt while on tour. It was then that I started asking questions about God, and faith in general. The story of how I became Muslim is fully documented in my book, 'From My Sisters' Lips'.

by Shelly Perry

To most travelers, a vacation is a time to relax, take in a few museums, enjoy coffee in an outdoor café, eat out, and meet new people. But to me, a vacation is also an opportunity to make some easy cash.

Take Paris, for instance. (I’ve been there twice.) I enjoyed the cafés … the lavish meals … the leisurely strolls along the Seine. And I took pictures as I went – just like we all do when we’re on vacation.

The big difference for me is that I don’t just slide my pictures into an album when I get home. I sell them. And the truth is, thousands of websites, magazines, and travel agencies buy vacation photos from travelers like me all the time. And it’s not hard to find those buyers …

I sell a lot of my photos to online stock photo agencies, also known as “microstock sites.” And I make enough money, in some cases, to cover the cost of my trip. Some of the leading sites are: iStockphoto.com, Bigstockphoto.com, Shutterstock.com, and Dreamstime.com.

These sites are happy to work with amateurs, but they do expect near-perfect photographs … so you’ve got to have a good digital camera and an eye for composition.

Travel agencies, art directors, and even high school kids looking for photos to illustrate their MySpace pages or their geography and history papers are all customers of these online stock sites. It doesn’t cost you anything to upload your vacation shots, and their buyers can download whichever pictures they choose for anywhere between $1 and $15 a pop, depending on the size of the image they want.

You get a percentage of that fee. And though $.50 might not sound like a lot, keep in mind that you’re looking at volume sales.

I use iStockphoto.com, and I average $.90 per image (per month) or $ $1.83 per download for the photos I have on file with them.

Over time, I’ve uploaded 1773 images from my travels – and even shots from my home town. I don’t have to do any marketing … these photos sell even while I’m sleeping. At the end of the month, I get a check for a thousand or so dollars for my efforts.

It’s fast, easy, and fun.

Here are three things to photograph on your next trip that you can sell for stock. Keep them in mind when you travel, and you’ll have fun, take lots of pictures, and make some extra cash to boot.

1.Farmers’ Markets

Farmers’ markets are teeming with stock shots … from the repeating patterns and colors of seasonal fruits and vegetables to signs scrawled in chalk and people picking out their wares.

Almost every online stock agency requires you to submit a model release for images that include recognizable people, so I suggest you focus on the fruits and vegetables at first. Model releases are specific to each site, so get your account up and running before you try to submit people photographs.

2.Your Hotel

One photo of a front-desk bell has sold 1,021 times on iStockphoto.com. And I’ve sold photos of curtains, pillows, and more. Do some research and look up hotel pictures on these stock sites before you leave, and get acquainted with your competition. It’s okay to photograph the same things – just be sure to make your shots unique. But look for what’s selling and what’s not. Put your efforts into taking the kind of photos that sell best.
3. Textures and Patterns

People like to buy photos of textures or patterns to use as backgrounds for their websites … fine art on their walls … and a myriad of other things. Keep an eye out for these as you travel. Peeling paint, rusted metal, brick walls, cracks in the sidewalk, bark on a tree … all make for interesting backgrounds.

One final word of advice: Make sure you read the online stock agency’s technical requirements and submission guidelines before you start uploading pictures.


This article appears courtesy of The Golden Thread, an e-letter from AWAI that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on how to build your freelance copywriting business. For a free subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/thegoldenthread

Chance to win copies of both "Storm" Joyce Anthony and "The Rape of Innocence" by Lacresha Hayes. Read and comment at http://thebookviews.blogspot.com/.