Writing for periodicals has its own set of spoken and unspoken rules and ethics. Because of the fierce competition for the few slots that most magazines allot to freelancers, it’s important that a person wanting to enter into this genre have a basic understanding of these conventions to be successful.
Finding One’s Niche
Finding one’s niche is the first and most important step on this journey. If the idea of a “niche” is not appealing, think of it as finding one’s “stride.” These are simply areas where a writer will easily excel. The idea is to determine these and start there. Later one can increase one’s areas of expertise and interest.
An excellent site to help one realize how many topics and categories of writing are available is at the American Society of Magazine Editors site.
Know that in 2005, there were 350 new magazines introduced. Magazines come and go with the wind, it seems, but the fact is there are literally thousands in publication making the task of getting published much easier than one may realize.
There are also opportunities for one to write for “free.” This may be a way for some writers to start and gain confidence. Ezinearticles and articledashboard are two sites that generally welcome well-written articles. One can polish one’s prose on these sites and then venture from the internet to the marketplace.
Submission Guidelines
By all means, one simply must follow a magazine’s specific guidelines. Never submit work without having reviewed the editorial requirements. Almost every magazine has a website with this information available. The guidelines must be adhered to. Remember that there are thousands of freelance writers trying to get their work published. If the editor has hundreds of submissions a month, it doesn’t matter how brilliant a piece may be, there will probably be other pieces in the stack that are of equal value. Don’t give the editor a reason to round file the one you’ve submitted.
Only submit pieces on line if they are asked to be submitted that way. Never submit the only copy. Always keep a hard copy on hand, in case of hard drive failure.
Don’t request a signature or other documentation from the editor verifying receipt of the article. If there is concern regarding delivery, pay extra so the package can be tracked.
Send a brilliant cover letter with the article. For help and information on how to format and write the cover letter, consult Cynthia Laufenberg’s Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript.
Include a picture (not a photo of yourself) with the article, even if the magazine does not use photos or they use their own photographer. Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words, so send the best photo you have that compliments the article.
Buy a box of 9 x 11 envelopes. Don’t fold the materials. Include a business card with each letter and submission.
Don’t Stop at One
Submit the article to two or three publications. Make a spreadsheet to keep track of these submissions. Writers often wait five or six months for responses from editors. This is a long time to wait and ultimately the article may be rejected. Valuable time has been lost, especially if the article is on a timely or current subject. Just make certain that all publications are notified immediately when the article is accepted somewhere.
Certainly submitting to multiple publishers is a controversial point. Waiting for months, however, for a response to an article is stultifying and often anticlimactic.
Summary
Finding one’s niche and obtaining submission guideline information are the first steps in becoming a freelance magazine writer. Next, one must decide whether to query or not. This topic also has its proponents and those who adamantly resist the query letter approach.
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