The Big Idea
Okay. So youve figured out that you would like to write for magazines, newspapers, and e-zines. Unfortunately, so have about eight gazillion other population on this planet. Therefore, you have to stand out from the crowd. You have to sparkle. How do you do this? Simple. It all starts with The Big Idea. The first inexpressive you must learn in this funny firm is that you dont in fact have to write the whole description to get a job. In fact, only appealing green novices effort to write the whole thing before selling it. What you do need, however, is the Idea for the great story. You will use this great idea to convince editors to pay you exorbitant amounts of money via a proposal letter (called a query letter. But youll learn about that in a minute).
Train Table For Kids
So, where will you find this Big Idea? Well, youve heard that wise adage write what you know. Thats a fantastic mantra for looking your jumping-off point. You dont need to stick to what you know for the specific focus of your story, but tap into your already huge vat of knowledge to find the storys basis. This is how you will come to be an expert. Experts are in demand. population with stories arent. What you have to do is sneak your stories into your areas of expertise. Example: lets say your hobbies and interests include fishing, watching talk shows, and traveling. Good! You are a inherent master in those areas. Jot these things down. Now comes the fun part: brainstorming.
The biggest mistake you can make in pitching your story is being too general. Never, ever send a letter to the editor suggesting an description about fishing. Not even an description about fishing in Florida. This vagueness is not suitable for short writing. In general, you will be imaginable to write somewhere in the middle of 800 and 2000 words on your topic. You couldnt perhaps tell us all about fishing in 2000 words. What you could do, however, is give us a comparison of twelve different lures used to catch sailfish. Or the pros and cons of joining a fishing club. Or even how the moon can tell you if itll be a good fishing day.
So heres your first assignment. Get out your trusty notebook. (If you dont have one, stop reading and get one. Right now.) On the first page, write down a list of any and all topics that interest you. Its okay to be normal here. Need some ideas to get you started?
Think through your whole day. Dont neglect anything. What do you do from the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep? You turn off your alarm clock. (An description about alarm clocks disrupting indispensable sleep stages! Or waking up to music versus waking up to that annoying beeping sound. Or the optimal amount of times to press the snooze button.) You brush your teeth. (Article: What all those touted ingredientsfluoride, peroxide, baking sodareally do for your teeth.) You take a shower. Maybe with your indispensable other. Lucky you. (Romantic showers for two.)
Moving on. You go to work. This is the most sure area of expertise. Lets say youre a secretary. How ergonomic office equipment can save you from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, an achy back, and a stiff neck. How to avoid screaming at your boss when hes a total idiot. Five couples (or ex-couples) share their wisdom about dating in the office. Think about what cover story would entice you to pay three dollars for a magazine. You dont have to have the knowledge to in fact write the description yet. You just have to know you can get this data later.
Next, you come home. What happens? Do you have kids? Great! A wealth of description ideas. You could write about childcare agencies, potty training, decoding adolescent slang, teaching table manners youre getting the idea now, right? Run with it!
Write at least one page of normal topics that interest you, then weed out the most appealing ones. Narrow it down to three or four. Then write those three or four topics on top of brand new pages. Now fill up those pages with specific description angles. Just write. Dont edit yourself. Dont judge. Just write anything pops into your head. If you need motivation, play it like a game of Scattergories. Set a timer for ten minutes. See how many ideas you can jot down before the timer sounds.
Keep in mind that there are markets for practically any conceivable topic. Dont limit yourself to the headlines youd read in Vogue and Good Housekeeping. in the middle of newspapers, consumer magazines, trade magazines, e-zines, tabloids, literary journals, and more, youre bound to find an suitable publication for your Big Idea.
You want to know more about these markets? Read on!
Researching the Markets
First, youll need a few definitions:
Consumer Magazines: These typically pay the best. These are the types of magazines you might find in a grocery store check-out line, convenience store, in your airplane seat pocket, or your doctors office. Types of consumer mags: mens, womens, extra interest, inflight, teens, school/career, travel, health, ethnic/minority, political, entertainment, romance, religious, etc. This is the area most writers try to break into.
Literary Magazines: These dont pay much, if at all. However, what they lack in moolah, they make up for in prestige. If youre looking to jump-start your work as a fiction writer or poet, your best opportunity at recognition may come in the form of one of these small publications. Often published by colleges and universities, their circulation is regularly regional and low. They commonly seek scholarly essays, intellectually appealing prose, poetry, and book reviews. Publishers will be impressed if you supervene in placing your work in one of the more leading journals (Cimarron Review, Ploughshares, and Story, for example).
Trade Journals: Pay varies greatly. Any publication that focuses on a single occupation/industry falls into this category. This is where your expertise can shine. There are trade journals for practically every line of work, from art dealers to truck drivers. In general, your written eloquence is not as leading as your study and timely knowledge for these publications.
E-Zines: Pay varies greatly. Plainly put, e-zines are Plainly magazines on the Internet. The only major discrepancy is that articles for e-zines can regularly run longer than print magazines. (No printing costs, so space isn't as leading an issue for e-zine editors.) Most e-zines dont pay (except by means of a byline) but this trend is changing. The most popular sites (Lifetimetv.com and Wired, for example) pay quite well. Topics stretch as wide as your imagination.
Now that you know, learn how to taste them!
There are tons of ways to find markets that are open to freelancers. If you were paying attention, you might notice that this very website is looking for writers! looking places to submit your work is easy if you know where to look.
First, the most leading tool in a freelancers toolbox is The Writers Market. Available at any major bookstore, this is an each year compilation of more than 2,000 magazines, 1,000 book publishers, and even specialized markets like greeting cards, script writing, and syndicates.
The next best tools are online. Lucky you! Theyre free. Absolute Markets is a weekly e-zine filled with market guidelines, contest listings, and marketing tips. Freelancing4Money puts out a jam-packed e-zine filled with freelance opportunities. Writer's suck in has a great, searchable database of markets. Writing For Dollars has a biweekly newsletter with market guidelines, and a searchable database on the website. And Writers Weekly lists calls for writers and market guidelines each week.
You can even run a quest for freelance writers on any major quest engine, and youre likely to come up with tons of listings. Try specifying if possible; add words that fit your needs. (Example: paying markets, romance, teen magazines.)
So, your next assignment is this: go back to your trusty notebook and pick out your very popular idea. That will now be known as your Big Idea. Pick the markets that best fit your idea. Pick several. Find out if you can get a free or discounted sample copy. (Writers often can, if you specify that you would like to query them in the future.) request writers guidelines if available. Its considered poor form to query publications that youve never read, or know nothing about. Do your best to read at least one copy of anything magazine or journal you plan to query. Check your library for copies if you prefer not to go broke researching.
Got it now? You have your idea, and youve found places to submit it? Great! Then you'll need to learn proper protocol for writing and submitting the Killer Query.
The Killer Query
The job of the query letter is to entice an editor to say, Hey! Id be interested in studying more about that. Therefore, you dont want to spill all your secrets and study yet. You want to tease and tantalize. Now that youve got your fantastic Big Idea, your job is to condense (or expand) that idea into two to three paragraphs.
To by comparison the components of a killer query, here is an example of one of mine (using fictitious taste infosorry!) that landed me the assignment:
Jenna Glatzer
(Always use proper formal letter format)
123 My Address
My City, State, Zip Code
(555) 555-5555
Mr. Joe Shmoe
(Make Sure to get a name of the suitable agency College Life 101
editor. Never address a letter to editor or submissions.)
123 Their Address
Their City, State, Zip Code
Todays Date, 2003
Dear Mr. Shmoe:
(Colons are used in formal letters. Commas are used in amiable letters.)
Think firm cars, charge accounts, and a spacious office with bay windows. Who do you photograph running a firm this successful?
(Start the letter with a zinger that captures the essence of your proposed article/story. Raise a query that will cause the reader to think, or give a optical image anything that will make him/her want to read on and find out what youre talking about.)
Think again. This firm was the brainchild of three Boston University sophomores whose ambitions led them to successful careers before they had diplomas to hang on the wall.
(The rest of the first paragraph should give a concise description of the focus of your proposed article. Remember to tell why its suitable to the publication youre querying. In this case, I was targeting a college magazine, so I made sure to emphasize the relevance to their subject matter early in the letter.)
Charles Strader, Richard Skelton, and Pablo Mondal run Net One, an Internet service Provider. The three met in the freshmen dorms, then moved into an apartment together. opportunity knocked when Strader, who worked for the universitys computer center, took a phone call from the owner of a hair salon. She sought help designing a website; Strader volunteered, and Net One was born.
(Again, concisely, get a diminutive deeper into the article of the article. What is extra about your story? In this case, I wanted to emphasize that these guys were college buddies who started a booming firm by branching out from their humble beginning.)
Working closely with friends to build something we believe in is Mondals popular perk. Skelton agrees. We have great trust in each other, and feel that were all in this together.
(Quotations arent indispensable in a query, but its nice to give something specific to show that you have done some study into your topic, and that you have passage to resources that will enable you to write the description well. I wanted to show that I had already spoken to these guysthey happen to be friends of mineand that they would be upbeat and inspirational population to interview. You can perform the same supervene by together with a few quirky facts or witness results youve found out about your topic.)
Considering that their only capital was a computer and a small loan from Straders father, the guys feel very successful. Were not millionaires, but we have goals, and were following them, says Skelton. I think thats true success. By any definition, Net Ones roster of more than 50 clients ranging from colleges to Fortune 500 associates attests to their hard work and talent.
(Look, editor. These guys are big up-and-comers! notice I mentioned Fortune 500 companies. This lets the editor know speedily that these college guys arent small potatoes. It neatly ties up the opportunity sentence, which promised an description about guys who have a spacious office, charge accounts, and firm car. Now the editor has a calculate to believe that these guys in fact are that successful.)
I advise a 1,000 word profile for your Students At Work section.
(Shows Ive researched their magazine. I know which section this should fit, and Ive read their guidelines to resolve an suitable word count.)
I am a full-time freelance writer, and my works have been recently featured in such publications as 201 Magazine, College Bound
(Notice I mention the most relevant magazines first. anything youve had published that might enumerate to the content, tone, or audience of the proposed publication belongs here.)
Bliss!, Working Women, and Video Librarian. Clips are enclosed.
(If youve never had anything published, dont distress. Just shut up about it. Do Not tell anyone, Though Ive never been published yet, Im a real go-getter. Less is more. If you keep quiet, they may not even think about the fact that you didnt mention your credits. Also, do not get into a diatribe describing how you edited your high school newspaper. Just a quick list of relevant writing background. See below for info about clips.)
I can provide documentation and interview notes for easy fact-checking, and could submit the completed description within two weeks.
(Optional. Some population like to advise a time frame, others let the editor do it. In general, the editor will tell you when the description is due, regardless of your preferences. Its a nice touch to mention how you will study your article. Mine was primarily dependent on interviews, but you may wish to include the names of journals/experts you plan to quote or use for information.)
I look send to your response.
(Obligatory gentle ending. Use any discrepancy you wish. No pleading. If you dare type, I promise to write a reallllly, realllly good article! Please hire me!, you will incur my wrath. I will hunt you down and yell at you. A lot. Just a simple, dignified ending requesting a response.)
Regards,
Jenna Glatzer
(Oh. Substitute your name and adored signature ending. Unless you feel like sending your paycheck to me, in which case, you can feel free to use my name. Grin.)
Finally, clips! If youve had anything publishedor even if you havent, but you have a few good writing samples suitable for this type of marketinclude them. These samples are called clips, and they are used to show the editor that you are an intelligent, insightful, funny, clever, and/or exquisite writer. Photocopy your articles straight from the publication. Just 2-3 clips.
When you're sending queries by e-mail, you can paste the text of your clips into the body of the e-mail (never as an attachment!), or you can direct the editor to one or two website Urls where she can view your articles.
Interviews and Profiles
I know, you feel weird about this one, right? Youre uncomfortable calling person or visiting a firm to ask a pro to take precious time out of their day to help you study your article.
Well, buck up, diminutive camper, because most professionals in fact love to be interviewed. They jump at the chance, for a few reasons. These are the reasons to keep in mind when you feel small and silly for asking:
- It shows you respect their opinion and/or job.
- It gives them opportunities for publicity of their business.
- It gives them the opportunity to brag to friends that they are quoted in a magazine.
- It gives them something to frame and show clients.
- Finally, person is recognizing their genius and taking an interest in their work.
- Theyre regularly wannabe writers, anyway, and they will be just as happy to pick your brain to find out how you got the job.
Before you coming experts:
Make sure you already have your questions mapped out, at least briefly. What exactly do you need to know from this person? What could this person tell you that no one else can? Avoid yes or no questions. Ask open-ended questions that could lead to lengthy responses chock full of great quotes. Also, have a synopsis of your planned description ready, so you can tell your master what youre writing and how they can supplement your knowledge.
How to coming experts:
Get on the phone. Have your idea condensed into 2-3 sentences, so you can speedily by comparison yourself to whomever answers the phone.
Hello. My name is Jenna, and Im writing an description about the rise in vegetarianism among young women in Nevada for Youth In Nevada Magazine. I know Dr. Spuds is a well-respected nutritionist, and Im hoping she would be willing to rejoinder a few questions on this subject.
At this point, the secretary will say, Hold, and make you listen to elevator musak while she summons the boss. Or shell take down your amount and have Dr. Spuds call you back. Or it will be Dr. Spuds herself, and shell say, What do you want to know?
Your options at this point are (1) Ask questions over the phone, right then and there. Make sure you check to make sure your master is not pressed for time before you begin. (2) Set up a phone date to conduct the interview. (3) Ask if you can meet in person. This is goodalmost necessaryif the person will be the focus of your article. If the person is being used just to add a few quotes, you dont have to meet in person, because its unlikely youll ever need to write, Dr. Spuds wrinkled her brow and stared into her pea soup as she explained that young women are becoming more health-conscious. (4) Trade e-mail addresses and send over a list of questions. This coming isn't regularly the best, because it doesn't allow you to react to, and build from, data you gain in answers to former questions. However, if the publication will not reimburse you for long distance phone calls, and you have to conduct a lengthy interview, e-mail exchanges are acceptable. Just make ! sure you specify a due date for the responses. Be reasonabletry to give the master a week to rejoinder all your questions.
The Sales
Okay, you sent out your killer query, and you got a phone call from an editor with the big news: you got the assignment! Congratulations, you! Go on and do a diminutive dance of joy, then crash back to reality with your new mantra: Get It In Writing. Make sure the editor tells you that a written contract is forthcoming in the near future.
If youve researched your market, you probably already have an idea of the pay rate, but be sure to cover this ground in that introductory phone call if the editor fails to mention it. leading things to remember:
On Publication vs. On Acceptance
You not only need to know how much youll be paid, but also, when youll be paid. Many markets want to pay you on publication. This can be a problem, because many magazines and journals have long lead times. (Translation: a long time in the middle of when they assign you the description and when it in fact ends up in print.) If you write an description in January, and it doesn't get published until November, you probably wont see a check until December. Do you want to wait a year to get paid? Can you wait that long? This is a point you in fact can negotiate. Ask for payment on acceptance. If this is refused, it gives you a diminutive leverage to work with on the other issues, which are
Kill Fees
If you get the assignment, and, for anything reason, an editor decides not to print your article, you can negotiate for a kill fee. This is a ration of the sale price. If you are offered 0 to write an article, you may get a kill fee. Its a well known fact that big publications kill articles all the time. Some editors admit to assigning 10-20% more than they could ever fit in the magazine. They do this so they can pick and Pick from the final products, or so they can see how things fit once the layout is complete. Some articles will be pushed back to other issues, and some will just be trashed.
Bios
We like them. Those are the diminutive blurbs that often supervene an article, giving short biographical data about the writer, and sometimes an e-mail address or phone number. Ask for one if you can.
Sidebars and Photos
Those are the diminutive factoids or columns that rest next to the main article. For example, in an description about exercise, youll often see a diminutive chart on the side that tells how many calories are burned by doing specific exercises (riding a bike, climbing a hill, etc.). If you can advise sidebars, you can often get extra pay. Same goes for photos. If youve got a decent camera and a good eye, offer photos for a few extra bucks.
To Spec or Not To Spec
Especially as a novice writer, youll sometimes get asked to write an description on speculation. This means that youll have to write the whole description and submit it without a contract, or any promise of payment. Its a bone of contention among pro writers, because practically no other field works this way. Its never do the job, and then Ill resolve if I feel like paying you. Only in this crazy business. Harrumph.
That said, I advise you to take spec assignments in the beginning. Once youre established, you shouldn't need to do this, but in order to build up your resume and your clips, you need to get published. So go ahead and submit on spec, and go ahead and do a few free/nearly free pieces for the experience.
Before submitting anything, though, make sure you know in advance what the terms will be if the editor does use your piece. How much will you be paid? What rights will they buy?
Even many of the big markets have adopted the custom of requesting pieces on spec. They do this because they can get away with it. Because there are thousands of wannabe writers out there who will beg, borrow, and steal for the opportunity to be published. So, if you want to compete, sometimes youll have to suck it up and accept this. Once the publication accepts one of your spec pieces, youll be a much more likely candidate for an outright assignment next time.
Rights to Write
There are several kinds of rights a publication may buy:
First North American Serial RightsThe newspaper or magazine has the right to release this piece for the first time in any periodical. All other rights belong to the writer.
One-Time RightsThe publication buys the nonexclusive right to release the piece once. The writer can sell the same description to other publications simultaneously.
Second Serial rights (or Reprint Rights)Also nonexclusive. Gives the publication the right to reprint an description that has appeared elsewhere.
Electronic RightsCovers Cd-Roms, e-zines, website content, games, etc. Get in writing which electronic rights are specified-- First Electronic Rights, archiving rights, etc. Most publications ask for the right to archive "indefinitely." You can try to negotiate for a fixed term (i.e., archiving rights for six months).
All RightsPretty self-explanatory. You can never sell this piece to anything else again. Try to avoid this one. Most publications ask for First Serial Rights.
Work-For-Hire Rights-- The publication has come up with the idea and assigned it to you, and they will own it, lock, stock, and barrel. They own the copyright and don't even have to give you credit. It may be sliced, diced, repackaged, re-sold, etc., and you won't have any claim to it beyond what you were originally paid.
Tv/Motion photograph RightsAlso self-explanatory. practically all the time exclusive.
Recycling Your Big Ideas
This is the bread and butter of freelance writing. Its also called re-slanting. Once youve got the Big Idea, dont waste it by only using it once. Use the data youve gathered and come up with off-shoot ideas. Slant it to appeal to different markets.
Youre afraid because of the issue of rights that we just discussed, right? (No pun intended.) Well, you have nothing to fear, in case,granted the new description is sufficiently different in article and intended audience. If youve managed to sell your description to a major national magazine, it is considered poor form to try to sell a re-slanted version to an additional one national magazine.
However, if youre dealing with regional, specialized, or small publications, there should be very diminutive overlap of intended audience. Therefore, an editor from Alabama Aristocrats would probably never know if you sold a re-slanted version of your piece to Guitarists Today. Even if they did know, they practically in fact would not care.
It is suitable and suitable practice, for the easy calculate that it is darn difficult to make a living as a writer. If you have the selection in the middle of development 0 for selling your piece to one small publication, or development 00 by selling altered versions to eight different small publications, which would you choose?
Re-slanting an description is easy, since youve already done the bulk of the research. Scrounge up a few new quotes, and use the data you left out of the first article. Focus it on the new desired market.
For example, I could sell an description about the condition benefits of meditation to a fitness magazine. A few alterations, and that same description becomes Religions Encouraging Meditation for my local newspapers society pages. Then it becomes Meditation Makes You Smarter for the college market. Then, Meditate Your Stress Away for a working womans magazine. And I didnt even mention all those new age/holistic publications. What a field day!
With just a few more questions posed to your trusted experts, youve got a whole new article. And, look! Youre becoming an master yourself. This is how you begin to find your nichea few specific subjects that you feel comfortable writing about. Ah, soon those journalists will be advent to You with their questions.
"The Extras"
Once youve gotten a few assignments, and feel that youve in fact embarked on this as a inherent work (or just a part-time income-booster), youll want to think about the diminutive extras.
A nice touch: get yourself some nice letterhead. Splurge a diminutive with your second or third paycheck and invest in professionally printed letterhead. Presentation does count when submitting your correspondence to an editor. Avoid cutesy clip art of quill pens and inkwells.
Also, an invoice. You should all the time include an invoice with your completed article. Often, the person you submit the story to is not the same person in charge of sending you a paycheck. By together with an invoice, you can be reasonably assured that the billing agency will have a description of what terms were agreed upon, and when they are supposed to pay you.
Receipts: Hold onto your postage receipts and your writing-related supplies. If writing is your profession, then these can be tax write-offs. Also, if you are able to negotiate it, editors will often reimburse you for any expenses you incur while on assignment once you are an established writer. Submit your phone bill (with the reimbursable call/s circled), your book receipts, your tour charge receipts, etc. Along with your invoice. Make sure these terms are specified in your contract.
Youre ready? Good! Get out there and get 'em, slugger. Good luck!
The Beginner's Guide to Freelance Writing
