Welcome from full-time freelance author and speaker Janice Thompson. I’m excited to share this lesson on the submission process. We’ve studied the various types of articles and you’ve learned the components of a sellable piece. Now it’s time to place it in an editor’s capable hands.
An inexperienced freelancer is said to be “green.” An experienced one earns lots of green. You want to be one of the ones who earns top dollar, and the best way to do that—short of writing a great article—is to understand the submission process. You’ve got to let your confidence shine through to that editor as you pitch your article. Many writers reach the point where they SHOULD be submitting, but don’t because of fear of rejection. Still others don’t think their piece/writing is worthy of publication. But there is a huge market out there, and it’s time for you to get in the game. In this lesson I’m going to use a baseball analogy to show you three basic steps to help you with that process.
STEP ONE: KNOW WHERE TO PITCH (i.e., “Know Your Publication”)
In the book world, Submitting usually begins with a query. The word “query” means “question.” You’re asking the editor or agent a question: “Would you like to look at my proposal?” I would argue that in the magazine world, submitting should begin with something else altogether—getting to know the publication. You’ve got to know the magazine you’re submitting to: know the article length, the tone of articles in that publication, the advertisers, recent topics the magazine has addressed, who writes for them, and so on. You might also find out if they are searching for photos to correspond with your article.
Now, I can almost hear what many of you are asking: How and where do I find out about these magazines? After all, there are hundreds—no thousands—of publications out there. The best advice I could give any freelancer would be to pick up a copy of The Writers Market Guide (or visit www.writersmarket.com). Inside of this up-to-date publication you will find information for nearly every publisher who accepts magazine articles. You will learn the name of the editor at the house, the type and length of article he’s looking for, and even a pay scale. You will also receive contact information and will be given instructions for how to submit (by email or snail mail).
Learn to use www.writersmarket.com in a smart way. If you live in the Bay area, contact the Bay area magazine. If you’re into fishing, contact the fishing magazines. If you’re a quilter, contact quilting magazines. You might be surprised at how many different magazines “fit” your lifestyle. If your child is in the scouts, contact a scouting magazine. Take a look at what each individual publication is wanting and craft something to meet a need. Or, do what I did and contact the editor first. Make an introduction, tell a little about how you’re drawn to that publication, then ask, “What can I craft for you, based on my life experiences? What are your greatest needs?” You might be surprised that the editor from the fishing magazine will come back to you and say, “We need an article on baiting your hook.” (Totally bogus, by the way. I don’t have a clue about fishing.) As a bonus feature for this lesson I’ve included a quick “How-to” guide for navigating www.writersmarket.com. Many have found it helpful.
Let’s shift gears a little and talk about writing for the Christian market. If you’ve written a piece that would be a better fit in a Sunday School take-home paper or a Christian magazine, get a copy of Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers Market Guide). You can also visit Sally’s website at www.stuartmarket.com for a list of Christian publishers. As for which houses to target, let me make a suggestion:
When Targeting the Christian Market: Don’t shoot for Guidepost or other “big” magazines at first. Seriously. Target denominational magazines. Any and all of them, if need be. “But I’m not Methodist,” you might say. Or, “I’m not Pentecostal.” Doesn’t matter. All of these magazines are looking for similar articles. Over the years, I’ve sold to Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God, and much, much more. Most of these denominations have weekly take-home papers or monthly magazines that go out to their readers. No, they don’t pay a bucket-load of money for articles, but they do pay a fair amount and they’re much easier to break into. And remember, if you sell first rights, you can always re-sell the article. I’ve written pieces that have made the rounds through the various denominations (and I’ve been paid every time)!
The key to getting your article seen it to pitch it to the most logical house. If you can conquer that step, it’s time to move on.
STEP TWO: KNOW HOW TO PITCH
Let’s assume you’ve put together a list of potential publishing houses that you’ve found in writersmarket.com or the Christian Writer’s Market Guide. You have a plan of action. You know where you’re going to pitch. The next question is HOW. How do you go about submitting? Can you get past the gatekeepers at the house you’ve chosen? You can, if you’re a quick study! Approaching an editor can be unnerving. That’s why you’ve got to go in looking like a pro. It’s time to give him/her the best possible pitch you can come up with. The trend today is to submit via email. Don’t be afraid to ask for the publishing house’s guidelines. Editors appreciate authors who take the time to ask for this vital information. Most publishing houses will let you know whether or not you need a formal query letter. In many cases a general letter of introduction will work, along with the actual article (either attached or pasted into the body of the email, depending on the publisher’s guidelines).
I want to pause for a moment to talk about simultaneous submissions. A simultaneous submission is when you submit the same piece to more than one publication at a time. Most houses these days take simultaneous submissions, but a few do not. Be sure you note that this is a simultaneous submission in the subject line. Be very, very careful (and very smart) about how you craft the letter in the email. Never do a blanket email to all of the publishers at once. Send individual emails to individual houses. Cut and paste your email, changing out the name of the editor (and even the wording, if necessary). Personalize each one. Call both the editor and the magazine by name. Let that person know how excited you are to submit to that publication.
Let’s talk about the ins and outs of a great query letter.
Your one page single-spaced query letter is the first opportunity the professional will have to view and analyze your writing. Make sure it’s clean—no spelling or grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, etc. Remember, you’re selling to a consumer, who happens to be an editor. He/she has a slot to fill. As I’ve already mentioned, most queries these days are done by email. If you’re querying a house that takes unagented submissions, be sure to check the writer’s guide so that you send it to the correct editor. Call him by name. Then, give him the most professional letter possible. Here’s a great layout for your query letter:
In the opening paragraph of your letter, make an introduction and let the editor know you would like to enter a relationship with him/his publishing house. This is a great place to share your value with the editor, and to let him know of your professional connections.
The second paragraph of your query letter is a terrific place to give your credentials. Feel free to mention any awards or honors. I know that many of you are just starting out and won’t have these things, but if you’ve been building a platform…if you’re establishing yourself as an expert…you can talk about what qualifies you to write on this subject.
In the third paragraph of your query letter, you should let the editor know how your article will meet the needs of his publishing house/magazine. You might also mention how it will meet the needs of the reader and/or offer solutions to a particular problem the reader might be facing.
The fourth and final paragraph of your query letter is the wrap-up. The fond farewell, hope-to-be-working-with-you-soon part. Leave the editor wanting more from you. How? By writing an engaging and enticing letter.
It’s worth mentioning that the tone of your query letter should match the tone of your piece. If your article is intense, let that show in your query letter. If your article is light-hearted and comedic, let your voice ring through in your query letter.
STEP THREE: KNOW HOW TO STAY IN THE GAME
Once you’ve published a handful of articles, you’ll feel more confident about the process. You’ll also understand that there are no shortcuts. Sure, you’ll still face rejections along the way, but they won’t bug you. They will just motivate you to keep going. It’s all about trial and error, folks. You want to stay in the game. So I’m going to give you a few things to think about to make it the best possible game it can be.
When you submit an article idea to a publisher, be thinking about the long haul, not just the quick fix. You’re not just selling him one article. You’re (hopefully) setting yourself up for a relationship with this editor. In order to make this relationship work, you’ve got to understand the financial end of things. You may or may not be asked to sign a contract, but you will certainly want to know the pay scale for the piece you’re contracting ahead of time. Most magazine publishers pay after the fact. You turn in a well-written article, walk with the editor through the tweaking process, then receive a check.
There’s a lot more to the financial, though, and you need to be aware of that fact. For example, did you know that you can sell, and resell, and resell the same article again and again? It’s true, but you’ve got to be savvy to accomplish this. It all comes down to rights. So, what are you selling - first rights, reprint rights or all rights? Let’s talk about that:
If you offer first rights, you’re saying that this article has never been published before. If the publishing house asks for “all” rights, consider carefully whether you want to sell the article to them. If so, you cannot use it in other/future venues. You can sell “reprint” rights after “first rights” have been sold. In fact, you can go on selling the same piece over and over again, as long as you don’t offer “all rights” to any of the publications (and as long as you wait a respectable period of time between publications).
Let me give you an example of how this works: As mentioned in an earlier lesson, in the late 90’s, I wrote a personal experience story about how my adopted daughter (Courtney Elizabeth) came to live with us. I sold “first rights” to a magazine. Then, about a year later, another magazine picked it up. I sold them “reprint rights.” Then, some time later, I was approached by another magazine (no idea how they’d found it) and sold it again, offering “reprint rights.” In the meantime, I submitted the same story to a compilation book project. (Books rights and magazine rights are two separate things, so there was no overlap of rights here.) The story appeared in that compilation book. Years later, it was picked up by another compilation. All told, I sold the story five times, receiving money for it each time. Was it a huge amount of money? No. Did it add up? Yes. Did I have to work hard to accomplish all of this? Not at all. I think it took me a couple of hours to write the article, all told.
I’m going to leave you with the story about an article I wrote, titled, “Modern Day Donkeys.” I put this article together very quickly, then sent out query letters by email (simultaneous submission) to a handful of carefully selected houses. I had a particular publisher in mind, but another publisher responded first (ironically, a denominational magazine). They named a price and I agreed. The VERY next day, the house I’d hoped to sell it to made me an offer for more money. Talk about a moral dilemma. I explained that I’d already sold it and told them I would get back with them in about six months to see if they were interested in reprinting the article. That’s exactly what happened. The article appeared in the denominational magazine first, then in “Christian Reader” about nine months later. I was paid “first rights” by the denominational magazine and “reprint rights” by Christian Reader. If I wanted to, I could offer that same article to other magazines today!
That’s how it’s done, freelancer: KNOW WHERE TO PITCH, HOW TO PITCH, AND HOW TO STAY IN THE GAME. . .and you’ll come out a winner in the end.
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