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Surefire Ways to Get
Your Magazine Article Queries Accepted
One of my writing discussion groups recently had a topic thread going about
the success rate of pitching magazine article ideas. It seems that the standard
acceptance rate is about 30% - 40%. In my own experience though, I've had about
a 90% acceptance rate and I mentioned that in the group. This inevitably led to
a nuts and bolts discussion, and I thought I'd share these tips with you.
1. Never send a query without first looking at the magazine's editorial
calendar. By looking at the editorial calendar, you can see immediately what
topics the editor will be most interested in, and when. Not all magazines
publish an editorial calendar and some require that you request it via email. If
you cannot find one on the publication's website, and you find nothing that
states they do not publish one, then send a short note to the Editor asking if
it is available and if so will they please send it to you.
2. Pay attention to the publication's lead time. Most editorial calendars or
writers' guidelines will tell you what their particular lead time is. Lead time
is simply the amount of advanced time that advertisements or articles must be
submitted in order to be ready for publication in a particular issue.
So, if a magazine states their lead time is 3 months and you were looking for
ideas to pitch to them in May, you would want to look at what topics they will
be covering in September, October or November. You can pitch ideas that are
further ahead on the calendar as well, just remember that the farther ahead you
pitch, the longer you may have to wait for payment.
3. Read the publication. Most publications can be read partially or completely
online now days, so there is no excuse for skipping this step. By reading
several of their most recently published materials, you'll gain two critical
advantages: A. You will not send in an idea that was recently covered doing so
is an almost guaranteed way to have your query rejected. B. You will get a solid
feel for the publication's style. Crafting your query and article to their
particular style is essential to getting published.
As a side effect, reading the magazine may also help you to generate some great
topic ideas for your own queries.
4. Contact the proper person. I use the online version of Writer's Market to
stay abreast of contact changes. I use this as a research and lead tool only
however. Once I've found publications that fit my acceptable payment range and
interest, I'll then visit the publication's site and search for freelance
information there. Often the publication's website will have a different editor
listed, or they may even direct you to send your queries to an assistant
instead. I always follow the rules outlined on the publication's website,
regardless of what information I originally found on the Writer's Market site.
5. When crafting your query, keep it professional and concise. Briefly introduce
yourself and your article idea. Mention which upcoming issue of their
publication you feel the article will fit best in based on their editorial
calendar, and if possible, mention how you feel it will fit into their
publication based on what you know of their recent articles. And last but not
least, include 2 - 4 relevant credits and a link to your online portfolio or
clips.
When mentioning credits, I suggest simply listing a few of the magazines you've
published with in the past. Including the complete title, issue, page number and
so on isn't usually needed. I also strongly suggest including a link to an
electronic portfolio, or at least to a page that has a list of your available
clips. This makes it easy for the editor to review your previous work at their
own convenience.
Of course it should go without saying that you have reviewed the publication's
available guidelines before doing any of the above, and that you will present
yourself as professionally as possible including performing spelling and grammar
checks before sending anything.
My preferred market is business, technical and trade publications, so your own
results with these methods may vary slightly. But by following the simple
submission preparation steps outlined in this article, any freelance writer
should be able to turn more queries into paying assignments.
About the Author
(C) 2002, Kathy Burns This article is provided courtesy of Electronic
Perceptions Promotions -
http://www.ElectronicPerceptions.com- You may freely reprint this article on
your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
Source:
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