go even further – but how do you make your way into the lucrative yet confusing world of magazine publishing?
Believe me, it’s not as hard as it looks. For a lot of blog writers, getting something into traditional publishing looks daunting and – whisper it quietly – for a magazine writer, blogs look like a mountain to climb too. But there are a few easy, basic rules for success.
1. Choose Your Blog Topic Wisely
Most magazines have deadlines well in advance of their cover date. This means that any blog post that is bang on topic today is likely to be yesterday’s news by the time the finished article hits the doormat.
When you’re choosing a topic there are many things you should take into account, which we’ll discuss later on. But above all you need to be sure that your article will still be relevant next week and likely next month, or the month after.
2. Develop a Specialist Subject
What sort of blog posts do you write? Is there a recurring theme or topic that you cover? If so, you’re off to a flying start, because specialist magazines tend to pay much better than general titles. I, for instance, have written for years about water and wastewater. That may be sewage to you, but it’s bread and butter to me!
As a rule of thumb: the more specialist, technical knowledge that’s required, the better the pay. Chances are you’ll be one of a few select freelancers pitching to the editor as well. For a general magazine (such as a woman’s title) a unique experience or viewpoint can make you stand out from the crowd – but it really is a crowd.
Choose carefully, because you don’t want to waste your time pitching to incredibly crowded markets where you’re unlikely to get a look-in as a newbie – and if you do, you’ll get paid peanuts.
3. Choose Your Target Wisely
If you look at a magazine industry ‘bible’ like Willings, you’ll be amazed by the vast number of magazines out there covering every conceivable topic. I swear Emap used to have a title called ‘Your Potato’. So whatever your specialism, there will be a title out there that covers it. Practically every magazine has a web presence nowadays, so a little light Googling will uncover the main magazines in your field.
Try a range of search strings using keywords in your chosen field, including the search terms “AND magazine”. For me, I would likely try ‘Water AND magazine’, ‘wastewater AND magazine’, ‘sewage AND magazine’. I might even try ‘wet AND magazine’ or ‘utility AND magazine’ and yes, those would get me relevant hits. Be creative! You won’t catch every title this way, but you’ll find the majority.
Another approach is to enter various keywords as a search item, and then look at the ‘news’ section. This might uncover those difficult titles that decide they want to be called ‘Caitlyn’ rather than plain old Sewage News.
4. Do a Little Light Detective Work
Once you’ve found your titles, have a good look round their websites. What sort of magazines are they? They may appear to fit with your area of interest, but do they really? Try to look in as much depth as you can – if there are past issues you can view, that is a great place to start. Have a look at their forward features list to see if they have any topic areas coming up that you could easily cover, or that could fit in with your blog idea.
Most importantly, what sort of style do they use? Is it formal or informal? Practical or academic? Do their features contain a lot of interviews – in which case, would you be able to contact the right experts to flesh out your basic article?
Have a look at the list of editorial staff – and at the names of the feature writers. Are the writers all in-house, or are some names not on that editorial list? This should give you a good idea of whether the magazine uses freelancers before you contact them.
5. Make Sure You’re Talking to the Right Person
While you’re looking at the editorial staff list, it’s worth checking to see if there are section heads – a features editor or news editor. Sometimes titles are downright confusing – the odd magazine will opt for an ‘executive’ editor or ‘associate’ editor rather than a plain old boring editor.
As a rule of thumb, if the magazine has a features editor they would be your first contact, unless you are convinced that your idea really fits into some other section that has caught your eye during your investigations.
On the other hand, if the magazine has no editorial contact other than the editor and possibly an assistant, it’s a lot more likely to need freelance help. And of course, in this case, your first port of call will be that poor, overworked editor.
6. Research, Research, Research
You’re now getting close to making that vital pitch. A word of warning: editors will need something more substantial than your personal thoughts on a current event, however relevant and accurate they may be (unless you’re seriously famous). In the world of blogging personal is good: on paper, not so much, unless you have a really unique story (I’m thinking “Mother of 16 and I still want more” territory).
Now is the time to look critically at your blog post idea. Will you be able to make it stretch easily to 800 or 1,600 words (the average for one or two paper pages)? As you already have an idea to hand, you have the advantage that the outline of your article is already well formed.
All you need now is to produce a precise summary of the article you’d like to submit. Don’t write volumes – a paragraph or two will do. Briefly introduce yourself and your background. Make sure you cover your key messages. Explain why you believe your article is relevant to the magazine (this is where all your research will come in handy).
Whatever you do, don’t submit a finished article – the editor may have their own ideas they want to input, or people they would like you to talk to. Be more flexible: do less work.
In Conclusion
All systems go! Email this information to your chosen contact and wait. Hopefully, if you’ve done your research, you’ll be hearing back soon. If you don’t, wait a couple of weeks and send a follow-up message or give them a call.
Finally, remember that (as with guest posting), perseverance pays. If one magazine doesn’t want your idea, there are plenty of others to try. And if a magazine doesn’t like one article, it may like another. Keep trying!
Image Credit: Travis Wise