You ask, we answer: Foreign affairs
Caroline writes, “Dear Miss Abby Manners (or did I miss something there… ;o)
Do you have any tips for breaking markets outside your country of residence?
I’m in the UK – I’d love to break into some of the American markets and it’s not too hard for me to get copies of American magazines to study – though I know that a true Renegade doesn’t necessarily need to see them!
However, what about English speaking markets further afield, like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong and so on? Are these areas you’ve dipped into and do the differing social customs of these countries require a different approach than to a UK or US publication?”
Great questions! Keeping in mind we’re not editors, we’ll give this question our best college try.
We know a few writers who live in the U.K., Europe, and Asia who sell to American markets. That said, they were working freelancers before they jumped the border, and they’re all American. With tools like the Internet, e-mail, cheap long-distance rates, and Federal Express, it really doesn’t matter where you live, as long as you’re accessible to your editors during their work hours. That means fielding the occasional 11:00 p.m. call from a source in NYC, where it’s only 6:00 p.m. (You also get the jump on getting stuff to your editor in the a.m. — lucky you!)
What will matter is picking up the writing style. I’m totally generalizing here and yes, there are exceptions, but British journalists have a more expansive writing style and tend to assume their readers have some intelligence — lots of delicious irony or literary allusions (which I love, btw, and why I’m always skulking about the foreign magazine section in Borders). In the U.S., editors want you to get to the point. Bang, bang, bang. And your readers? Well, the assumption is they’re pressed for time, so they don’t want to think too hard while they’re reading your story. (There, I think I said that diplomatically.) The other things to consider: spelling differences (“color” for “colour”, “gynocologist” for “gynaecologist”) and word usage (“gas” or “gasoline” for “petrol”, “while” for “whilst,” etc.). A good British/American phrase book can help you out there. You’ll also have to consider cultural cues: for example, the Dear Abby thing above. Most Americans know Dear Abby as a syndicated advice columnist; Miss Manners is another columnist.
There are also a few other considerations. You should check with an accountant/tax pro/business advisor before you start pitching abroad. How will you handle taxes? What paperwork will an American company need, if any, in order to work with you? How will you handle U.S checks? Will your bank charge huge fees to cash foreign checks?
Now, for the magazines in other countries … personally, I haven’t sold to any magazines outside the U.S. and Canada. However, I do know writers who sell resell their American stories to these markets, which would lead me to think these magazines would welcome articles from you. It’s my understanding, however, these markets don’t pay nearly as well as U.S. markets, but still — what fun to see your byline in an Australian magazine. I say go for it. What do you have to lose besides a few kb of memory?
I’d like to open this question up to our readers. How successful have you been in approaching overseas markets? How do editors operate from country to country? Has your citizenship helped or hindered your ability to score assignments in other countries? [db]
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Oct 6, 2006 Advice, You Ask, We Answer
This isn’t a comment for this specific question (sorry!), but rather for the whole Q&A idea. BRAVA!!!! I can’t tell you how informative it is to read a “live” scenario and your take on the situation.
Thank you.
Thanks for answering so quickly!
Regarding payments – I’ve sold fiction to an Australian magazine and it wasn’t a problem. They asked me to state on the invoice that I wasn’t an Australian resident so I didn’t have to pay Aus tax and they paid by international bank transfer. Every bank account worldwide should have an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and my bank just charged their normal commission on changing the funds from Aus$ to GB£.
Some years ago now, I worked on a newspaper in a foreign city. The staff was made up of a diverse group of people, from a number of countries.
I progressed from reporter to deputy editor to editor. There were journalists from the US and UK and somehow we rubbed along!
When I first arrived, my background was as a reporter on a UK regional daily. The then American news editor was not impressed by my ‘one source’ stories and style of prose. He preferred much longer, fuller articles but I believed they lacked ‘punch.’ This sounds like it’s in direct contradiction to your reflections on different writing styles – but I’m focusing on news as opposed to features.
We had some brilliant laughs when the American copy editors would sub copy written by us Brits! They were baffled by some of our terminology and we by some of theirs.
The boss was from New Zealand and he was pretty much keeping the peace – between us and the Russians!
These days I have many freelance colleagues who regularly syndicate their work to foreign markets or sell directly to them. I’m full of admiration.
I was once asked to write for an Australian publication but never pursued it as I didn’t perceive it to be as high paying a market as it could be.
And I think I’m sorry to say I have missed out on chasing US markets because of my early experiences – it’s always seemed too much bother somehow. I hope you don’t think that’s too terrible, but as the UK work keeps me (and now my company) busy I’ve chosen not to regret it.
Best wishes
Linda
Caroline, I write for a Canadian magazine and like you, I\’ve found the payment process painless. I get a check drawn on a U.S. bank, but that\’s not too surprising, given geography. But my understanding with U.S. magazines is they get confounded by anything beyond a check (\”An international bank transfer? What\’s that?\”) I\’d love it if my U.S. publishers would do direct deposit, but that\’s a rarity here, unless you\’re a full-time employee of said company.
Linda, I\’m glad you\’re keeping busy in the U.K. Less competition for us!
Some of our Brit readers have pointed out parts of RW don\’t apply for freelancing in the U.K. I\’m guessing the querying process in particular. Is it true that you\’d be more apt to ring up an editor with a story idea than write a pitch letter for him? Would an editor there be baffled by a query letter?
Sorry about those backslashes — when I edit a comment, the software program inserts them. They’re impossible to delete!
Oh, a big point I forgot to make in my post. American magazines will generally want Americans quoted in their articles, unless you’re doing something on Richard Branson or have an “in” with a renowned researcher from Belgium. Once I had a great source from Toronto, and my editor said, “Nope, sorry. U.S. only.” Same for an American I wanted to quote who was living in Germany. Especially if you want to write for the women’s, health & fitness, and parenting publications, you’ll want to have lots and lots of American sources to poll — not so difficult, thanks to the WWW.
Thanks, Diana
)
I’m finding the Renegade pitch approach is working fine over here – I’m querying by email, as do all the writers I know, and no-one seems to object so far!
I loved my copy of RW and passed it on to a colleague so that she could get to grips with not having to do things in a certain way! I think I want it back
I tend to pitch by email but if it’s a really urgent piece – as in a news story rather than a feature or a response to something that is already in the news – then yes I would pick up the phone, and I would certainly chase by phone – whether that’s after 10 minutes, an hour, a day or a week is another matter.
A freelance journalist I know told me she’d never eat if she didn’t chase a certain editor by phone.
Yes your point about having to interview people from given countries was another one that put me off, I’m afraid. I reckon that US experts quoted in UK features are pretty good though – and would be seen as adding ‘weight’ to your piece. So you win all round!
I’ve written for magazines in the US, Canada, Australia, Spain, and the UK. And I’m currently in Russia! (long story). Never had any problems. Many mags are now using PayPal, which saves you the fee on international checks.
Diana
http://www.dianabocco.wordpress.com
Hi Caroline,
I think it’s a great idea! The only thing to consider is that the US tends to use less freelancers, but saying that they do use them. I would certainly pitch them exactly as you would in the UK, ie. it’s all about the idea and if that suits the publication you want to write for, you should have no problem. I am a British journalist and write for both the US and UK. The US seems to like celeb stories and articles, that have an American angle.
When I started, I pitched articles about weird rural communities in the States and it’s also a good idea to check the papers online and perhaps, follow up a story, the US seems to do less of that. Let’s say you see a story about Tom Cruise and Katie wanting the next pregnancy to be a home birth, for example, try and find a few women who have done the same, US forums are excellent to track case studies…then when you pitch you can link it with the celeb news item. Mothers rushing to be like Tom and Nicole. In a nutshell, forget it’s the US and research the publication like you would in the UK.
Very best of luck!! Let us know how you get on. Hope the posts below help.
See you.
The Squeaking Noodle
http://squeakingnoodle.blogspot.com/2006/10/pitching-newspaper-and-magazine.html
http://squeakingnoodle.blogspot.com/2006/09/pitching-editors-by-phone-thats-right.html
http://squeakingnoodle.blogspot.com/2006/09/freelancing-whats-it-like.html
Forgot to say – just let them send you a check or cheque as we say in their currency. I just pop it in the bank and they change it automatically, it may cost you a few pounds, but it saves all the hassle of asking an ed to worry about converting your cash into sterling.
I`m in the UK and write for Australian magazine fairly regularly. They only pay by cheque, but many others will pay by bank transfer.
Haven`t pitched the US markets yet (still focusing on the UK pubs) as I have trouble getting hold of copies of mags I want to pitch without buying sample copies or a subscription. Most of these places you can get free copies seem to be for US residents only.
Caroline – where do you find copies of US mags without having to send for sample copies? I haven`t seen many available in the UK (except for US and French Vogue).