Whether you’re a new writer who’s staring at her first feature in a newsstand publication or a jaded professional who’s finally hit a career high with a 2,500-word feature in Esquire, beyond sending the clip with new story pitches there’s the question of “What else can I do with this shiny piece of paper I hold in my hands?”

I’ve given the question a lot of thought while wearing my jet-powered marketing/self-promotion hat; here are some of my ideas about how writers can work their clips more effectively.

1. Send a link to the published story to editors who rejected your idea.

Before you jab your burning torches and sharpened pitchforks at me, hear me out. You have to be thoughtful about this. If you’re sending the link to editors just to rub it in their faces — “Nah, nah, look what the NYT bought, you dumb-ass idiots — next time, be on the ball, okay?” — that’s not so cool and these editors will be thrilled they avoided working with such a reject rejected your idea … thrilled!

Tone is everything. If your motive is to get more work with the editors who rejected your idea, send them a new idea, then say something like, “Remember the story I pitched to you last summer about the snake hunters in Florida’s Everglades? X Magazine finally bought it and it ran last month. Here’s a link; I thought you’d like to see how it turned out.” This can be especially effective if the editor liked the idea, but it was nixed at a story meeting.

Even if he didn’t seem to love your idea, send him the link anyway. Your clip shows persistence — you believed in your idea and you continued to market it — and it gives him a little glimpse of how you turned your initial idea into a full-fledged story. It also shows you can toot your horn professionally with no hard feelings. Everyone wins.

2. Send the link to editors you work with regularly.

I aim to develop collegial relationships with my editors, so I occasionally do this with clips I’m exceptionally proud of. When I wrote a piece about British cookbooks for The Atlantic‘s food blog, I sent the link to a couple food editors I worked with; one had no idea I was such an Anglophile and she assigned me a piece about British food, and another editor added the clip to my resume package, which eventually landed me a lucrative short-term writing project.

I know two other writers who send out quarterly e-mails to editors that include links to recent clips. This is a brilliant idea, one that an established freelancer can steal for her marketing arsenal.

3. Tweet ‘em/Facebook ‘em. And ask your friends to retweet/repost.

I know a lot of writers are iffy about Twitter and wonder who the heck would be interested in their 140-character blurps about their morning coffee. Forget tweeting the cuppa Joe — tweet links to your clips and add relevant #hashtags to get other people to notice your story and retweet. Same thing with Facebook; post a link, write a little about why you’re happy with the story, and see what happens. The key is to get as many eyeballs reading your article — and with luck, some of those eyeballs will belong to people who hire awesome writers.

4. Alert the media!

A friend of mine wrote a thinky-piece for Reason that producers at NPR happened to read, and the next thing she knew, she was on a public television news program (or the radio, I forget) to talk about her research. She wasn’t paid for the NPR appearance, but it was certainly something worth crowing about in her credentials.And less impressive, but last year when I blogged about Sarah Ferguson and her latest scandal involving the British royal family, I got calls from the British media, including the BBC, to talk via satellite about Americans’ perception of Ferguson.

OK, great, you’re thinking — these media outlets came to you guys. But there’s no law that says you can’t reach out to the media. If you’ve written a story that’s controversial, timely, and/or challenges commonly held beliefs, start by calling the story desks of local news stations.

Here’s an example: you just wrote a feature for Parents about a grade-schooler who was bullied and successfully sued her school system. The week your story comes out, you notice a story about one school system’s flawed anti-bullying stance. Call your local news station and tell them who you are and what you’ve written and offer to speak to them on air if they’re doing a story on this. Even if they weren’t planning on covering the story, knowing that there’s an expert (that’s YOU) they can call upon may make them think, “Hmm, maybe we SHOULD do a story on this.”

5. And of course, add links to the clip on your website, blog about it (if you have a blog), and make copies to send to editors who want to see hard copies.

Because if I don’t mention all this, some Sherlock will point it out.

Any other ideas about how to work a clip? Add your comments below. [db]

“Linda, you’re a crazy woman,” you say. “How can I write for a trade magazine unless I have knowledge of the industry the trade covers?”

Well, let’s see…I’ve written regularly for Pizza Today, The Federal Credit Union, In-Plant Graphics, and many other trades. What do I know about pizza restaurants, credit unions, and in-plant printing operations? Well, now I know a lot — but when I started writing for them, I knew zilch.

The secret is that there are plenty of areas of expertise that transfer across industries, such as marketing, HR, PR, sales, law, productivity, technology, finances, and more. If you have a knowledge of any of these or other cross-industry subjects, you can parlay that into assignments from trades. For example, I’m a generalist with lots of areas of knowledge, so I’ve written on productivity for The Federal Credit Union, technology for In-Plant Graphics, and marketing for magazines like Pizza Today, Mini-Storage Messenger, and more.

The way you make these subjects relevant to a trade magazine’s readers is to interview sources from the industry the magazine covers. For my article on productivity for The Federal Credit Union, I interviewed two general productivity experts plus a few credit union execs who had good productivity tips. For my articles on marketing for Pizza Today, I’ve interviewed restaurant consultants, marketing experts, and pizza restaurant owners.

It’s easy to find sources in many industries through Help a Reporter and industry organizations. Also, once you get an assignment, your editor will often recommend insiders you can talk to.

Now, I don’t want to make it sound like writing for trades is a cake walk and you don’t need to put any effort into it. Trade magazine editors are like consumer magazine editors in that they’re looking for unique ideas that are timely and relevant to their readers. If you’re good at researching, finding appropriate sources, and interviewing people from different industries — and you have some expertise in an area that transfers across industries like marketing or finances — you can write for trade magazines. [lf]

Since I teach an e-course that tells writers how to write queries that will hopefully land magazine assignments, one question I get a lot at the end of the course is, “What happens if I do get an assignment? What can I expect?”

Well, first, you do the happy dance. Then you e-mail me and let me know of your good fortune so I can do the happy dance. Then it will probably look something like this:

Let’s say you pitched Big Health Magazine with your idea for an article about how friends and family affect your health. First, the editor will call or (more often) e-mail you and let you know that they would like you to write the story. What you need to know before you accept the assignment is:

• How long the article will be.
• What the deadline is.
• What the contract terms are.
• What the pay is.

Unfortunately, many editors leave out crucial information — especially the pay. They ask whether you want the assignment, and when you pant “Yes!” they drop the bomb that they pay half a cent per word.

If the editor leaves out any of this information, ask for it. The editor will not withdraw the assignment if you ask what the pay is, or what rights they’re buying. She probably won’t even blink an eye.

Make sure you’re ready to accept the terms the editor offers before you accept the assignment:

• How long the article will be. Is the editor asking you to write a story you envisioned as 2,000 words in 300 words — or vice versa? If so, do you think you can make it work — and do you want to?
• What the deadline is. Do you think you can make the deadline? Remember, even if you’re a fast writer, nailing down sources for interviews can be the most time-consuming (and unpredictable) part of an assignment.
• What the contract terms are. Many magazines these days are asking writers to sign contracts giving the magazine all the rights to the article, such as Work for Hire or All Rights. Are you willing to give up the right to resell your article as a reprint? Are you willing to see your article reprinted by the magazine’s publishing partners — without seeing an extra dime? I’m by no means a contract expert, so check out the contract terms glossary on the American Society of Journalists and Authors website to learn about the different terms you may be offered.
• What the pay is. Usually the editor will offer you a set fee, such as $1,000 for the article, rather than a per-word rate such as $1 per word. Do some quick math in your head. If the per-word rate acceptable to you? Can you estimate how long it will take you to write the article, and if so, will you be making an acceptable hourly rate?

What if you don’t like some of the answers you get? Negotiate. Again, an editor will not kick you to the curb if you negotiate for terms that are more acceptable to you. You can ask for a few extra days on the deadline, see if you can wrangle more words, ask for a First North American Serial Rights contract, or request a boost in the payrate. If you think it will help your case, tell the editor why: “Do you think you can give me more words? That way I can be sure to include all the latest studies” or “I have some other deadlines around that time. Can I have a few extra days?” You may get what you ask for, and you may not; if not, you have to decide whether you’d still like to go ahead with the assignment.

At this point you may want to ask a few questions about the magazine, such as their circulation or the demographics of their readers. For example, I just wrote an article for a health insurance company’s custom magazine, and it was good to find out that the circulation is 300,000 and that even though the company operates in Rhode Island, the readership is nation-wide. Sources will often ask you for this information before deciding to grant you an interview (or just out of curiosity), so it’s good to have the details. Also ask what issue your article is slated for, as sources will almost always ask you that as well.

Next, you’ll want to discuss what the editor would like you to write. The editor may tweak your idea for the department it’s slated for; for example, she may want a sidebar on how the quality of your relationships matters as much as the quantity. She may also let you know what kinds of sources you can interview; for example, some health magazines want quotes only from expert sources at large universities or hospitals.

Once you have all the details, be sure to thank the editor for the assignment! Also make sure you have her contact information in case you have any questions…and, of course, to send the completed article to.

Finally, before you begin to write your article, refresh your memory by reading through a back issue of the magazine so you can be sure that your lede, organization, etc. are in line with the magazine’s style. (You can also ask the editor for the magazine’s style sheet, but many don’t have them.) Also be sure to check how the magazine handles attributions (some publications I write for quote sources as “Dr. Smith” and “Ms. Jones”), serial commas, and state names (such as PA versus Penn. vs. Pennsylvania).

I’m not going to get into all the details of actually writing the article…that’s enough for an entire book. But I will work on a blog post about what to do once you’ve written the article: putting together the source list, sending in the completed article, invoicing, and handling revisions.

I hope this post helps you get over the first-assignment jitters. Now go out there and kick some butt! [lf]

The number one complaint editors have about query letters is the lack of research writers put into them. No matter how clever or qualified the writer may be, many editors often shake their head, turn to a co-worker and ask, “Did they even read our magazine?” If you ever wondered why editors often say, “Read a few issues of our magazine before querying,” now you know why.

Failing to research your market is a weakness in beginners and experienced writers alike. Most of the writers I’ve worked with know they’re supposed to research the magazine, or at least read it before they query; but few writers know how to research it or what they’re looking for exactly. Think of magazine research as what you might do before applying for a job, or going out on a date. You want to know as much as possible about the person/magazine before you approach them with a request. By learning what they want, what they like, and what they need before you approach them, chances are you’re going to be seen as a writer with a solution rather than a writer who merely wants an assignment.

Here are the two most important things you can do before pitching a magazine.

1. Study the Writer’s and Photographer’s Guidelines

This sounds like a no-brainer, but I’m always shocked at how many writers never read, let alone study, the writer’s guidelines before drafting their query. I agree, many guidelines are short, incomplete, and general and don’t offer much direction or advice. Some editors don’t even know what the guidelines say. But consider guidelines another piece of information in your research and not the Holy Grail itself. Many experienced writers never look at the guidelines — and when you learn how to read and research a magazine, you may not have to either.

I agree with Linda – many guidelines are there simply to discourage newbies and rain on your getting-published parade, but there are clues there for starting your research.

If the magazine has updated their guidelines — as in this year — pay attention. While I advocate breaking all of the rules some of the time and some of the rules all of the time, I still believe there are nuggets of wisdom to be found in the writer’s guidelines. Every magazine differs in the number and degree of difficulty of the hoops you have to jump through. If you’re a newbie, play by the rules until you figure out which ones to break, or break the rules you feel comfortable breaking and be prepared to learn from the experience.

* Look for specific comments and notes about what kinds of articles the magazine wants and does not want. Some travel and camping magazines want first person accounts of your first camping trip, others do not. Some magazines love poetry — others do not. Some magazines accept short stories only from writers with agents; others don’t use short stories at all. Knowing what a magazine says they want or don’t want is the first step in your research. (Reading the magazine is the second.)

* Look for the average word count. You may not realize it, but if your query promises an extensive review of the history of the evolution of the American Quarter Horse and the magazine’s maximum word count is 500 words, your query is going to scream “amateur” to any editor worth their salary. Don’t over-promise. See if your idea can fit their average word count. If not, consider a different angle or focus that will allow you to deliver a piece packed with great content within the word count allowed.

2. Read the Magazine

Read the magazine — and I don’t mean pick up a copy at Barnes & Noble and flip through it and look at the pictures. Plan on spending a block of time — at least a few hours — at your local library with a pad and pen. Most libraries have the past year to five years of issues of all the major magazines and many of the niche magazines you may be interested in writing for. If they don’t, write to the magazine and order the current and past two issues. You need at least three issues to do effective research.

* Look for the masthead. Write down or photocopy the masthead and the table of contents. The masthead will give you the names of the editors, writers, and departments — names you’ll need when writing your query. Check to see if the names are the same as in your current Writer’s Market. If there’s a discrepancy, call the publication and simply ask the receptionist to clarify who the editor is so you can address your letter appropriately. (NEVER send a query to “The editor.” Always get the name of the editor and spell it correctly.)

* Look for the table of contents. The table of contents will give you a good idea of the kinds of themes or emphasis the editor wants to see. Dog Fancy, for instance, has their feature articles listed at the top of the contents page, with their regular columns, “Fun Dog, Healthy Dog, Adopted Dog, Smart Dog,” etc. at the bottom. With only four random feature articles about dogs, and twelve regular columns with a consistent focus, I now know that Dog Fancy needs stories related to their regular columns. Now I have 12 areas where I can look for ideas I know the editor wants. For instance, “Adopted Dog” is a regular feature about “Stories and advice on rescue and shelter dogs.” “Healthy Dog” is a regular feature on what’s new in veterinary medicine and natural remedies. In ten minutes I know what their monthly need for content is and have a direction and focus to pursue.

* Look for the article density. Article density refers to how complex, referenced, or “meaty” an article is. Read the articles to get a sense of how much information they contain and what level of research the editor expects. By knowing how complex or dense articles are you can write your query in a way that shows the editor you know you’ll need to quote three experts, or back up your piece with studies and research.

How technical or content heavy is the article? Is it more conversational, or instructive? One article won’t tell you much, but if you read several issues or even all the issues in one magazine, you’ll get a very good sense of whether or not the magazine is “fluff and filler,” or a combination, or a serious publication that expects its writers to know their stuff as well as their readers do. If you’re planning to write for a niche magazine whose readers know their subject matter, then you’d better find some experts willing to be quoted, and you’d better know your topic inside and out. Never try to bluff an editor into thinking you know more about the topic than you do. They live and breathe the content and can spot a phony a mile away. If you can see you’ll need to quote experts in your article, then you can find them and drop their names in your query.

* Look for features, columns or places in the magazine where you could make a contribution. If you want to write for a professional or trade magazine, but don’t have any expertise to draw on, try to find a place where you can break into the magazine with photos, a “reader’s tip,” or some other contribution. I don’t have an extensive construction or architectural background, but I once sold a photo of a pool house crafted to look like a huge boulder for a popular how-to magazine for construction professionals. All I needed to write was a paragraph about the owner and the project.

* Look for articles similar to the idea you’re considering pitching. Most magazines will not run the same kind of article twice in one year. Some won’t run the same feature twice in two years. That means if they just ran an article on identity theft, they won’t run another one — even if yours is better and has more information and advice than the one that ran. If the magazine you want to pitch your “celebrity wedding rituals” to just ran a piece on “10 Things Celebrities Do Before Their Weddings,” chances are your query, no matter how well written, will be rejected. Consider pitching another idea or pitching to a different magazine.

* Read the letters to the editor and the editor’s note. Not all magazines have them, but if they do, read the letters to the editor. Often times a reader will make a remark or tell a story about something that could be a great story idea to pitch to the magazine. Letters to the editor also give you a sense of who the readers are, what they like, what they don’t like, what moved them and what bored them.

Reading the editor’s note, if the magazine has one, is a way to keep up on what’s on the editor’s mind. Editors often share a personal side of themselves or something that’s important to them in their notes. They may talk of changes in the direction of the magazine, or introduce new writers or staff members. Some may have experienced a life-changing event — a birth of a child, death of a parent, car accident, tragedy or joy that has impacted them enough to share with their readers. Knowing where the editor is in their life can often spark an idea for an article.

* Identify the magazine’s themes and personality. Editors are human. They tend to have a fondness for a particular kind of story or content. If you read enough issues you’ll begin to spot what that fondness is. Some editors like a lot of conversation and narrative. Others like lots of facts and expert opinion. Some editors like a “personal” angle with one person in the spotlight. Others like to skip from person to person, quoting several people or events in each story. Other themes include religious tones or appeal.

* Look for similar story or article structure. Guideposts stories, for instance, all have the same urgent, mystical “God intervention” sense to them with a strong emotional and faith-based theme with a happy, or at least hopeful, ending. Articles in men’s magazines have an “I did it and you can too,” sort of approach. The mystery short stories in many tabloid type women’s magazines are all around love and romance. Learn to look for the common theme and to spot them in all magazines. Once you know what they are you can hone, finesse or craft your query appropriately.

* Look for holes. Once you spot the themes, look for holes — meaning the stories that aren’t being told. In a magazine with issue after issue of stories about successful, inspirational amputees and quadriplegics and people with visible disabilities I noticed there were no stories about the “invisible disabilities,” like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, people in treatment for cancer or other invisible health problems. I knew that there were health conditions that were as disabling and difficult to overcome as any visible disability and pitched the story to the editor from that angle. I had found a “hole,” or a topic that fit the magazine’s audience, but that hadn’t been covered.

* Troll for ideas Some of my best ideas for stories have come from magazines themselves. Some of the ideas are nuggets buried in a story that I can take and expand upon; others give me ideas for stories to pitch to other publications. For instance, Dog Fancy has a regular column on alternative health care for dogs. After reading about acupuncture techniques for hip dysplasia in dogs I thought, “That could lead to an article in a massage magazine about massage therapists who only work on animals.”

* Look for attention-grabbing quotes, headlines, and topics.
Quotes, headlines and topics that grab your attention are likely to grab a reader’s and an editor’s attention as well. Jot down these down and think about story ideas you could pitch to other magazines.

What you’re doing when you research a magazine is getting a feel for the articles, the readers, even the advertisers. Read the guidelines first to see if they do indeed match what the editors say they want. Sometimes editors change and so do the magazine’s needs, but no one updates the guidelines!

The better you know the magazine, the more likely you are to know or sense if your idea is a fit for them. I’ve often had great ideas, but after researching the magazine realized they weren’t great for that publication. I’ve often found competitors whose content was more along the lines of what I was proposing — something I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t done my research. Researching magazines gives you a better feel for what the industry considers important and what readers and editors want to see. The more informed you are about a magazine, the more closely you can tailor your query to what the editor wants. It’s a lot like fishing — if you put the right bait in front of the right fish, your chances of catching that fish are a lot better than if you throw something out there and hope some fish likes it.

Becky Blanton is an award-winning journalist by trade, a writer by passion. When she first started writing she wrote 17 successful queries before receiving her first rejection letter. She rewrote it and sent it back and sold the article the second time around. She’s been published in Dog Fancy, Trailer Life, American Profile, Woman’s World, Salon.com, Motivated, and more than 300 other magazines nationwide. She spoke at TED Global in Oxford in 2009 and her essay on forgiveness was selected for Tim Russert’s best selling book Wisdom of Our Fathers, Letters and Lessons from Daughters and Sons. She blogs at: http://beckyblanton.com.

photo credit: mollypop

A couple weeks ago, one of my students — a talented writer with a couple national clips to her name — told me she’d taken a class where the writing instructor said beginning freelancers should write 15 articles for regional parenting magazines before pitching national parenting magazines.

I was flabbergasted when this dog of “writing advice” plopped itself on my desktop, practically begging for a rejoinder. I floundered at coming up with a thoughtful response. “That may be the silliest piece of freelance writing advice I’ve ever heard” is the best I could come up with. (BTW, my student hadn’t taken this gem to heart; she simply wanted to know what I thought.)

Let’s break the advice down. First, the premise: when you decide to become a freelance writer, there are dues to pay and you have to pay them by toiling in the Minor Leagues. There’s simply no sure path to the Majors. One of my first students had zero clips, but scored an assignment at Parenting by presenting a clever idea in a well-written pitch. You don’t need a mass of clips to do that, just some smarts with a side of confidence.  I had another student who had a few regional magazine clips score a front-page travel section story in The New York Times. Not only was he an excellent writer with terrific ideas, he may be one of the most persistent writers I know. I’m pretty sure if it took calling Arthur Sulzberger Jr. at home to get the green light on that assignment, he’d have done it, no hand-wringing involved. And I know of other writers whose first clips came from Self, Glamour, Parents, and The Village Voice.

If you’re a strong writer with great story ideas and you’re persistent and motivated, there’s no reason on earth why you should head for the Minors just because, well, that’s where new freelancers start. Will landing work with the Majors be easy? No. But it’s not easy for anyone, even if you’re a seasoned pro with hundreds of credits. Yes, it’s possible you’ll run into an editor (or two) who won’t give you an assignment because they think you don’t have the clips/chops. If that’s the worst rejection you experience in this career, consider yourself blessed. There are plenty of other editors who will take a chance on you, so don’t let this fear get in your way. If you’re a solid writer with good stories to tell, any lessons you’d learn toiling for magazines that pay .15 per word can be learned writing for magazines that pay $1.50 per word. So if you think you’ve got that perfect story for Men’s Health or Saveur, swing for it!

Next: You need to write 15 articles for [small markets] before pitching the nationals. Says who? Oprah? The Dalai Lama? God? And why 15? Is there something magical about the number 15? Does it have special powers? Will the skies part and the angels come on down from nigh? What if you write 14 or — gasp — only 10? Now I’m sure this teacher picked 15 because that seems like a comforting number of clips for a freshly minted freelancer. And yes, there are some writers who need some positive reinforcement on a small scale before they march on to the big field. But for the rest of you who have no need for hand-holding, I’d say just jump in the game.

The national editors I know and/or have worked with — The Atlantic, the Boston Globe, Cook’s Illustrated, Parenting, Family Circle — have neither the time nor the inclination to tally clips before handing out assignments. They’ll pay attention if you’ve got some interesting clips from top-rate magazines, but they’re certainly not going to say, “Hmm, only five clips from this magazine I’ve never heard of … well, maybe if she had 10 more, I’d feel more comfortable assigning to her.” Indeed I’d argue that showing off a mass of clips from smaller markets might hurt you. You might be better off pitching your great ideas confidently to national editors,  leaving off any mention of writing credits, rather than trying to sell them on the value of 15 clips from markets that can’t compare.

And my last point? My student specifically mentioned this 15-clip rule applied to regional parenting publications (RPPs). Drumroll: RPPs regularly buy reprints of articles that originally appeared in magazines like Parents, Parenting, American Baby, Baby Talk, and other national magazines. So why bother writing original articles for RPPs for pennies on the word when you might be able to sell the article to Parents or Parenting for $1-plus per word, then sell the reprint rights later to RPPs?

Here’s my advice: Approach the magazines you want to write for if you think you’ve got the right ideas for them and you’re confident you can deliver the goods. Realize that top magazines are difficult to crack, so get a lot of well-written query letters out to a variety of publications — national, local, trades, closed-circulation, newspapers, websites, and customs.  Rather than fret about your lack of clips, take that energy and research story ideas, analyze the magazines you want to write for, and work to improve your writing. Lather, rinse, and repeat. It’s really that easy.

And that difficult. — Diana Burrell