posted
A magazine I subscribe to and really enjoy announced in their editor's letter this month that they are looking for freelance writers. I'm very excited, as I've been toying with the idea of this sort of thing for quite a while and have at least half-a-dozen concepts in mind that might be suitable for this magazine, as well as a few first drafts or partly done articles.
So - how do I word a message to them indicating my interest, and indicating my plan to submit a specific article that they mention needing (a family vacation travelogue - after our vacation next week.)
posted
I imagine it depends very much on the type of magazine. I was a staff member and then an executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review, and we didn't accept queries (well, we accepted one, but that was from Supreme Court Chief Justice Rhenquist), only full submissions.
My impression was that submission standards are industry or subject-matter specific.
posted
I would say just like any other query letter except you place an equal balance who you are and what you've done as well as what your article is about.
My own experience with this is limited to the world of Academia. While reviewers may be "blind" but editors are most definitely not.
Editors don't even have send things out for review if they don't want to.
I say that to say this, if the editors your favorite mag think not only might you have writing talent but also a "platform" as they're called then this will help you get a spot in their pages.
of course as always writing well is the first key.
posted
"Editors don't even have send things out for review if they don't want to."
If this is science, then that practice is a blight on the peer review status of the journal, and may cause it to lose status. I am not saying that it doesn't happen.
posted
while you have to understand that this assumes that the piece in question is in fact empirically driven.
Theoretical work from a highly respected scholar is not likely to be given the same scrutiny as empirical work.
All empirically driven pieces are usually sent out but the editor also usually knows who those reviewers are...
I'm not saying editors take it easy on certain writers but rather that if for example A has a long standing scholastic feud with B, editor C will likely not send A B's work and vice versa.
posted
Uh, ok, to clarify - this isn't that kind of magazine. It's one of the parenting ones. A very mainstream magazine. Not peer-reviewed. And the editor's letter was practically begging for freelance writers.
I have written a moderate-length introductory letter, with my meager qualifications and emphasizing my interest and topics I have wanted to write articles about. Any suggestions for how to close the letter? Should I ask them if they have an assignment I can try out to show them what I'm capable of? Or just wait and write my travelogue in a week and send it off?
posted
1. Introduce yourself, mention any qualifications you have to write this article - and/or mention any experts you will be interviewing for the article and what makes them an authority.
2. Tell them what you have published and in what publication.
3. Tell them of your travel plans, where you are going, etc. Then pick a slant, something about this trip/destination that will make the article different, entertaining and informative, and will make them really want the article. It would help to mention some little known but interesting facet about your destination that you might touch on in the article. This will show them you are prepared - not just writing by the seat of your pants.
4. If you have not already, read a number of similar articles to the one you intend to write - travelogue - so that you get a feel for content and style. Especially helpful would be back issues of this magazine with such articles that would serve you well as a guide.
5. Unless they accept unsolicited mss, don't send them one. Send them a query. Even if they do accept unsolicited mss, my inclination would still be to query first as sending an article in "cold" could be rejected - and the time taken to write it is down the drain. Also, when working with a new editor, I think it is always better to query - sell em on the idea, then when you get the ok go ahead and write it. Assignments in my experience are generally given after a writer has proven to the editor that the author can write a good article and has established a working relationship with the editor. So again, I think a query is the way to go.
[This message has been edited by nitewriter (edited August 16, 2007).]
[This message has been edited by nitewriter (edited August 16, 2007).]
posted
You send a brief and professional query letter something like this:
Dear xxxxx,
John Doe is a single parent of Siamese quintuplets. I propose a 750-word article discussing his parenting strategies and how he balances a full time career as a bass fisherman with raising Siamese quintuplets.
I am also a parent and know John personally and have several tidbits that might make for a good sidebar. I can also supply photographs.
This is where you tell about your writing experience and mention any related credits you might have.
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