Author: Venus --
Date:   02-01-06 14:12

Hey, guys. I have a question that I'm not sure how to categorize, so I'm just putting it here.

I've been querying magazines for some articles I've written, and the letters I get back all say that they don't meet their "editorial needs at this time". They're basically parenting articles, so they're not seasonal or dated. Would it be crazy to query the same articles again several months or a year later?

Also, one came back with a handwritten note that said, "Karen, do you have any writing experience? We'd love to see some clips in your future pitches." I don't have any clips yet, as I've only been working at this for a few months, but isn't a little handwritten note a good thing? In the absense of clips, should I send a few paragraphs of the article, even though they ask only for queries?

Thanks, all, for your insight.

-Karen

Author: Elle C.
Date:   02-01-06 14:27

Karen, I used to work on-staff at a parenting magazine, and I freelance mostly parenting pieces, so this is definitely something I can comment on.

You have stumbled upon the crappy Catch-22 of freelance writing: until you get someone to give you an assignment, you won't have any published clips, BUT you can't get someone to give you an assignment unless you query with published clips. How are you supposed to get any clips if they keep saying no?

The answer is, you have to find a market, no matter how small, to publish SOMETHING that you've written. It can be newsletter for your church or mother's group, a non-paying op-ed piece for your local newspaper...as long as it's something that has been printed somewhere, it will carry weight.

Magazines don't like taking a chance on new writers, even when they claim that they do in Writer's Market. Most contracts have a "kill fee" that protects the magazine in the event they give an assignment and it turns out unpublishable, but it is extremely embarrassing for the editor when that happens. No editor wants that kind of egg on her face, so they put the burden on the writer to prove themselves worthy of the assignment.

If you don't have any published clips, but you are confident that you can do a bang-up job on the article, then you could include a finished writing sample with your query so that they can get a sense of your style. Is there an essay you've written that you can submit? Even if it's just a short "filler" type of piece, or a sidebar that would accompany the larger article you're pitching...you just need to prove that you can write something cohesive.

Start with the folks who sent you the handwritten note, because that's the most encouraging one. Most unsolicited queries are handled by the editorial assistant, the poor overworked put-upon hack at the bottom of the staff totem pole. Getting a form rejection from them doesn't mean your article idea is no good....it could just mean that the assistant was swamped and couldn't be bothered to read your stuff thoroughly. Remember, they're also sticking their necks out when they pass something along to an editor...the likelihood that they'll flag yours as "noteworthy" if you have no clips is slim.

If you've been sending your pitches to the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine---don't. Pick one of the Senior Editors, or better yet, an Associate Editor, and send it one of them instead. The Associate Editors are high up enough to assign articles and give you a valid assessment, but still low enough on the editorial ladder to open their own mail.

Sorry if this is more info than you wanted...good luck!

Author: Venus --
Date:   02-01-06 14:43

No, Elle, it's not more than I wanted, and I really appreciate all the info. All of the articles (okay, by "all" I mean "all three") I've written are complete, but they're all around 1200-1500 words. Would it be better to write up something really short, or send an excerpt of the article I'm pitching? I definitely don't want to send an eight-page manuscript, because they'll probably see the fat envelope and toss it. (By the way, the one that sent me the handwritten note was B a b y T a l k, and that's a biggie, so I was encouraged.)

Oh, and I have been trying to match the type of article with the editors of certain departments per the masthead. Should I just pick an Associate Editor instead?

Thanks again, Elle. I very much appreciate your input.

-Karen

Author: Elle C.
Date:   02-01-06 15:00

Oh, so you've been sending the entire article instead of a query first? That's usually a no-no. I know that sounds contradictory to what I said before (send them a full writing sample) but here's the thing: writing an article "on spec" is not something the pros do. You are a writer, and you should not write more than you have to without some form of payment. If you send an entire article, it shows them that you're inexperienced.

Another big disadvantage: you tie the editors hands as to the angle of the article, and how it is structured, when you write it in full like that. It's much better to first pitch them the idea, because the editor may have something very similar in mind, but with a slightly different twist. She might have a specific expert she wants you to interview, or use anecdotes from readers who have sent in feedback to magazine, or she might want to put a seasonal bent on the article. The problem is, if your piece is already done, it's more of a pain in the neck for her to sift through what you've written and make you rework it than for her to go ahead and assign the piece to someone else who can write it from scratch, to her exact specificiations.

I suggest you come up with a short query letter instead for each of those articles, and pitch it to an Associate Editor and see what happens.

I think I've mentioned this before in other areas of WN, but when I was on staff a parenting mag, there were two out of the four editorial assistants who NEVER bothered to read the slush pile. When it was their turn to sift through it, they waited until the editors were out at lunch, then grabbed a stack of rejection cards and just slipped 'em right into the SASEs, without ever reading the query letters. When I said something to them about it, they both said the same thing, "It's faster this way, and you hardly ever find anything good in the slush pile. I have too much to do...if you want to read them, be my guest." Creeps. Now you know why I left.

So, don't get too discouraged by the form rejections, and DO try to focus your pitches to the appropriate person on-staff. I'm not saying that you should never pitch the Articles Editor or the Features Editor, but your chances of actually having your stuff read by someone is much better if you pitch a little lower down on the masthead.

Author: Cathy C
Date:   02-01-06 15:27

I agree with everything that Elle says, because this advice is not just limited to parenting mags. I'm on the knife edge on whether to first write the article or pitch the query, because there are two sides to the coin (now, mind you, I say WRITE the article, not submit it.)

Querying it is really your best bet, because of all the things Elle says, different focus, slightly altered slant, etc. Also, you should be pitching one or two solid sidebars as part of the overall total. Sidebars are GOLD to magazines. If you're not already doing them, you really need to consider them in future articles. A "sidebar", BTW, is a short, related (but separate) article WITHIN the article. They appear in the little colored boxes, and can contain lists or graphs or little known information. For example, an article about new types of baby clothing might contain a sidebar about how the colors for infantware evolved, or a primer about flame resistant labels, etc. Something extra that's related. The more interesting your sidebar, the more likely the story will get bought.

You say that your article isn't seasonal, but could it be MADE seasonal? Can you tweak it so that it would fit a Christmas issue, or an Easter one, or something for Mother's Day? See, magazines ARE seasonal, so the more you can play to what the magazine NEEDS, the better.

Like I said, I'm still in the air about whether to write article first. I've had experiences both ways. One destination feature I wrote for an outdoor magazine was a terrific summer lake with fishing, wind surfing, etc. Well, the editor really liked the concept---for his JANUARY issue! EEK! No wind surfers, no hikers. Instead, he wanted ice fishing and sledding! Sigh... But I re-wrote it, and later sold the summer article to a different mag.

On the flip side, I wrote a technical piece for another outdoor mag. The editor emailed me the day he received it. He'd had an article fall through and needed it by the end of THAT DAY to fill the slot. If it hadn't been written, I wouldn't have gotten the assignment.

So, it's a challenge. One that made me turn to writing novels for a living... Heh. <g>

Cathy

Author: Kitty Foyle
Date:   02-01-06 15:53

I submitted a completed article (humorous) to a magazine via the Internet roughly a year ago -- asked them if it was anything they could use.

Didn't hear from them, so submitted it to a regional newspaper (same method, by "E"), and twenty minutes later the editor/owner of the paper called to say they all chuckled when they read it and that he'd love to publish it. So that's what happened -- last June.

Then, this past October I got an E from the editor of the magazine -- same guy I'd quered last February. Said he was eager to publish my "humorous" (love to keep throwing in that!) article, and that there would be $$ involved.

Anyway, it will indeed be published in a spring issue. It had originally been sent to him in its entirety. Guess it hadn't dawned on me that a query would have been the way to do it...just plunged in with the thing! :)

^_^

Author: Jeanne Gassman
Date:   02-01-06 16:16

Venus,

If you need clips, have you tried smaller, more local markets? A lot of large metro areas publish regionally-oriented parenting magazines. These are usually filled with things to do with kids in the area, but they also take more general (very short) pieces. You could also pitch a story or two to your local paper. Look for the "lifestyle" or "family living" sections and pitch to the editor of that section.

Get a couple of clips and then go back to the magazine that gave you the handwritten note.

Good luck.

Jeanne

Author: Venus --
Date:   02-01-06 16:17

Elle and Cathy: I guess my second post was unclear. I haven't been sending the entire articles, just queries. What I meant was, should I write up a sample of something completely different to include with a query, or should I send an excerpt? I read somewhere that it's better to just go ahead and write the article, but I definitely see where it would be easier for an editor to tweak the idea to the mag's needs if it's unfinished. Also, I understand where you're coming from in terms of appearing professional. With that in mind, should I change the queries so that it appears as though the articles are still just ideas? That way, if they're interested, I can maybe use some of what I have and revise, or I can rewrite it completely if necessary.

As far as sidebars is concerned, that's something I hadn't thought of. Thanks, Cathy, for mentioning it.

And Kitty, congrats! $$ is always good!

-Karen

Author: Cathy C
Date:   02-01-06 17:41

I would, in your shoes. For example, here's a query that I used for a new market. Even though the article was already written (the one he bought because he needed it that same day), the query gave the impression that everything was malleable.

******************

Re: Article Submission

Dear Mr. XXX:

I recently had the opportunity to review your magazine for the first time, and was impressed. It seems that your publication is specific to hunting, which is one of my favorite sports. I would propose an article, tentatively entitled, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”, the subtitle of which is anticipated to be: “What do deer really listen for, and how can knowing help your next hunt?”

Many articles have been written on the subject of the sight and scenting abilities of a deer, but little has been communicated on the sense of hearing. This 1,000 to 1,500 word article intends to teach the reader how deer hear in relation to a human, the effect of wind, topography and vegetation on sound absorption and scattering, and conclude with tips for lessening or altering a hunter’s “sound signature”. The article, while specific to the superior hearing of a mule deer over a whitetail,will still be useful for other types of deer. I intend to interview experts in audiology to obtain quotes regarding the difference between deer and human ears, as well as hearing protection specialists regarding sound scattering.

A proposed sidebar includes the decibel level of different hunting activities, from walking in leaves, to moving through brush, as well as distant and close range rifle fire.

I believe this article would be of interest to hunters of all species of deer, whether they intend to take by bow, rifle or camera. If you require an article longer than 1,500 words, please advise, so I can add additional features.

Thank you for your attention and I look forward to hearing from you.

(I also included my writing credits, but since you don't have any at the moment, you don't need anything else.)

***************

Hope that helps! :)

Cathy

Author: Venus --
Date:   02-01-06 18:10

Thanks, Cathy. I actually just cut and pasted that so I could save it as a sample of a successful query. I'll rework the queries I already have.

But back to the original question: should I re-query the mags who rejected it after several months, or no?

-Karen

Author: Cathy C
Date:   02-01-06 18:47

I wouldn't query them with the SAME query. Spin it a bit different, change the title, add a sidebar suggestion or two, or even try to push an angle toward a holiday. Let's see, it's February now, so maybe propose something for a summer issue (kids out of school) or fall (back to school.) Parenting during school and during vacation is sometimes quite different, so a sidebar of tips that can help parents deal with restless kids might be a hit. Something like that.

Just random thoughts! :)

Cathy

Author: Venus --
Date:   02-01-06 20:39

Great ideas! I'll have to re-do the queries anyway to make it seem like the articles aren't already written. But I'll definitely think about what kinds of sidebars I can propose. Thanks so much for the help!

-Karen