Related posts:

1. Writing for women’s magazines
2. 11 Types of Articles to Write for Magazines
3. Non-fiction travel writing

The next edition is due out in July and Zainab is looking for writers from around the world.  This is currently unpaid work, but if the magazine takes off, the publishers hope to start paying contributors. You don’t have to be Iraqi, but you do have to be supportive of Iraqi efforts to redefine themselves in the public eye. There is more to Iraq than that shown through the lens of the Western media. If you would like to chat to her more or find out what she is looking for, drop her a line at mail@iciraq.com.

If you would like some advice on how to write a feature article or how to write a proposal, check out The Crafty Writer’s free non-fiction writing course.

Related posts:

1. Magazine ‘lead times’
2. Non-fiction market opportunities
3. The basics of feature writing 1

Occasionally poachers turn into gamekeepers, but few hold down both jobs at the same time. I’ve been a freelance journalist for 15 years, selling ideas to a variety of newspapers and magazines both in the UK and abroad. But for the last 10 years, I’ve combined my freelancing with a part-time job as a commissioning editor at a national newspaper.

So, to keep the countryside metaphor running, I see things from both sides of the fence. I understand and share the joys and tribulations of both freelances and editors. I know the frustration of spending hours, sometimes days on a pitch only to have it dismissed by an editor within seconds or, worse, get no response at all. Likewise, I know how tiresome it can be to wade through hundreds of pitches a week from freelances who seem never to have read your newspaper section.

There are no definitive rights and wrongs to successful pitching. Most of what you’re about to read is just my take on the subject: what I’ve found to be successful along with my own pet likes and dislikes. At the end of the day, commissioning editors are (mostly) human beings with different styles, opinions, backgrounds, prejudices and hang-ups. And the more you build up a relationship with them, the easier you’ll find it to tailor pitches to what they want.

 So here goes, in no particular order, my tips for successful pitching:

Know the publication that you’re pitching to inside out.

Make sure you’ve read the last half dozen issues cover to cover so that you’ve got a good handle on its style, feel, philosophy, and most importantly – the features that have already run.

Email your idea, don’t phone.

Most editors are busy, busy people. Assessing pitches is just one part of their job, and most editors like to do it at a time of their choosing – not when a freelance decides they have something to sell.

Pitch a headline, standfirst and summary paragraph.

There’s no need to load your email with much else, other than a few lines at the end about who you’ve written for in the past. Emails with large attachments like pics tend to find themselves deleted on arrival (often by automated spam filters).

Don’t pester.

Unless you’re pitching a news story that needs to run within the next couple of days, leave it a couple of days or even more before emailing or phoning to follow-up your email pitch. No-one likes a stalker.

Don’t overpromise.

If you want to build a long and (hopefully) profitable relationship with a commissioning editor, don’t pretend that you and your writing are something that you’re not. If your work doesn’t match the original pitch, your copy is headed for the spike and you can forget about pitching to that editor again.

Only once you’ve been commissioned should you ask about payment.

And don’t quibble about rates until you have established a track record with that editor.

Hit the deadline.

In my experience, the most successful freelances are not necessarily the best, most eloquent writers. They’re the ones who are professional and dependable. Reliability will improve your chances of more successful pitches.

Don’t hassle your editor.

Once you’ve filed your copy, don’t hassle for a publication date or a copy of the magazine to be sent to you and your granny. Like I said, editors have many things to juggle and you don’t want to get a reputation for being ‘high maintenance’.

Keep on keeping on.

Another trait of a successful freelance is persistence. If you don’t get a response (positive or otherwise) to your first pitch, try another idea, then another, then another. Hopefully with each knock-back you’ll be learning a little more about what the editor is looking for and refine your next pitches accordingly.

Don’t ask for ideas.

Don’t ask an editor “What sort of features are you looking for?” It’s your job to come up with the ideas! Editors aren’t in the business of providing employment for freelances. They’re in the business of filling big expanses of white space. Instead, make it easier for them by thinking of ways in which your feature idea could be packaged and illustrated by suggesting box-outs, panels, sidebars, pics and graphics.

Would you read it?

And always, always ask yourself the question: Is this a feature
that I would want to read myself?

Excellent advice Ian, and sorry I stalked you to get this article!

Related posts:

1. Screenwriting: the perfect pitch
2. Freelance writing for the internet
3. What to do when you don’t get paid

For some excellent tips on creating the perfect intro visit Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen’s article on Writing Great Leads in which she encourages you to shock, challenge or provoke your readers into reading on. Laurie, along with yours truly,  is one of the regular contributors to the Write On blog carnival.

Related posts:

1. 11 Types of Articles to Write for Magazines
2. Freelance writing markets
3. Do you write ‘publishable’ English?

I found this article on a blog carnival I participated in over on The Incurable Disease of Writing. Check it out for a great round-up of the best on the web.

And don’t forget that our free non-fiction writing course also offers you some ideas on what and how to write for magazines.

Related posts:

1. Book Review Carnival
2. Intros: hooking your reader
3. Travel writing: in-flight magazines

Firstly, some of them have very long ‘lead times’. A lead time is the time from commission or acceptance of your article / story / poem until it actually appears. Aquila is one of only a few magazines in the UK that publish children’s fiction, so I wasn’t about to say no, “I’d rather take it elsewhere”. It’s the fourth piece they’ve published of mine in the same number of years, so I’m aware that patience is essential.

As the new writing editor of Plain Truth magazine I frequently get emails from writers frustrated at how long it takes for their work to appear. For that section of the magazine, our average lead time is 12 months, but 18 months is not unheard of. We only publish five times a year and only use one new writer per edition.

So my advice to new writers is: find out a magazine’s lead time so that you won’t be disappointed when it takes so long for your hard-crafted words to finally be read. And realise too that you will usually only get paid on publication, not acceptance.

FAQs

1. How long should I wait before sending my article to someone else?

I try to let writers know within four months whether or not I will use their material. But I think it’s acceptable for a writer to politely query after three months. And I mean politely! I’ve had writers demanding to know what’s taking me so long – and that’s simply a short-cut to the bin. If you’re told that a decision hasn’t been made yet, or that you’re still in ‘the queue’, give it another three months and enquire again.

2. What if I was told my article would appear by a certain date and it hasn’t?

Try to get a date of publication at commission. This may change if the editor later decides that your article will be more suited to another edition. In an ideal world they should tell you, but frequently they forget. So if your article doesn’t appear by a certain date, a polite enquiry is certainly in order. If at this point they don’t give you a firm publication date, I think you’re well within your rights to withdraw the article and send elsewhere.

3. Can I demand a kill fee?

A ‘kill fee’ is a percentage of the agreed payment for the article that may be paid if publication falls through. This is common in the USA and Writer's Market will give you an idea of the kill fees on offer. Sadly, the UK industry doesn’t work the same way and kill fees are rarely if ever paid. Ho hum. For more on what to do to ensure you get paid, check out my article What to do when you don’t get paid. If you want to know how to approach editors have a look at Writing proposals and approaching editors, which is part of my free non-fiction writing course. The same advice is applicable to short story writers and poets too.

Related posts:

1. Is someone stealing your dreams?
2. IC Iraq – new lifestyle magazine launches in Baghdad
3. Getting started with non-fiction writing

Some writers are specialists, others generalists. I’m the latter.This is partly a matter of personality and partly one of fear. Although I trained as a news reporter in the early 1990s, I soon realised that the rigours and confines of writing hard copy for news did not allow me the creative freedom I desired – so I became a freelance feature writer. Naturally, I pitched for work in areas that interested me. The problem was, lots of things interested me… Read more.

Due to other writing commitments, including the success of a non-fiction writing career, Linda is withdrawing from editing her blog. However, she’s looking for another successful freelance writer to take over the site. We wish her the best in her future plans.

Related posts:

1. Welcome to The Crafty Writer
2. Freelance writing for the internet
3. Tips on pitching scripts

• how to approach an editor with your idea
• how to write a magazine proposal
• how to put together a non-fiction book proposal

Approaching editors and publishers

Once you have an idea for an article or a book, you will need to do some market research to see who publishes what and who is accepting material. Check out a market listing such as the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook for details. For more on the magazine market, see my article on the basics of feature writing.

Unlike the fiction market, many non-fiction publishers still accept proposals from authors, so you don’t have to use an agent. Nearly all magazines accept proposals direct from the writer although most of them do not welcome unsolicited manuscripts. All this means is that you shouldn’t send in the article without first asking permission to do so. For book proposals, you should send off a formal proposal either by email or post, according to the publisher’s specifications. You can determine this by checking out their author guidelines online, or phoning them and asking them how to submit something to them. If they want it by email, send it by email, if they want it through the post do so, if they ask for you to send it on camel back, don’t argue, just do it.

You may be fortunate enough to be put through to a publisher or editor to discuss your idea in advance, so make sure you have a telephone pitch worked out (see below).

Approaching magazine editors

When approaching an editor with an idea you will need a proposal. This can vary from a one-line phone pitch to an informal email pitch to a formal proposal. If you don’t have a track record with a magazine, a formal proposal is advisable. For subsequent articles you can take a less formal approach.

The phone pitch

Call the magazine (or publishing house), tell them you have a proposal or article idea and ask to be put through to the commissioning editor. You may be told to email or post a proposal at this point – find out exactly who to send it to. Don’t be satisfied with ‘The Editor’ or ‘Submissions’, try to get a name. If you are put through to the editor, make sure you have a single paragraph ‘pitch’ worked out. This is a two or three sentence summary of your book or article. What is it about? For example:

Would you be interested in an article about the Gypsy Royal Family? Your readers may not be aware, but up until the turn of the last century the travelling community on the Scottish / Northumberland border claimed to have their own royal line. They were considered quite a tourist attraction by the Victorian gentry and people would travel from London to visit the royal court.

Exercise 23:
In fewer than 50 words write a telephone pitch for your article or book idea.

The informal pitch

This is usually done via email after an editor has asked you to send them a few paragraphs on your idea. It is not a formal proposal, and is usually only used when you already have a track record with the magazine or have established that you are an experienced writer with ‘cuts’. ‘Cuts’ are portfolio pieces of previously published material. For more on cuts and how to get them, look at my article on how to get started in feature writing. If you don’t have any cuts in print, you could always refer to your blog, particularly if you have written something in the same area for which you are pitching. A blog is a good place to start practising writing ‘proper’ articles and not just personal musings. For more on blogs see my previous session on writing for the internet. But back to proposals.

The Formal Magazine Proposal

This consists of a covering letter and an article outline. In it you need to provide a short summary of your article (this may be the same as your telephone pitch), why you think it is suitable for that particular magazine, your writing credentials if you have any, a word count and whether or not images are available. Here is an example of a covering letter with additional suggestions of what you might say if you have little or no experience.

Exercise 24:
Draft a covering letter for your magazine article proposal.

The outline

With your covering letter you need to attach a summary of your article. It should include:

• A suggested title
• A suggested intro paragraph
• The main points of your article in bullet form
• A suggested conclusion
• Possible sidebars / text boxes
• Photographic possibilites
• Projected word count
• Your contact details (these should appear on the letter and outline as the two may become detached).

This is an example of an article proposal outline.

Exercise 25:
Draft an article proposal outline to go with your covering letter.

What next?

You may have to wait up to three months to get a reply to your proposal, particularly if you have sent it in by post. A telephone pitch or email proposal is likely to get a quicker response, but there are no guarantees. For the ethics of sending material to different publications and publishing houses, see our discussion on copyright, libel and finance next week. But in the happy event of an editor saying ‘yes’ you should then enquire about:

• Rates and terms of payment. If this is not acceptable to you, don’t take it any further. Note that it is not considered appropriate to ask for rates of pay before an article has been accepted.
• Whether or not there will be a contract. NB some magazines will not send you a formal contract, so the editor’s emailed response to you will serve as such. Keep copies! If it is only agreed over the phone, ask the editor to send you a letter or email confirming rates and terms of payment.
• Confirm expected word count and whether or not it includes sidebars.
• Confirm picture format – digital, prints, slides or transparencies. If digital, 300 dpi is the industry standard. Confirm whether you are able to deliver this.
• Ask how the editor would like the copy and photos to be submitted. This may be on disc, via email or ‘hard copy’. If on disc or email, confirm the desired format eg .doc , .rtf , .jpg etc.
• Confirm the expected deadline and whether or not you can meet it.
• Check what ‘rights’ they expect to buy. This has to do with copyright and will be discussed in another session. In short, beware of editors trying to buy ‘all rights’. You should usually only offer ‘First Rights’ so put this in your acceptance email or letter.
• As a first-timer, you may be asked to submit your article on ’spec’. This means you have to write the piece with no commitment from the editor as to whether or not they will buy it. When you’re first starting out in the business, it is advisable to agree to this even though you run the risk of working for nothing if they turn you down.
• Whether commissioned in advance or asked to provide on spec, you should now write your article and meet your deadline!

Book Proposals

A book proposal is a much longer document than an article proposal. In it you are expected to provide information on the following categories:

• Scope and themes – what the book is about and why it is important. You should also include here the proposed word length (including foot notes) and structure.
• Intended readership
• Similar and competing titles – a list of related books, their publisher, date of publication, cover price and page count.
• Unique selling point – what makes your book different from other books on the market.
• Author bio and marketing opportunities – your writing experience, why you are equipped to write the book and any ideas you may have about how you can personally help with marketing and promoting the book.
• Possible endorsements. For example, if you are writing a book on rare birds and you know the chairperson of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, say so.
• Chapter outline. This should be one or two sentences on each chapter. Although you may not have written the book yet, the publisher needs to see that you have enough material to do so and an idea of how you will complete the book.
• Images – whether or not they will be included, how many

There is a very useful chapter on writing non-fiction book proposals in Susan Page’s book, How to get Published and make a lot of Money (don’t let the crass title put you off!). And of course Nicholas Corder’s Successful Non-fiction Writing.

Here is an example of a book proposal. A book proposal should also be accompanied by a covering letter which will be similar in layout to the magazine letter above. You should also include the first three sample chapters. Note, for non-fiction you don’t actually write the book in advance (thankfully!) but you do have to show you know what the book will be about. For more on this review the first session on why write non-fiction.

Exercise 26:
If you have an idea for a non-fiction book, start work on drafting a proposal. If you would like further input once you’ve written it, you may want to submit it to me for a critique at a reasonable rate.

What next?

Initially, book publishers can take up to three months to get back to you. If they are interested in taking the project further, they will take the proposal through a series of committee meetings before making a final decision. This process can take up to 18 months before the book is finally accepted or declined. Note, you are not contracted at this point and risk doing a whole lot of work for nothing. However, if you are accepted, you will be commissioned to write a first draft. Do not start writing until you receive a contract. The moment you are offered a contract you can apply for membership of the Society of Authors who provide a free legal advice service (although membership will set you back £85 a year, it’s worth it). For more on publishing procedures and contracts read Michael Legat’s seminal An Author's Guide to Publishing.

Next week, in our eighth and final session we will be looking at copyright, libel and finance.

Related posts:

1. Getting started with non-fiction writing
2. Non-fiction – how to write a feature article
3. Magazine ‘lead times’

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The non-fiction market

It has been estimated that 75% of all books published every year are non-fiction. In the UK, where around 100,000 titles are released every year, that is about 75,000 books; in the USA, it is far more. Why is it then that most writers spend their lives chasing the elusive dream of getting their novel published? There is no reason why you can’t do both, of course, but you will have a better chance of getting a non-fiction book published than fiction. And it’s not just books, I’ve made a very successful career out of writing for magazines and am beginning to make inroads into writing for the internet. If you would like to explore writing for magazines beyond the scope of this course, look at my posts on How To Get Started in Feature Writing and The Basics of Feature Writing 1. The Basics of Feature Writing 2 & 3 will be coming soon.

Why write non-fiction?

If you are the kind of writer who is interested in everything from yaks in the Urals to holidays in Havana then non-fiction may be for you. The first characteristic of a successful non-fiction writer is curiosity. Imagine having an opportunity to read and discover everything there is to know on a subject; if that gets you excited, you’re in the right place. And there are other advantages too. Firstly, you get paid for it. You can earn anything from £100 to £1000 for an article, although £300 is the average. For a non-fiction book, you will get paid an advance and then royalties on all sales and Public Lending Right fees (for library loans).

Non-fiction publishers are still open to receiving proposals directly from the author so you don’t have to have an agent before they give you the time of day. You also don’t have to write the whole book in advance. I feel desperately sorry for fiction writers who slog away for years with no guarantee of payment or publication. With a non-fiction book, publishers prefer that you don’t write more than a couple of sample chapters because they would like input on planning and content. So if you have a proposal turned down (which happens) you’ve only wasted a few weeks rather than a few years.

Know your market

The first thing to do is check out the market to see who is publishing what. Go into book shops and stationers and check out what is on the shelf. If you find there are books on nearly every breed of dog apart from the rare Saluki you own, there might be a gap in the market for that. For both magazines and books you need to propose a subject that is unique but at the same time still fits in with the style of article or the kind of books the publisher already publishes. For example, it’s no use sending an article on steam engines to a car magazine. The key is to find a unique angle on steam engines (say a locomotive that has been saved from scrap by the grandson of the original train driver) and offer that to the editor.

What do you write about?

I can guarantee that you already have at least three ideas for articles in you before you even start. Take Frank, the fictional author of the steam engine article. Let’s say that Frank has recently retired as a manager of a hardware shop. He’s married to Marie, who breeds Salukis. Marie and Frank met in Malta where he was based in the merchant navy in the 60s. Marie and Frank have three children and four grandchildren. Frank has an allotment and loves steam locomotives. Since retiring, he has taken up the post of voluntary treasurer for his local steam engine restoration museum. Potentially, Frank could write articles on:

• ‘Using the Best Tools For the Job’ for a DIY magazine. This could be a funny article based on the ill-conceived projects of his hardware shop customers. No real names used, of course.
• ‘Breeding and Raising Salukis’. A ‘how to’ book for the doggy market. Whether or not Marie gets co-authorship is up to them.
• ‘What Good is a Grandad?’ an article praising grandfathers, for a parenting magazine.
• ‘Malta Now and Then’ an article for a travel magazine. Depending on how much material Frank has and how much research he’s prepared to do, this could be a book idea too.
• ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Allotments’ for a gardening magazine.
• ‘Restoring the Betty Rose’, the article on the grandson restoring his grandad’s old locomotive we mentioned above.

Of course, Frank may be a terrible writer and never get published, but he certainly can’t blame his lack of success on a shortage of publishable ideas.

Exercise 1: Write a potted biography of yourself. Include information on your family, jobs (present and past), places you’ve lived or travel to regularly, hobbies and interests. Then jot down the names of any friends or family members who may have specialist knowledge of any subject. Even if you’re terminally dull, you can do an interview feature on one of them. Now, look at what you’ve written, and come up with at least three ideas for books / articles that you might be able to write. We’ll look at how to put an article or book proposal together in a later session.

Letter to the editor

This may seem a bit left-field, but letters to the editor are an excellent way to cut your teeth on non-fiction writing. Through them, you can try your pen at writing publishable material. An editor receives scores of letters each day, week or month, and only publishes the best. He or she will choose letters that are well written, well thought out and put over a distinctive point of view. Those are exactly the same things that they will look for in an article. It is good practise to send letters to your target magazine before you try an article. You will soon know if the editor likes your style. In addition, many magazines offer between £20 and £50 for the best letter, or offer prize gifts to the same value. Even if you can’t do with another tea set, you can give it away as a Christmas present.

Points to consider when writing a letter to the editor:

• Don’t rant. An editor is unlikely to publish someone who is simply letting off steam.
• Don’t tell the editor / journalist / writer how to do their job. Flattery gets you further than criticism.
• If you do feel that an article didn’t do the subject justice, be careful in how you point this out. Say what you enjoyed about the article then mention some other points that might also be considered.
• Do tie in your letter to existing articles. Editors like to know that their articles promote debate.
• Don’t write the letter unless you have additional information or a unique perspective to add to the debate.

Exercise 2:Choose four publications and read them cover to cover. Take particular note of the letters page. What subjects are covered? How long are the letters? Does the style of the letter match the style and tone of the articles? Select an article and draft a letter to the editor in response. If you’re brave, send it off.

Further Resources

Market guides are also a useful way of finding out who takes what. In the UK, check out either Writers' and Artists' Yearbook or The Writer's Handbook, which also covers Commonwealth and foreign English markets. In North America the industry bible is Writer's Market. Writing magazines including Writers’ News and Freelance Market News in the UK and Writers Market and The Writer’s Life in the USA have market listings with a review of who is currently taking freelance work.

A good general introduction to non-fiction writing is Successful Non-fiction Writing.

Next week we look at different non-fiction writing styles.

Related posts:

1. How to get started in feature writing
2. Non-fiction – how to write a proposal
3. Non-fiction Writing course