Writing for the Magazine Industry: What You Need to Know

I have many years experience as a writer: author, freelance writer, Departments Editor of a print magazine, staff writer, and also in advertising. In my line of work there are many perks. I get to meet lots of new people in the same field and when I want to work on a project they need my expertise in I gladly do it, when I travel I often times get the entire trip paid for as long as I do an advertisement for the person or company, along with many other things.

I must admit, from one writer to another, freelancing is where the real money is at. Although I have had good luck with my books I know many others who weren't as fortunate. If you are one of the lucky people that have good fortune with a book or two it is usually short lived. This means you sit back and reap the rewards of your hard work for a year or two, then you gladly accept the royalties every once or twice a year after that but it isn't as grand as it used to be it doesn't give you the same rush that it once did.

Freelance writing or even becoming a staff writer for a good magazine is excellent work. Normally, you work at home (if you choose) and do what you do best. You can take on as many jobs, providing you can handle them all, and write during the hours you set aside. This satisfies the 'money now' mentality and way of life, this means that magazines will typically pay upon acceptance or publication.

Writing for the Magazine Industry: Different Genres

There are so many different types of magazines out there that are waiting for you to share your talents. Here are a few that I will be covering in articles to come.

• Lifestyle
• Senior living
• Parenting
• Politics
• Business
• Computers
• Hobbies
• Religion
• Fiction
• Mystery/fantasy/sci-fi/drama
• Poetry

If you have looked through those genres and said to yourself, "I could write about that," then chance are I will be able to help. Being a writer is about more than just being able to spell and form sentences, although I have seen my fair share of those that couldn't even do that much, it is however about passion for a subject and being able to write a compelling piece for your target audience.

Writing for the Magazine Industry: Query Letters

Query letters are a standard practice in the writing field regardless of what you write. This is the letter that determines your fate with the company that you are trying to submit your expertise, manuscript, credits, etc. for a job. There are many do's and don'ts, but this usually depends on the company and their policies. To find out exactly what your query letter to contain always check the submission guidelines or call them and ask.

Think of your letter as one that is designed to show your style, depth, range, and passion for the topic. It should be brief, if you can sell the editor and give him/her a great feel for you in a one page uniformed 'Query' then that will speak volumes about your ability to grip the readers... and that is exactly what they are looking for.

Your written communication should include the following:

• Start with a strong and compelling lead intro that will capture the editor's interest
• A brief bio (including education that qualifies you for this type of genre and publishing credits)
• 1-2 paragraphs that will serve as a synopsis of an article you have written especially for them.
• Complete contact info

What you should NOT include:

• A guilt trip or sob story as to why you 'need' the job
• Threats
• Spelling errors

Writing for the Magazine Industry: Submission Guidelines

These guidelines are put into place for a reason. Now typically, if you do not follow them exactly your query and/or submission will be tossed out... this is called the 'weeding process'. Magazines are like book publishers, they get thousands of submissions a year and the first way to weed through all the potential writers is by this process of elimination.

Be sure that you follow each and every step, this way you know for a fact they will be reading what you have sent to them. If you give only partial elements, or if you rush the submission you will be wondering what ever happened- don't guess, know. If you do it right they will read your query letter, it is then up to your writing ability to stand on its own.

Writing for the Magazine Industry: Go For It!!

So, the freelance world seems right for you does it? Well, good. Go out and get the jobs you want. There is a high earning possibility when freelancing your talents! I know some writers who make around $3,000 a month on this type of work. It really depends on what type of writing jobs you want to do and how much work you can handle in a month. I make a very good living on my freelance jobs and the key is to prioritize.