If you are an
aspiring writer, or you simply want to augment your professional qualifications
by publishing material related to your field of expertise, listen up. Here are
a few tips that will help ingratiate you in the hearts and minds of editors.
Once you've established a positive rapport with an editor, you may find the
publication to be an excellent outlet for your work - and if you're good enough
- you may be invited to submit more work.
1. Editors prefer
e-mail correspondence above all else - especially when submitting query letters
and final articles. If you e-mail a story, make sure to paste it into the body
of the e-mail, just in case the conversion of an attached file does not go
smoothly. E-mailing correspondence and articles means the editor can cut and
paste it into the publication, without having to retype. Digital delivery saves
the editor lots of time.
2. If you promise an editor something
- an article, a short bio, or a high resolution photo - make sure you deliver
it. Always follow through with your promises, and that editor will remember you
as reliable.
3. Before submitting a story, remember to fact
check accuracy of dates and the spelling of places, names, and geographic
locations. Most editors will revise your work even further, because that's
their job - to make the work even better. But few editors will continue to work
with a writer who submits sloppy material that needs to be fact checked or
heavily rewritten each time. Worse yet, you don't want to submit something with
factual errors in it.
4. Have a short, three to five sentence
bio on yourself ready to submit to editors. Not all publications provide
information on authors with published articles, but when they do, you want to
take advantage of the free publicity. Don't EVER submit a one page or one
paragraph bio to an editor, unless they specifically request this much
material. They're being gracious by providing some space and most editors will
not want to take the time to carve a bio down.
5. Have a
publicity photo of yourself ready for publication and in digital format. For
print media publications the dots per inch (dpi) should be a minimum of 300.
For newspapers 150-200 dpi will suffice, though you should ask the editor or
graphics department which they prefer. DO NOT send print media editors 72 dpi,
or low resolution photos. This resolution is usually the standard setting for a
digital camera, and is acceptable for publication on the world wide web, but is
not appropriate for print media. Once a photo is shot, chances are very good
that not much can be done to improve the dots per inch, except shrink it to 3
times its former size.
6. If you choose to telephone an editor
to pitch them a story, remember - their time is valuable. First, ask them if
it's a good time to speak for 10 minutes. If it's not, then ask them for a
convenient time to call back. If they can speak, limit your pitch to 5-7
minutes. No editor wants to be on the telephone with someone for an unendurable
length of time. Do not start telling them about all of your publication credits
or credentials unless they ask. Stick to the pitch for your story idea, and
focus your conversation accordingly. If they like it, you may continue the
conversation for longer than 10 minutes. If they're not interested, politely
end the call.
7. Deadlines are important to editors, because
they need written material before they can make decisions about visual
materials, ad space, and layout and design. If you have promised an editor
something, do your absolute best to submit it by the agreed upon deadline. If
something has come up - in your personal or professional life or in the process
of writing and interviewing for the story, communicate the need to slightly
extend the deadline to the editor in advance. Most editors will work with you
on deadlines, provided they are not under the gun themselves. Newspaper editors
usually do fly by the seat of their pants, so keep this in mind when asking for
extensions.
8. Engage the editor in a short e-mail about your
story prior to writing it and he/she may come up with a few guiding sentences
to help you. This is a chance to try to get a feel for how the editor would
like this written prior to writing it. An editor may help you frame a story,
give suggestions for potential interviews or subjects, or cause you to look at
the story in a totally different way. Don't despair if you receive no response.
The editor may be busy and not have enough time to reply.
9. Do
not write stories or articles that are just barely disguised promotional pieces
for your business associates, friends and family, or your own business. It's OK
to mine these contacts for story ideas, but make certain the content you
present is not OVERTLY promoting anyone. Any seasoned editor can smell a promo
piece a mile away and will not publish it.
10. Try to write in
subject areas you feel passionate about. For example, if you are passionate
about hiking, write for some outdoor magazines. Editors are drawn to freelance
writers who have a knowledge base for the material they're submitting. This is
an excellent 'in' with any editor - a well-developed knowledge base is a good
foundation for any story. If you have a passion, pitch the right editor your
idea. GO For it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Elizabeth Kirwin has
published work in national magazines and newspapers. She is co-owner of Sidhe
Communications
http://www.sidhecommunications.com in Asheville NC. She
develops web sites, newsletters, brochures, and other marketing materials for
companies and health care ogranizations nationally.
