Write Articles for Print Magazines

It's another way for you to make money freelance writing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Which magazines do you read on a regular basis? Do these publications use articles from freelance writers? Many publications do publish freelance articles and these articles can be another revenue source for you.Blank page. You roll the paper into the typewriter and sit there poised with your hands on the keys. Or maybe you turn on your computer and sit with an empty screen. What do you write?

Many writers and would-be writers have told me how that blank page petrifies them. In this article, we'll explore my technique for putting together a magazine article from idea to finished product.

Getting over the Hump

It's a rare day that I have trouble putting those initial words on paper. I always do some preparation ahead of time, then use a slight trick. Ideas for magazine articles are everywhere and the places to write are just as plentiful. Maybe you have an interesting personal experience story that you can capture? Possibly you have been involved in some unique experiences that you'd like to tell to others through a how-to article.

Or if you don't have any material from your own experience to write about, consider interviewing some interesting people around you and writing their story for publication.

The first question to ask is: who is my audience? What publication will use this article? The possibilities are end-less: adult, women, men, children, teenagers, or youth. Are they in a specialized occupation such as school-teachers? Are they a certain age? The important thing is to be sure to target a specific audience.

Every writer meets with rejection and projects which are never published. In fact, I have files of material which has circulated and never been published. I caution you that rejection and unpublished articles is a part of the writer's life and the road to consistent publication.

Increase Your Publications Odds

The bulk of my magazine writing is done on assignment. How do you get an assignment? Which magazines do you read on a consistent basis? Your familiarity with these publications and the types of articles that they publish, gives you some needed background. Pull out the magazines that come into your home.

Organize them with several months from the same publication. Then study the contents. What types of articles do they publish? How-to articles? Personal Experience? After you have studied the publications, then write the publication for their writers guidelines. Almost every magazine has guidelines for their author. Search for them online or you can write a simple letter asking for guidelines and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the response. You can find the address for the publication usually on the masthead of the magazine under editorial offices. After reading through the guidelines, you will have some additional information. Does the publication accept query letters or prefer full manuscripts? Some magazines have a query only system. This means that you have to write a query letter and get a letter of request from the editor, before sending the full manuscript.

What's a query letter? Entire books have been written on this topic and one of the best is Irresistible Query Letters by Lisa Collier Cool (Writer's Digest Books). A query is a single-page letter which sells your story idea. It has a four paragraph formula. The first paragraph is a creative beginning for your article. You don't write the entire article--only the first paragraph which captures the reader's interest. The purpose of this first paragraph is simply to capture the editor's attention. I won't walk you through the day of an editor but since I've been one for years, I know they are involved in a multitude of tasks. For editors to read query letters, it is often done at the end of the day, late at night or in a car pool on the way home. It must be interesting.

The second paragraph includes the main points of how you will approach the article. The third paragraph gives your personal qualifications for this topic and your writing credits (if any). It basically answers the question, why should you of all the writers get this assignment? Highlight your own area of expertise in this paragraph.

The final paragraph says how soon you could write the article (give yourself enough time for example, "three weeks from assignment") and says you are enclosing a self-addressed, stamped envelope and looking forward to their reply. I often send the letter to as many as ten different publications at the same time.

Within the magazine business, there is an on-going discussion about simultaneous submissions (where you send the same finished article to several publications). If you do this, you may end up on the black list of authors. Each publication has a list of people that they will not work with. You don't want to be on that list. Also each publication has a list of authors they use regularly and call with ideas. Your goal is to get on this particular list of regular contributors.

From my perspective, a simultaneous query is not the same as a finished article. Go ahead and query several magazines at the same time on the same topic if you think you can write several different articles on the same subject. One magazine may ask for 500 words on the topic while another may approach it from an entirely different viewpoint and ask for 2,000 words. Your illustrations and information will be considerably different. If you send it to ten magazines, you may get ten rejections. On the other hand, perhaps you will get an acceptance or two, or at least a request to see the entire article on speculation. "On speculation" means that the editor is not under obligation to purchase your article if it doesn't meet the periodical's standards or expectations.

After the Research

If you've written a query letter, then you've already written the opening for your article. Otherwise, the first step in the writing is to create a motivating opening story. The key phrase is to make it motivating. The opening has to propel the reader into the rest of the article so they can't stop reading. After writing the opening for the article, how do you continue? If you've done your research for the article, you will not write 2,000 words for a publication that only takes 500 word articles. So you will have a target length for your article. This word count helps give some definition to your plan.

Also if you've done your research, you've thought about the article and focused it. Can you summarize the point of the article into a single sentence? Complete the sentence: My article is about _____. After you've written this sentence, never wander away from this goal. I write from an outline. Normally my article will have a number of points or illustrations. A standard outline would be the problem, the possible solutions and your solution. Write out the different points for your outline. When I write a short story, I use the same approach. What is the beginning, middle and ending? An outline keeps the writer focused on the goal of the article.

Also be realistic with yourself and your writing life. Can you only write for thirty minutes a day or maybe it is only ten minutes? Are you motivated to write the entire article in one session? Possibly you write only one point from your outline during a session. Whatever your writing goal, the point is to write consistently and keep moving the article toward completion.

After you've written the article, put it away for a period of time. If you are on a tight deadline, that might involve eating lunch and then returning to it. If you have the time, it might involve several days or a week. When you return to your article, read it out loud. The ear is less forgiving than the eye. Reading it out loud, will point out areas for you to revise and rewrite.

A Final Word

Writing for magazines has no formula. Each article is unique from a creative source--you the writer. But there is an expected format for articles. Your manuscript needs to be in a professional manner--typed, double-spaced with good margins, etc. Some publications have a formula to be followed for a specific section of their magazine (word length, essential elements, etc.). Each writer has to discover their place with words. The process of discovery takes initiative on your part to step out and try. Also it involves getting some rejection but persistence. Maybe you can't write teaching articles but you have a creative bent for teenagers. This process of self-discovery begins with a single step.

__________________________________________________

I promised to include a resource for you to learn more about how to make money writing for magazines. Here's the resource: How to Succeed As An Article Writer. I encourage you to check out this page and take advantage of my risk-free guarantee.