New Version of Writing for the Media

When I was younger, it was ambitious to dream of writing for media outlets–newspapers, paid subscriber journals or magazines, or network television. To get such a job seemed impossible–it was grabbing the gold ring on the carousel.

With the major announcement of the merger of a large metropolitan newspaper (in the USA) with a major internet company, a long-standing trend has been confirmed.

According to Preston James, PhD, columnist for internet-based  military and foreign affairs journal Veterans Today:

You cannot easily find any young people going to mainstream mass media TV network news for information, they all go to the alternative news sites on the web like Drudgereport.com, Rense.com, Presstv.ir, whatreallyhappened.com, Veteranstoday.com, rt.com, infowars.com, amtvmedia.com, rinf.com, wired.com (danger room), and so many more fine newsfeed websites like these that it would fill pages.

Today, the reality of attaining  a media writing job is within reach.  Learn more about creating Internet content. Search “writing Internet content” on your favorite search engine. Happy reading!

Guest Post from Karel Henneberger–Think Christmas

Time to Write Those Christmas and Chanukah Stories

by Karel Henneberger

a member of Writers of the Desert Rose Cafe

It’s not even spring yet, but it’s time to get those Christmas stories and articles ready to submit to publishers. Most magazines require six or more months from receiving an article to the published issue, partly because most issues are printed (or posted) almost a month earlier than the date on the issue. And partly because there is usually a huge influx of manuscripts to read, approve, and send up the line for further approval and acceptance.

Start with an idea and then decide how to use it. You might write about:

• Facts about traditions from a particular ethnic group
• A facet of the holiday as your family celebrates
• A reminiscence of past holidays
• Exaggerate stories of incidents about a child’s experiences
• How your family blended traditions of the parents’ families
• How a mixed-marriage celebrates

Then consider whether you want to make your piece fictional or factual:

• Facts can lead to fictional, semi-fictional–or docudrama stories
• Semi-factual stories also work
• One story line can lead to another

With your idea almost on paper (or screen):

• Look online for some writer’s guidelines for a few possible markets
• Check if there is a word limit
• Check to see if there is a specific format required
• Check for submission dates for Christmas stories

Now begin writing in earnest (or in your office or bedroom or in your living room):

• List a possible market at the top of your first page
• Include that market’s word limit and format requirements
• Include the URL for that market
• Write a tentative title
• Then just stream the words–the first draft is never the best

With a rough draft sort of complete:

• Check that you’ve always spelled names the same way (use the FIND feature on your computer with initial letters of the first name in the piece–ie: Jo for John, Joan)
• That won’t catch all errors, but will catch some and the rest will be caught later
• Make sure you are consistent in tense

Once you’ve written your piece–or pieces:

• Let it sit for a couple of days
• Then go back and read it out loud to yourself
• Do this again, running your finger along the lines as a beginning reader does–this forces your eyes to really look at the words and may catch those mismatched names
• Correct any typos, grammar or punctuation difficulties
• Read it out loud again–this time to yourself OR to a critical audience
• Take or send it to your Writers’ Critique Group (you do belong to a Critique Group, don’t you?)
• With critiques in hand, go over your piece again and make any changes that seem right to you, not  necessarily what your critiquers thought right

When you are satisfied with the piece:

• Follow the  market’s submission directions
• Check for other possible markets
• Rewrite your piece to that market’s needs

You can get several articles out of a single idea:

• A fictional story
• A fact-filled piece
• A story aimed at adults
• A story aimed at children of various ages
• A how-to piece for children or adults–this may be how to make a candle or  holiday card or a no-bake cookie recipe

It will be closing in on Easter or Passover by then, so you will be looking for ideas for those holidays.

• Jot down some notes of possible ideas
• Check writer’s guidelines for possible markets
• Submission dates will probably be in early summer

Check online for holiday calendars, especially for unusual holidays. These can give you additional ideas for stories or articles. Then go back to the beginning of this article and work your way through again. Holidays are always good for stories. Most magazines accept these, but often will accept the unusual first.

Guest Post by Marcie Connelly Lynn

My friend Marcie and her husband David live aboard a sailboat and are traveling the globe. They have one last long passage to make to complete a circumnavigation of the earth,  that last leg from Australia to the southern tip of Africa. They have sailed from Africa east past South America via the Panama Canal to Australia, where they are now–and a zillion points in between–over more than a decade.

I asked Marcie to write a guest blog, since she is a published author. She and her husband both have sold many magazine articles. Furthermore, Marcie is an accomplished (and published) photographer. She has LOTS to share for those aspiring to do the same. Read up and enjoy!!!

I must have at least four books in the works at the moment … all of them in various stages of “incomplete”. There’s a cookbook which needs a rewrite and an update; a novel based on fact; an anthology of sailing stories and another mystery novel which revolves around our life at sea. What keeps me actively writing though is our daily blog, our website and freelance writing for magazines.

My husband and I have lived aboard a sailboat for the last 13 years, very slowly traveling around the world. Writing has always been a passion for me, so it was only natural that I’d keep personal journals and continue writing as we sailed from place to place. Now I post our experiences daily and write articles for publication.

Want to take a stab at getting published in a magazine? Try this.

2. Determine an area of expertise or interest. Figure out what you’d like to write about. Do you have a hobby? Are you a parent? Do you sail? Do you like to travel? Do you have pets? Are you a farmer, a hairdresser, a welder, a 50+ retiree?  Obviously, the more you know or care about your topic, the more it will show in your writing.
3. Research what journals or magazines cater to this interest. There are magazines out there for every interest imaginable. Don’t forget to research regional magazines for your area. They’re smaller and may be more interested in your articles than national journals. Think outside of the box. We tend to write for sailing magazines because we sail and live on a boat, but I’ve submitted articles to cat magazines because we used to have a cat aboard. I submit articles to travel magazines. I’ve even submitted funny anecdotes to Reader’s Digest.
4. Obtain the Writer’s Guidelines for those magazines of interest. This is key. Some magazines are very specific as to the length of the piece, the format in which it should be submitted, whether photos are required, their terms and amounts of their payment. The links below this post provide lists of magazines and their guidelines. These lists are not exhaustive by any means, but they’ll give you an idea of what’s out there.
5. Get a copy of the magazine(s) in which you’re interested. Read it. See what types of articles they publish. Get a feel for the mood of the pieces. Are they serious? Whimsical? First person anecdotes? Determine what “departments” they have that might prove suitable for the article you want to write.
6. Figure out your angle. Magazine articles usually do one or more of these things: inform, persuade, instruct or entertain. I tend to write informational/entertainment pieces on the places we visit. My husband, David, writes how-to pieces (instruction) on various topics relating to the boat. Write your article.
7. Proper grammar, spelling, punctuation required…need I say more?
8. Research your topic carefully. If you’re using facts and/or statistics to give some depth and color to your article, make sure you document them well and provide the source if necessary.
9. Many magazines will accept articles on “spec”. Others prefer you send a query. I call this a teaser. Tell them in a short, succinct paragraph what you intend to write about and why it will be of interest to their readers. They’ll  review what you send them and get back to you if they’re interested. Send your best piece. Make the teaser irresistible. Then write the article. Make sure it’s ready to go.  If you don’t hear from the publisher within a couple of weeks, send them a reminder, asking their level of interest. Caution: Do NOT send the same query to several magazines at once. Be patient and submit to one publisher at a time. If two or more magazines should happen to accept your article or idea and you have to tell one of them “no”, you probably won’t get another stab at that magazine. If you don’t hear in a month after a reminder, consider it dead and move on.
10. Don’t be discouraged if you get a “reject” notice. It’s common. Not every article received can be published. Find another magazine and send them the same teaser. We’ve had several articles rejected by one journal which were happily accepted by another. 
11. If you get a bite and some interest in your teaser, respond immediately. Some will ask you to do a rewrite. Cut it down here…expound a little there. Get on it right away. We’ve had situations where the publisher delayed in responding and then we received an urgent email saying, “Oh, didn’t I tell you? We need your article for the next publication. Can you send it and all photos today?”  Needless to say, having the article written and ready to go was key.  We scurried, but got it done.

I doubt you’ll get rich from writing for magazines. We certainly don’t, although we usually succeed in having about six to eight articles published each year. We average ~$300-500 per article. You will, however, see your article in print, promote yourself, build confidence and polish your writing skills. Sometimes that’s enough!

About Marcie…

Marcie & David Lynn have lived aboard “Nine of Cups” since 2000. They’ve sailed over 70,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans  and visited hundreds of anchorages and ports in their travels. They’re currently down under in Tasmania. Marcie writes a daily blog www.justalittlefurther.com and maintains a website www.nineofcups.com. Both David and Marcie contribute regularly to Ocean Navigator and Good Old Boat magazines.

Www.oceannavigator.com

http://www.goodoldboat.com

Writer’s resources

http://www.freelancewriting.com/guidelines/pages/index.php

http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/markets/online-guidelinesMO.htm#MMM