How to be a Freelance Magazine Writer
I've been reading up on what it takes to be a freelance magazine writer. It sounded all complicated, so to learn the process I decided I would go through the steps just to see how difficult it really is. Here are the steps involved in sending out a Query Letter in case anyone reading this wants to give it a shot, too:
1) I went on this website, http://www.writersweekly.com/. They list tons of magazines that are seeking submission from freelance (non-staff) writers. So, out of the 10 magazines looking for articles, I picked one, Bridal Guide, to send a query to.
2) I wrote up a Query letter to Bridal Guide. It was basically just a couple of sentences about the article I want to write for them, with a brief background on myself. I suppose this is to save the Editor's time, so he or she doesn't have to read the whole article, and I don't have to waste my time writing it if they don't want it. Apparently, according to Freelance Writer custom, I have to also include a SASE in the envelope so they can send me a response, so I did. (caveat: I have worked in offices where people submit things in a similar fashion, and if the answer is no that envelope is rarely used. I used it this time, but if I don't get it back I'm not going to include it in future Querys. I'll let you know.)
3) I sent it off. Now, I guess I just have to wait.
What gets me is that the whole Query Letter thing cost me almost $1.00 in postage (I am international here), and I probably will not get the job, and even if I did the money to be earned is not all that great. I have no idea how anyone makes a living doing this.
posted by gg @ 10:12 AM
5 Comments:
Sounds like fun, though.
Actually, people were just telling me on my blog that I should look into this. Maybe I'll give it a try.
Doesn't sound to awful, once you do the first one it's almost a form letter, right?
You don't send out the same article Query to different magazines, unless they have similar needs. I found it kinda hard thinking up a good article idea that the Editor probably hasn't seen before. But that's just me.
Anyway I hope someone gets a hit, good luck everyone!
I'm surprised that the process hasn't gone electronic yet, with e-mail queries and/or entry of proposals into a web form. Perhaps the magazines are restricting it to the old SASE method to confirm that people are *serious* about this.
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