Six Steps to Getting
Published
By Georganne Fiumara Freelance writing is a rewarding way to
work at home. As a writer, you have the special
opportunity to influence what others think and
do. You can touch emotions and possibly even
change the course of a reader's life. Each year,
millions of men and women will attempt to have
their words published in magazines, newspapers or
books but only a very small percentage will be
successful. Those who remain unpublished may
secretly feel that the published writers have
more talent than they do. Although some have more
skill than others, talent is not the reason why
most freelance writers achieve success. The
following six steps can help you get started on
the road to getting published:
- Now is the time to start.
Ask yourself this question: Do I want to
be a writer, or do I want to write? There
is a difference. Becoming a writer is a
fantasy: writing is hard work. If you are
waiting for the right time and place to
begin writing, you will never find out if
you can do it. Don't wait until the kids
start school or until you can afford a
computer. To become a writer, the first
thing you have to do is write - right
now. There is no better time to begin,
and waiting is just an excuse to avoid
failure.
- Learn your craft. There is
not enough room here to give writing
lessons, but I can tell you what you have
to do to become the best writer you can
be: Read and write. Read the type of
writing that you want to do. Read all of
the publications you want to write for.
As you read, notice the best and worst
traits of each writer. Write down phrases
that you admire. You can even type out a
good article to get a feel for how the
sentences are structured. Then, read
about writing. There are many excellent
books about writing and most are
available from WRITER'S DIGEST BOOK CLUB
in Cincinnati, Ohio. They also publish an
excellent magazine called WRITER'S
DIGEST.
The most
important way to improve your writing is
to write. Like any other skill, the more
you do it, the better you will get.
Eventually you will develop your own
style, your unique voice, which will make
it a little easier to complete your
assignment. But this won't happen until
you write as much as you can.
- Choose your topics
carefully. What you write about is more
important that your writing skill. Your
topics must be marketable. Determine if
your article is of interest to the
readers of the magazine you are
targeting. What makes you qualified to
write such an article? Do you have
expertise in this area, or will you
interview those who do? Is your topic one
that has not been covered recently, or do
you have a fresh angle on the subject?
Will you be teaching your readers a skill
that they might have to pay to learn
elsewhere? Will the information you
provide empower your readers? If you
cannot meet these guidelines, it is
unlikely that a magazine would be
interested in publishing your material.
- Do what successful writers
do. You may have been blessed with some
writing ability, but you will not become
a published writer until you learn the
methods used by working freelancers.
Everyone has heard the expression
"Write about what you know." If
you want to have your writing published,
you also need to write for publications
you know. Until you become a regular
reader, there is no way you can know the
"personality" of the magazine,
the type of articles they buy, and which
ideas have not yet been used. Just as you
cannot draw a picture of someone you have
never met, you cannot write an acceptable
article for a publication you have never
seen. If you read about a magazine that
is not available in your area, send for a
sample issue and ask for writer's
guidelines. Become as informed as
possible but do not write the article
until you contact the publication with a
query. Experienced writers do not submit
completed articles. They do not want to
waste their time completing work that has
not been assigned. Instead, learn how to
demons trate your writing ability and
present your ideas in a focused proposal
letter called a query. Splurge on good
stationery with your name and address at
the top. Always enclose a self-addressed,
stamped envelope for reply. Appearance
and professionalism does count.
- Effective marketing is as
important as good writing. If you view
your writing as your "product"
you will understand why it is so
important to use marketing techniques to
convince and editor to buy what you are
selling. Writing is a business, and only
those who realize this will have a chance
of succeeding. Use your query to explain
to the editor why the readers will be
interested in your topic and how they can
benefit from your words. Unpublished
writers have the greatest difficulty
selling their work. You can make it
easier to become published if you don't
try for the national magazines right
away. If you have to, write for the local
shopper newspaper for free, but do the
very best job you can do. No one will
know that you were not paid for your
writing and you will have published clips
to show the editors of larger
publications.
- Rejection is part of the
process. No one likes to be told that
their work is unacceptable, but it is
especially difficult to have a creative
endeavor rejected. The great majority of
people who want to become writers submit
one article, poem or short story. When
the publication sends them a preprinted
rejection slip, the writer feels that his
or her worst fears have been confirmed.
So, the manuscript goes into a drawer and
never again sees the light of day. This
is a very big mistake. Publications
reject work for many reasons. Bad writing
is only one of them. They may have
covered a similar topic recently, or the
publication does not use poetry, or the
editor had a bad day and rejected
everything that crossed her desk. Or,
maybe this particular piece was not up to
professional standards. The reason
doesn't really matter. It is important,
however, to decide at the very beginning
of your career that rejection is just one
part of the acceptance process. Until you
are willing to take the chance of being
rejected over and over again, you will
never have your work accepted. Even the
best baseball players strike out more
than they get hits. But, the strike-outs
do not take one bit of the glory away
from each home run. Instant success
cannot be expected in any profession.
Becoming a published writer is a process.
Anyone with a little talent and a lot of
focus and perseverance can succeed.
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Georganne
Fiumara is a writer specializing is home business
topics. She has had more than 85 articles
published in magazines and newspapers such as
Family Circle, Women's Day, American Baby, Income
Opportunities, The New York Times and Newsday. In
1984, she founded Mothers' Home Business Network,
a national organization providing ideas,
information and inspiration for mothers who
choose to work at home. For more information,
write to MHBN, P.O. Box 423, East Meadow, NY
11554. Online, go to the Mothers' Home Business
Network's web site at http://www.homeworkingmom.com. or e-mail to momhomebiz@homeworkingmom.com.
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