Market the Right Way: Six Types of Markets and How to Approach Them

I'm baaaaack! It was great to have a month's blogging break, and I've got great ideas for what I'll be covering the rest of the year. I'll be blogging about marketing; managing your freelance business;  building relationships with editors, clients, sources, and other people; working more efficiently; and creating (at least occasional) balance in your life as a freelancer. 

I chose these five broad areas for a reason--they're also the five areas I cover in Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. Thanks to all of you who have bought the book and emailed me, especially those who have posted reviews on Amazon! I truly appreciate it. 

Market Like a Pro

I write a lot about marketing and for a good reason. If you can't sell yourself, you'll fail as a freelancer. So make sure you match your pitch to the market type (Secret 6 from Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success):  

The type of pitch you use will depend on the market. For national consumer magazines and newspapers, I suggest new freelancers pitch the FOB section with a query to get your foot in the door. Make that query as compelling as you can. You’re facing more competition here than with any other market, so make sure you have a strong ISG and that your query captures the magazine’s voice. Suggest the section of the magazine your piece belongs in so the editor knows you’re familiar with her publication, and plan on following up with another idea if you’re first one doesn’t get assigned. 

If you're targeting a regional or local magazine or newspaper, pitch a trend story, a profile of a local person (or a roundup, e.g., four local celebs or five up-and-coming chefs), or find a local perspective on a national trend for a regional parenting magazine (e.g., how area families are cutting back on expenses and saving money).

For online markets, query but remember that the articles tend to be shorter than print publications and often include an interactive element, like an online quiz for readers. Make your query tight and focused, and match the tone of your target publication with your e-mailed pitch.

If you want to pitch a blog, check its guidelines to see what type of approach its editor/owner prefers. Some people want you to submit the entire blog post; others like you to query a possible post topic the same way you would with an online magazine.


To pitch a trade market, use a query or LOI. Use industry lingo to show you know the business, and pitch an idea that will benefit readers. Whether you use an LOI or a query, play up your knowledge of/experience with the relevant industry. (To locate trades, check your local library for a directory like Bacon's Magazine Directory, Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, or The Standard Periodical Directory. 

To pitch custom magazines, send an LOI that highlights your experience with the subject(s) the magazine covers, or pitch with a query. Ask your friends and family to collect custom magazines for you, and check out the Custom Content Council's website for possible markets. 

Different types of markets require different approaches. Matching your pitch to the market will ensure higher success rates. (For more about these types of markets and how to work for them, read Secret 6: Match your pitch to the market type from Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success): 

And don't forget about my recent line of ebooks aimed at new freelancers; I'm keeping them priced at $2.99 for a limited time. 

Another Worry of New Freelancers: Do Editors Steal Ideas? (and How to Prevent it!)

I'm revisiting some classic freelancing topics over the next few weeks. Every time I speak about freelancing, I hear from at least one writer who is afraid to pitch an idea to a magazine--because the editor will steal his or her idea. 

Here's the thing. It happens less than you might think. Magazines tend to run the same types of stories over and over. Parenting publications run stories on discipline, sleep, and children's health, for example while fitness magazines run workout and diet stories every month. So just because you pitched a piece about ways to work out on the beach to a magazine like Fitness and the editor rejects your query (or you never hear from her) and then you see a beach workout a few months later, that doesn't mean she stole your idea. (Now, if you had pitched a piece on a new cutting-edge workout that no one has heard of, and the same thing occurred, then maybe, yeah, she took your idea.) 

Here's what I mean. Early in my freelance career, I was pitching dozens of different markets. I was thrilled when one editor took the time to call me and ask for story ideas. I spent a lot time coming up with a specific idea, researched it, and mailed the query. I didn't hear anything from her, so I followed up on the query. Still, no response. Still, I sent her another idea...and then months later, I saw “my” idea in the magazine, right down to the specific sidebar I’d suggested. A little strange, huh? 

Wondering how I handled this? I stewed about it for a while, then decided to send her a new query. I opened with language like "I was delighted to see you included a piece on aquatic fitness in the August issue, an idea I'd pitched you back in January. This lets me know I'm on the right track, and I have another idea for you to consider." She never responded. Here's the thing. I'm 99 percent sure she stole my idea. Remember this was an editor who contacted me personally, asking for ideas...and then never responded to me. I didn't even want to write for her at this point or accuse her of anything, but I did want to let her know that I knew  what had happened. And no, I never heard from her. (Footnote--the magazine folded a year or so later.) 

So, how do you prevent an editor from taking your idea and assigning it to another writer? YOu write the best query you can--it's your only opportunity to make a first impression. Your query should demonstrate that you’re already researched the story idea. If you’ve already spoken to possible expert sources, quote them in the query. Cite statistics or recent studies if relevant. If you're pitching a profile and you’re received the subject’s permission to write about him, include that information. And highlight your unique qualifications in your ISG. Your goal is to convince the editor to let you write the story. A detailed, professional query that demonstrates why you’re uniquely qualified to do so is the most effective weapon you have as a new writer.

Readers, what about you? Has an editor ever "stolen" your idea? How did you handle it? 

***Are you a new freelancer who stumbled onto my blog? Welcome. If you want to make the jump from unpublished to published (and it's a big one), check out my new ebook, Dollars and Deadlines Guide to: Selling your First Article. You'll find everything you need to know to get to published and paid! :)     

Upcoming Webinar: Make Money NOW Writing Freelance Articles

I started my freelance career fifteen years ago, pitching and selling articles to magazines including Cosmopolitan, Brides, Good Housekeeping, and Complete Woman. I'd never taken a journalism class in college and knew nothing about writing queries (believe me, my first ones were terrible!) or articles. As a result, I made a lot of mistakes that wasted my time and effort. Fortunately, you can avoid those mistakes and learn the secrets of successful magazine freelancing in my first webinar with Writer's Digest on Thursday, October 27, 2011.

In Make Money NOW Writing Freelance Articles, you'll learn:

• How to analyze a potential market.
• How to make your query stand out from the competition.
• How to locate and interview sources for articles.
• How to reslant article ideas and make more money in less time.
• How to get your first assignment when you have no clips.

You'll also get a free query critique by me, and have a chance to ask questions during the webinar. If you're a new freelancer or already have some experience but want to have more success and make more money from their work. I hope to "see" many of you at the webinar, and please spread the news about it to other writers!

The Secret to Getting your First Magazine Assignment

I'll be traveling to Oklahoma City tomorrow for OWFI's annual writer's conference. (Please come up and say hi if you're there!) My first pre-conference session is on "Breaking In: The Basics of Writing for Magazines," which is one of my most popular writing-related programs.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I advise new freelancers to break in by pitching a story they're uniquely qualified to write. You demonstrate this in your ISG, or "I'm-so-great" paragraph of your query where you highlight your relevant knowledge of/experience with the subject.

And that is a wonderful start. Just don't make the rookie mistake of thinking that your experience is enough to write the piece. I see inexperienced writers do that all the time, and that's a major reason their queries don't sell. This isn't an essay you're writing--it's an article. That means that 95 percent of the time, you're going to do research and conduct interviews to write your piece.

Your personal experience is a great starting point, but it's only the starting point. Let your editor know you "get" it with a killer query that not only highlights your ISG but the types of sources you plan to interview/use to write the piece. Trust me--this strategy lets you avoid a common rookie mistake and boosts your chances of getting your first assignment.

***

Readers, what do you think? If you're new to the biz and in pursuit of your first clip, you'll find 20 queries that sold (including those from newbie freelancers!) in Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money (Kindle edition).

The ISG: The New Freelancer's Secret Weapon

I've posted before about the benefits of specializing. I want to highlight a topic I've written about before because new freelancers often overlook the importance of the ISG, or what I call the "I'm-so-great" paragraph.

As a freelancer, you're competing against a slew of other writers, both new and experienced. If you're short on clips, I suggest you set yourself apart by pitching stories you're "uniquely qualified" to write. (This strategy works for experienced writers who are pitching hard-to-crack markets, too.) Then highlight your unique qualifications with a query that includes these four parts:

• The lead. It might be a startling statistic, a recent study result, a timely news event, or an anecdote--but regardless of what it is, it should catch the editor's attention.

• The "why-write-it" paragraph. This paragraph (or two, if you have a particularly detailed query) fleshes out the idea, demonstrating why the readers of the magazine will be interested in the topic. If the readers will care, your editor will care, too.

• The "nuts-and-bolts" paragraph. Here you provide details about how you'll approach the story. How long will the piece be? What types of sources will you contact? Will it have sidebars, and if so, how many? What section of the magazine will the story fit in? What's the working title?

• And finally, the ISG. In your ISG, you highlight your relevant qualifications, including your writing experience and background with the subject matter.

ISGs work, even for new writers. Here are a few examples of how I used ISGs early in my freelance career; each one led to my first assignment with that market:

• When I pitched a story on a hidden dating treasure (also known as "shy guys"), I made sure to mention that I'm an extrovert who fell in love with and married a shy guy. ("10 Reasons to Date a Shy Guy," Complete Woman, October/November, 1997.)

• I pitched a true-life feature about a young woman's struggle with a serious, debilitating yet undiagnosed medical problem to a number of women's magazines. In my ISG, I confirmed that I'd spoken with the woman and had her permission to write her story. ("An Answer at Last," Woman's World, April 7, 1998.)

• When I queried a bridal magazine with a story idea on the importance of communicating about money, I included an anecdotal lead about a money argument between newlyweds. In my ISG, I revealed that the couple was me and my newlywed husband. ("A Match Made in Financial Heaven," Bridal Guide, March/April, 1998.)

Get the idea? When you lack clips, play up what you do have--namely, some kind of personal experience with or knowledge of the topic you're pitching. Write an ISG to convince the editor that you're the perfect fit for the assignment and you're halfway to getting it.

Eight Ways to Break into Health Writing

Want to break into one of the most lucrative and fastest-growing freelance fields? Start writing about health. First, you'll find no shortage of timely ideas, nor potential markets for your work. Establishing a background in this area makes you a valuable commodity to editors, and often lets you command higher rates for your work as well.

And you needn't be a physician or researcher to make your mark in the competitive world of health writing--if you keep the following in mind:

Tap into trends. Yesterday's news is just that--yesterday's. If you want to write about health, you've got to stay up what's happening now. I always try to have a newsy, time peg in my health-related queries to first, show the editor I've done my homework, and second, convince her that's it a hot, current topic.

Stay specific. To catch an editor’s attention, you’re better off pitching a narrower story idea than something more general. Instead of suggesting a piece about asthma, for example, pitch a parenting magazine with a piece on how to asthma-proof your home. Instead of a piece on back injuries, pitch a story on simple exercises to maintain core strength (and flatten your tummy!) to a fitness magazine.

Match the market. Make sure that the story you’re pitching is a good fit for that particular publication. Tailor your query to the market—a beach body workout might sell to Fitness while Prevention may be more interested in exercises that help maintain flexibility and strength as you age.

Move to the front. If you’re a freelancer without a lot of health-writing experience, pitching ideas to the “front-of-the-book” or FOB section is the easiest way to break in. In most magazines, these pages consist of short, often news-driven items. The editors usually need material to fill these sections every issue, and it’s a great way to get your foot in the door and prove yourself for longer assignments.

Use yourself. Many of my first health clips resulted from my own experiences or that of friends and family. After I started using a heart rate monitor, I wrote about how they can make you fitter for Fit. Years of battling urinary tract infections led to a short piece on the latest treatment methods for Good Housekeeping while my sister-in-law’s sleep apnea was the spark for a story on women and fatigue for Woman’s Day. A personal connection with a topic can easily become a selling point, so constantly scout for ideas.

Develop a Rolodex. When writing about health, you've got to have expert sources--and that means looking beyond your chiropractor or Spinning instructor. You’ll need to find and interview credentialed, recognized experts to back up any claims you make.

Develop a specialty. It’s impossible to keep tabs on every aspect of health and fitness today—MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine’s database of journal articles, contains more than twenty million citations and that number grows daily. You're better off specializing and focusing on a specific area or two than to try to cover every possible health topic.

Back it up. Finally, expect to provide fact-checking material to your editor. I turn in an annotated copy of the finished story with references, names of experts and contact information, and journal citations (as well as copies of the articles) noted thereon. Make sure you keep your backup material--most magazines are very careful to fact-check any health information they publish. You can’t simply cite a statistic you read in the paper or heard on the news; you’ll need to find and confirm the source.

Want to know more about turning your health woes into cash? Health writing is one of the top ten specialties I cover in Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create Your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money, second edition. You'll also find out how to break into related specialties like writing about food/nutrition and fitness/sports.

Turn your Kids into Money-makers: Writing for Parenting Markets

Up to your ears in dirty diapers and carpools? If you're a parent, you’re uniquely qualified to write for one of the largest freelance markets there is. Hundreds of magazines, newspapers, and websites constantly search for parenting pieces that entertain and inspire as they inform.

New and inexperienced writers often break into freelancing by writing about parenting issues, and writers who develop a specialty in this area often find that they need look no further than their own families for story ideas.

But writing about parenting and child care is more than simply relating personal experience—parenting writers are expected to keep up on trends, locate and interview experts, and provide plenty of service for readers.

If you’re a parent—or if you want to write about kids and the issues families face—keep these tips in mind:

Present More than One Option
Ask any new parent and he or she will tell you—when it comes to parenting, everyone has an opinion and no one thinks twice about sharing theirs with you (like it or not). If the baby cries, pick her up immediately—or she’ll be traumatized. Nope, that’s the worst thing you can do—you’ll spoil her if you don’t let her cry herself to sleep. Let him suck on a pacifier and he’ll need thousands of dollars’ worth of orthodontia…or take it away from him too early and he’ll need therapy for separation anxiety years later.

And parents face dozens if not hundreds of decisions every day that will affect their children’s welfare. What’s a mom or dad to do? Look to parenting/child care publications for advice, information, and support. That's why the most important rule in writing about parenting is to avoid preaching or implying that there is only one way to do something. Always give more than one alternative and support the parents' right to make decisions for their kids.

Find Supporting Experts
OK, so you’re a parent. But you need more than that to write with authority about parenting and child care. Even if you have personal experience with an issue, you’ll probably need to back up the advice you offer with more authoritative opinions and quotes from experts like pediatricians, child development experts, dieticians, or teachers in addition to including real-life anecdotes.

Remember that editors want experts who are established and well-known in his or her field. Call organizations like the American Medical Association or the American Dietetic Association, and ask for referrals to members who specialize in the area you’re writing about.

Embrace All Families
Parents come in all ages, both sexes, and are of every race, ethnicity and religion. This may seem obvious but too often writers simply assume that their family traditions—such as celebrating Christmas—are embraced by all readers. “

On the other hand, if you’re writing for a publication aimed at a more narrow audience—say, stay-at-home mothers or parents who home-school their children, it’s okay to focus your story on that group of people. Just keep the audience in mind as you write the piece, and remember that parenting writing is often service writing. In fact, “how-to” articles are the most prevalent kind of parenting stories and for good reason.

Include "Real People" Anecdotes
While you may need experts to support your story, don't be afraid to include your personal experiences. Readers may find it easier to relate to someone who’s “been there, done that.”

Your personal story is a great place to start. But because there are so many different approaches to parenting, readers like hearing about more than one person’s experience or opinion in child care articles. A wide range of sources helps ensure that readers will find something in an article than benefits them.

Create New Spins on Evergreen Topics
Many parenting stories cover topics like health, child development, discipline, and nutrition. While these subjects are covered over and over again, look for a new angle or new approach to sell your story idea.

Although you may need to come up with a fresh approach, parenting writers have an endless list of “evergreen” story ideas to choose from. Topics like infant first aid, children’s health, how to choose a babysitter, how to help kids prepare for and succeed in school, discipline strategies, inexpensive craft activities, proper nutrition, ways to talk to kids about difficult subjects…the list goes on and on. The trick is coming up with a new or unique angle..and your kids may give you one without you even asking!

Want to know more about writing about parenting? It's one of the top ten specialties I cover in Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money.

What to do When: Your Story Gets Killed

You got the assignment. You slaved over your piece, turned it in on time, and your editor responded with the dreaded phrase, “You’ve got a great start, but…”

So, you revised the piece to the editor’s specifications, or so you thought. But now, for reasons beyond your control, the story has been killed. What do you do?

First off, welcome to the club. I don't know of any longtime freelancer who hasn't had at least one piece killed. Sometimes the story you write isn't what the editor decides she wants--or the story her boss wants. Sometimes the editor who assigned the piece leaves the magazine, leaving the piece "orphaned." Sometimes the editor decides the piece is no longer timely, and no longer wants it. Regardless of the reason, your piece has been killed.

Years ago, I had two stories—$2,800 worth of work—killed during a regime change at a national fitness magazine. The editor who had assigned the pieces had left along with other staffers. Now the new editor-in-chief seemed determined to get rid of anything that had been assigned by her predecessor. My stories--which were already finished--got caught in the middle.

I argued that I should be paid the full fee, not the 25% kill fee the contract paid for. After all, there was nothing wrong with the stories themselves--it was simply an arbitrary decision on the part of the new EIC not to use them. But the editors at the magazine refused to pay me the full amount, opting for the kill fee provision. I was...well, way more than peeved.

After I cooled off, I thought about how to make the best of a sucky situation. I called an editor I’d worked with at another fitness magazine. I told her I had two great story ideas to pitch her, and sold both of them in five minutes. (I wish all my ideas sold so quickly.)

Did I tell her that they’d just been killed by one of her competitors? Nope. When she asked what kind of deadline I needed, did I say “Oh, about five minutes?” Absolutely not. I turned in one piece two weeks later, the next piece the week after that. My editor loved both, and accepted them. She paid me $1,750 for the stories—which, combined with the $700 kill fee, left me only $350 in the hole on the deal. (And that's not counting the reprints I made on both pieces after they first came out.) That was a much smarter decisoin than if I would have simply accepted the kill fee and let the stories languish on my hard drive.

Bottom line: a story getting killed doesn’t mean your work is substandard or that you can’t hack it as a writer. Every freelancer will face this issue at one time or another. It’s how you respond to them that matters.

For more smart advice about how to address freelancing challenges, check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, or Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money.

Do Editors "Steal" Ideas? And How to Prevent Idea Theft

Every time I teach a magazine writing class or speak at a writers' conference on magazine freelancing, at least one person asks the big question: do editors steal ideas from writers?

But the real question, at least to me, is how do you prevent it from happening to you?

Do editors "steal" ideas? Well, yes--but not as often as you probably think. Magazines tend to run the same types of evergreen stories again and again. Just because a parenting magazine rejected your pitch about fun family summertime activities but ran a similar piece doesn’t mean the editor stole your idea. She may have already assigned the idea to another writer or had a similar piece in inventory.

Editors, especially those at national magazines, are inundated with hundreds of queries about popular topics like health, fitness, diet/nutrition, parenting, technology, and business. Chances are slim that you’re the only writer who has ever pitched a story like “Ten Easy Ways to Lose Weight" to a fitness or women's magazine, for example.

On the other hand, I once pitched a very specific fitness idea to an editor who had called me personally, asking for story ideas. I followed up on the query but she never responded. Six months later, I saw “my” idea in the magazine, complete with the sidebar I’d suggested. Did she "steal" my idea? I can’t say for sure, but I never queried her again. (The fact that she'd asked me for ideas, then blew me off after I pitched her, sunk her in my eyes.)

So, how do you prevent an editor from taking your idea and assigning it to another writer?

First, show that you’ve done your homework. Your query should reflect that you’re already spent time researching and exploring the story idea. If you’ve already spoken to possible expert sources, mention that. If the piece is a profile and you’re received the subject’s permission to write about him, let the editor know. Highlight your relevant background or experience with the subject matter, especially if you're a new writer.

Your goal is to convince the editor to let you write the story. A detailed, professional query that demonstrates why you’re uniquely qualified to do so is the most effective weapon you have against idea theft.

Question: How do you Write a Quiz? Answer: Read this Blog Post

While I've written and published just about everything (articles, books, essays, and novels, to name a few), I'm primarily a service journalist. Most of my writing is about how and why to do something--think easy ways to get more veggies into your diet, how laughter can make you healthier, and how getting more active can also improve your sleep habits.

But even I get burned out on taking the same old, same old approach to topics. That's why I write a lot of quizzes and use them either to start an article or as a sidebar. Quizzes can be a fun change from the typical service article, and they’re simpler to write than you might think. In addition, editors love them—they’re a popular way to test readers’ knowledge of a subject and to share information in an accessible, often entertaining format. And they add the essential interactive element for online markets.

Once you’ve chosen the subject matter of your quiz (for example, “what’s your money personality?”), consider the length and format of the quiz. Will it be a multiple choice, for example, or true/false? Also determine whether the quiz will be the main feature of the piece, or an accompanying sidebar.

As with any other nonfiction article, you’ll have to conduct background research, interview experts, locate relevant studies, statistics and the like before you begin writing. The more you know about the subject you’re covering, the stronger the quiz will be. As you research the subject, keep a running list of possible questions and answers—this will make it easier when you it’s time to draft the questions.

When it comes to writing the questions, here’s a tip I figured out early on: if you’re writing a self-assessment quiz (e.g., “test your sex IQ”), order the answers so they correspond with the categories you’ll eventually break down the results into—for example, all “A” answers correspond to “Wild Child,” all "B" answers correspond to “Hot and Heavy,” and so on. Or you can assign points to answers (4 points for every A, 3 points for every B, etc.) and have readers tally their scores after taking the quiz.

Finally, write the quiz key, which conveys information to the reader. If you’re writing a self-assessment quiz, the key should offer specific advice and tips geared to the different categories you describe; if it’s a quiz testing a reader’s knowledge of a subject, make sure you include an explanation of each correct answer.

Writing quizzes isn’t rocket science, and magazine editors appreciate freelancers who can enliven evergreen subjects with these kinds of interactive elements. It’s one more way to help set you and your work apart from the other freelancers out there.

A Break from Mistakes: A Rule of Thumb for Word Count

We'll return to freelance mistakes next week, but today's post is about a common question I hear from newer writers--how close do you get to word count must you come when you write an article?

Here's the scenario: you’re finishing up your killer 800-word piece, and you’re thrilled with your work. After all, you’ve written a scintillating lead, addressed all the issues your editor wanted you to cover, included insightful quotes, and wrapped the piece up with a strong close. You’ve pruned every unnecessary phrase and extraneous word, but the story is still running long—at 862 words. What do you do?

In this case, nothing. While there’s no set standard in the publishing industry, the basic rule of thumb for word count I use is 10%. That means a story can be 10% over or under the assigned word count without worrying about it.

Of course I’m going to get as close to assigned word count as possible. I love turning in a story that's been assigned at 1,000-word story at 999, 1002, or even 1000 words. (Truth is, hitting the exact word count gives me a thrill! Sad, I know.) But that 10% bumper means I don’t fret if a story is running a little long. (If it's coming in at more than 10% over, then it’s time for some judicious editing.)

However, in 14+ years, I have never turned in a story that was 10% short on words. First of all, I always have more than enough for the piece, and second, an editor is bound to think you didn’t do your job if you didn’t use every word she’s paying for.

Instead of tearing your hair out over an extra 20, or 30, or 90 words, try the 10% word count solution. It may give you the flexibility you need to write a strong piece without sacrificing a critical element in the name of brevity.

Trade Publications: The Overlooked Magazine Market

When you think of writing for magazines, chances are you think of consumer magazines--the "glossies" you see on newsstands. You may be overlooking an even bigger section of the magazine publishing industry--trade magazines. (My recent survey of more than 100 fulltime freelancers found that only 13% are currently writing for trades.)

Trade magazines serve a specific niche--they're aimed at people who work in a particular trade or industry and are typically sold only on a subscription basis. While a few don't pay, most have rates ranging from about $.20 to 50/word and higher. The editors aren't inundated with queries the way consumer mags are, and they're usually looking for people who have some knowledge of their industry--and can write.

One of the best parts about writing for trades is that once you have your foot in the door, your editor is likely to come back to you again and again. A single query to Chamber Executive, the magazine for the ACCE, led to a three-year relationship (until a new editor took over). A letter of introduction to IGA Monthly again led to several dozen assignments. Another bonus? Often your editor will provide you with the sources she wants you to interview, which slashes your research time. And I've found that edits tend to be minimal, which boosts your hourly rate.

To locate trades, check your local library for Bacon’s Magazine Directory, Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, and The Standard Periodical Directory. Bacon's lists more than 55,000 markets; the later two, more than 70,000.

When pitching a trade, I suggest you use an LOI, use industry lingo, think about the audience of the market, and show that you're up on the business the magazine is about. A well-written letter of introduction is likely to pay off if the editor needs writers, so if you know about a particular industry, why not consider branching into this overlooked market?

What Fulltime Freelancers are Writing These Days

According to the recent survey of 100 fulltime freelancers (see below post), we discovered that 55 percent expect to make more money in 2010 than they did in 2009; 30 percent expect to make about the same. So what exactly are they doing to make their money?

One survey question asked about the kind of work they do, giving ten options (along with an “other” category.)

The results:

23 percent write consumer magazine articles ;
14 percent blog and/or write for other online markets;
13 percent write trade magazine articles;
12 percent do corporate writing/copywriting;
12 percent write custom magazine articles;
7 percent write book and/or book proposals;
5 percent speak and/or teach;
3 percent ghostwrite books and/or book proposals;
2 percent sell reprints to magazines or other markets; and
2 percent consult.

But another 7 percent of respondents indicated that they do others kinds of work in addition to these ten categories, including writing for newspapers (5 percent) and editing/copy editing (2 percent). One freelancer writes patient education material; another does spokesperson work; and another writes continuing education materials for physicians and other medical professionals.

In a future survey, I’ll explore how lucrative (and likely to grow--or shrink) some of the most popular writing markets are. In the meantime, I suggest you look at the type of work you’re doing, and consider whether there are other types you could explore. You may be overlooking potential markets for your work.

Forget per-word rates

So, what are you making per word for your magazine articles? $1/word? $2/word? $0.40/word?

Who cares? I only care about what I make per-hour.

Per-word rates are the norm in the magazine world. This figure, multiplied by word count, tells you how much you’ll make for writing a particular story. But it may not tell you whether it’s worth it to take it on. The real question is how much time the story will take—the assignment amount divided by the number of hours you put into it gives you your hourly rate for the piece.

Knowing how much time an article (or any other project, for that matter) will take gives you a concrete idea of the return on your time. And those $1/word and up assignments can be mighty misleading. Sure, it’s a bigger check than writing for a market that pays a lower per-word rate. But are you really making more money?

For example, let’s say I do a 1,000-word story for a national magazine that pays $1.50/word. Fair enough—I’m getting paid $1,500 for my work. But what happens if between researching and writing the query, writing an outline (per my editor), researching the article, finding sources, doing interviews, transcribing interviews, writing the piece, turning in the piece, revising the piece (per my editor’s request), finding new sources (per my editor), interviewing those sources, turning in the final revision, submitting my backup material, answering additional questions from the editor (say, nine months later…it happens), I’ve put 25 hours into my story? That means I’ve made $60/hour on that story.

Not bad, but here’s the thing—compare that to a 1,000-word piece on the same topic for a smaller magazine that pays only $0.35/word. Yet I know the editor and my query is just a short paragraph. The story requires some background research and several interviews, and takes me a total of five hours to write. (No revisions requested! Yay!) That a total of $350, for five hours’ worth of work—or $70/hour.

At first glance, the $1,500 piece looks like a better assignment—and it is a bigger check. But my experience has been that national markets (and I’ve written for more than 50 of them) expect a lot more work from you to earn that higher rate. In many cases, I’ve found that regional magazines, trade publications and specialty magazines actually pay better per-hour than their national counterparts. And that makes them worthwhile markets for me.

What about you? Are you tracking your time…or just your dollars?

One idea=one story? Wrong!

As a freelancer, you have a limited number of hours to dedicate to earning money from your work, whether you’re writing part- or full-time. That’s why I make the most of mine by squeezing as much as I can out of my research—by selling “reslants” to other markets. I never write about an idea only once. I'm always looking to cover it again for another magazine.

Reslanting is writing about the same topic more than once, with a different angle, for a new market. And it’s a way to work much more efficiently, boosting your hourly rate.

It took me several years to grasp this fact, though. When I first launched my career, I dug for story ideas, looked for appropriate markets, and queried magazines. When I got an assignment, I wrote the article. Then it was on to the next idea, the next market, the next story.

I wrote about topics ranging from how avoiding employment discrimination claims to memory improvement techniques to animal dissection alternatives to religious weight loss programs. Each story took a considerable amount of time to research, but once I was finished with it, I never revisited the topic. Not smart.

Does that sound like how you work? Then break yourself of the one idea=one story habit right now. Instead, start thinking about the different ways you can reslant material to different markets. That lets you take advantage of the information that’s already in your head, in your interview transcripts, and on your hard drive, reducing the amount of time you spend researching and writing your next piece. Sure, you may do additional interviews, but the lion’s share of the work (wrapping your brain around a new subject) has already been completed.

Not sure how to do it? Put your brainstorming hat on. You pitched a specific angle on a particular topic to one market. You wrote the piece--or you're writing it now. Don't stop there. Think about the different angles you can take with the subject, and which markets might be interested in them.

For example, last year I was assigned a piece on the health benefits of gratitude for a custom magazine. (I'd never written about gratitude before, though I am the mistress of thank-you notes.) Using the same basic research and one additional interview, I wrote a piece on helping your kids become more grateful for a major newspaper. Then I wrote a piece on surprising ways to be happy (including becoming more grateful) for a woman’s magazine. Get the idea? The idea—gratitude is good for you—was the same, but by coming up with different slants and markets, I sold three stories based on the idea. And I’m still pitching related stories now.

So break free from the concept that one idea=one story for one market. Instead, think one idea=multiple angles, multiple stories, multiple markets, multiple checks. Reslanting lets you cover a subject more than once, and each subsequent story takes less time to research and write than a wholly original idea. Bottom line is that you're making making more money…in less time.

Jack of All Trades, Master of None?

One of the reasons I make good money as a freelancer is that I no longer try to write about anything and everything the way I did my first year or two of being self-employed. I found that to be a good recipe for working my butt off…and not making very much money. As a specialist, I’ve developed lucrative niches that make it easier to market myself, boost the likelihood of getting assignments from new-to-me markets, increase the amount of money I can charge, and give me an inventory of material I can resell again and again.

What about you? Do you specialize? If not, why not?

Here’s the thing. Simply by living your life up until now, you've learned about a variety of subjects. Chances are you've worked a number of jobs, probably in different industries. You've had relationships with people—family, coworkers, lovers, friends. You've taken classes, maybe obtained a college degree or two. You've overcome obstacles. You've explored hobbies. You've developed interests, likes, dislikes, opinions, goals and dreams.

Each of us has a unique history and life experience. If you'd like to break into print, or if you want to make more money from your freelance work, why not harness that experience to help you do so?

I've been a fulltime freelance journalist since 1997, and I've been teaching magazine writing and speaking at writers' conferences and other events throughout the U.S. for almost as long. I've helped new (read: inexperienced) writers get published for the first time, helped seasoned writers break into more lucrative markets, and helped writers of all experience levels work more efficiently and make more money as a result.

All by suggesting that they specialize.

Let me make something clear. Specializing doesn't prevent you from writing about anything you want to. You still have that option. (And I do venture out of my pigeonhole occasionally to tackle new subjects.) It does mean that you focus on your unique strengths and background, especially as a new writer. Specializing can get you into print. And over time, it can transform a so-so freelance career into one that lets you reach your dreams and monetary goals.

First, limiting the majority of my work to several subject areas means I have a background in most of the topics I cover. That means that I can stay on top of what's happening in my specialities, research and pitch articles more quickly, and research and write them more quickly once I get assignments. That makes me much more efficient than someone who’s always covering new subjects (say, a travel writer always covering new destinations or a profile writer).

Creating a nonfiction specialty (or specialties) can also help you:

• Get more assignments, even as an inexperienced writer;
• Command higher per-word rates;
• Position yourself as an expert and build a platform (all-important if you want to write books);
• Obtain assignments from higher-paying markets;
• Develop relationships with editors and other clients;
• Create an inventory of stories for reprinting and reselling;
• Branch into other types of writing (such as books and corporate work); and
• Break into new subject areas.

Set Yourself Apart from the Pack

Imagine that you're an editor at a magazine. Chances are that you're overworked and underpaid. One of your many tasks is assigning stories to fill the pages of your magazine. Every issue. No matter what.

That's the bad news. The good news is you've got no shortage of freelancers to help you do it. In fact, you receive hundreds, maybe thousands of queries a month. Some are from experienced writers; many more are from "newbies" with little in the way of clips or experience. Who do you choose to work with?

The writer who you believe can deliver the story. And all things being equal, would you rather assign this piece to a freelancer who's new to the subject, or the one who already has experience with it?

The answer is clear. That's why I suggest that new writers (and even experienced writers pitching new or hard-to-break-into markets) start by pitching stories they are "uniquely qualified" to write. Then highlight that experience with a query that includes four basic parts:

• The lead, which is designed to catch the editor's attention. It might be a startling statistic, a recent study result, a timely news event, or an anecdote. The key is that it interests the editor enough to continue reading.

• The "why write it" section. This paragraph (or two, if you have a particularly detailed query) fleshes out the idea, demonstrating why the readers of the magazine will be interested in the topic. If the readers will care, your editor will care, too.

• The "nuts and bolts" paragraph. Here you give the details of the story itself. What types of sources will you contact? How long will the story be? Will it have sidebars, and if so, how many? What section of the magazine will the story fit in? What's the working title?

• The "I-am-so-great" paragraph (or "ISG"). Here, you highlight your relevant qualifications, including your writing experience and background with the subject matter. This is the paragraph where you showcase your unique qualifications and convince the editor to give you the assignment.

Let me give you a few examples of compelling I-am-so-great paragraphs from early in my freelance career:

• When I pitched a story on a hidden dating treasure (also known as "shy guys"), I made sure that I mentioned that I am an extrovert who fell in love with and married a shy guy. ("10 Reasons to Date a Shy Guy," Complete Woman, October/November, 1997.)

• I pitched a true-life feature about a young woman's struggle with a serious, debilitating yet undiagnosed medical problem to a number of women's magazines. In my ISG, I wrote that I had already spoken with the woman and had her permission to write her story. ("An Answer at Last," Woman's World, April 7, 1998.)

• When I queried a bridal magazine with a story idea on the importance of communicating about money, I included an anecdotal lead about a money argument between newlyweds. In my ISG, I revealed that the couple was me and my newlywed husband. ("A Match Made in Financial Heaven," Bridal Guide, March/April, 1998.)

But the ISG isn't only for new writers. As I've garnered experience in a variety of subject areas, I've harnessed it to break into new markets as well as other types of writing. For example:

• When sending a letter of introduction to IGA Grocergram, a trade magazine for grocery store owners, I neglected to include that I'd recently worked part-time at Trader Joe's, a specialty grocery store. But when I followed up with editor by phone, you better believe I worked that fact into the conversation! My firsthand experience with “end caps” and loading the reefer (nope, it’s not what you think) helped cinch a steady gig for me.

• When contacting The Pampered Chef about freelancing for their corporate communications department, I mentioned my relevant experience writing about food and nutrition for national magazines. (I'm not a big cook; otherwise, I would have said so.) The marketing director received dozens of letters but this fact helped my letter of introduction stand out—and got me a lucrative freelance assignment.

• When sending a letter of introduction to a medical consulting firm, I mentioned both my health-writing background and my work (even though it had been years prior) doing PR for a small hospital. Once again, I got the gig.

Get it? The idea is to always look for some connection you have with the work you're pitching, even if it's a tenuous one.

Do What I Say, Not What I Did

Let me confess something: I didn't start out as a freelancer understanding the importance of a powerful ISG. I learned the hard way, sending out hundreds of queries that were rejected. I would pitch any and every idea, regardless of how much I knew about the subject—and my sketchy, poorly conceived queries reflected that. So did my annual income.

When it came to magazines, my approach at the time was to look for possible story ideas and then find the appropriate markets for those articles. I was querying several dozen magazines at the same time—an approach I don’t recommend. Yet a few assignments trickled in. BRIDE’S assigned me a piece on combining two households into one when you marry. Vegetarian Times asked me to write a 600-word story on creating a local vegetarian group. I wrote about a unique high school paper for the trade magazine Editor& Publisher. The Lion asked me to cover a charity car show sponsored by the local Lions club after I pitched the idea.

What made these ideas—the ones that were actually assigned—different from the ones that were rejected? Well, I had some kind of experience with all of the successful pitches. I'd recently combined two households when I married my husband. I’d met a woman who'd started her own local vegetarian group in a nearby small town. I'd attended an educational conference where I met the founder of the high school paper, l paper at a conference, and I'd contacted the martial arts expert about doing a story after I read about him in the local paper. As for the Lions car show? It was held in my town every year—who better than me to write about it?

So far, so good. I was learning the importance of the ISG, even if I didn't call it that yet. But during this time, I had no intention of specializing in any particular area. I wrote about any idea that I thought would fit a particular market and bring me some cash. It didn’t matter to me if I was writing about charity car shows, one-on-one marketing techniques, or animal research alternatives; I only cared about the assignment, the clip, and the check—and rightly so. With my limited experience, I couldn’t afford to be too choosy about work. I needed to build my portfolio and gain experience—after all, I had no journalism background and was basically learning the ropes by trial and error.

There had to be a better, easier, more lucrative way to work.

And there was. Rather than trying to cover a wide variety of subjects, I started to concentrate on a handful of topics that interested me and were a part of my life—health, fitness, nutrition, and relationships—and began developing a specialty in those areas.

In the years since then, I’ve met hundreds of other freelance writers, and have discovered that the majority of the ones who are successfully freelancing fulltime (let’s say making more than $60,000 a year) have created niches for themselves. Maybe they write about fitness and health. Or business and technology. Or food and nutrition. Or home and garden. Rather than being generalists, they’re now specializing in specific areas, and reaping the benefits of doing so. Why not consider taking a similar approach?

Ask for More Money...and Get It

I’d been freelancing fulltime for more than a year before I summoned up the courage to ask for a better deal than whatever was on the table. Before then, I simply took whatever the editor offered, scampered off, and was grateful. (For example, my first article, which sold to Cosmopolitan in 1996, sold for $850… for 1,300 words. That’s what the editor said she could pay, so I took it. This was at a time when the magazine paid $1/word and up for articles. Did I ask for more? Did I even try? Of course not. I was so thrilled to finally get published I would have sold the piece for $50. Good thing I didn’t tell the editor that.)

With 13 months’ experience came some confidence, however. Also the realization that while I was working 50- to 60-hour weeks, I wasn’t making that much money. Granted, some of my work was for the local newspaper, where I was paid anywhere from $35 to $75 for a story. But another factor was that I kept saying “yes” to any work that came my way without ever asking for more. So I decided to try—and I think you should too.

Feeling nervous? That’s OK. I’m going to make it easy for you with some specific techniques you can try:

Be nice. Meaning, I don’t attack the editor for a less-than-stellar offer. Instead, I express my gratitude to her and remind her that I do want to work with her. Then I ask for more. Try something like, “Thanks so much for thinking of me for this piece—I’m looking forward to working with you on this topic. But considering the length/scope/deadline/insert-reason-hereof the piece, do you think you could do a little better money-wise?”

Give a reason. Bottom line—I want more money. I just do! But that doesn’t give my editor a reason to give it to me. That's why I give her an explanation of why I want more money—the complexity of the story, the number of sources I’ll have to interview, a tight deadline, a piece that requires some expertise in the subject matter, whatever fits. I want to give her a reason to say “yes.” Years ago, an editor I’d worked with before called to assign a 2,000-word piece on oral contraceptives that included five sidebars—and then offered $1/word for it. That’s not a terrible rate, but it wasn’t enough to justify all the time I was going to put into the story. I told her, “I really want to write this piece for you, but obviously this story is going to take me weeks of research and interviews, especially with all the sidebars. I don’t think $1/word is really fair for this particular story. Can you do better than that?” She immediately agreed to $1.50/word, which gave me an extra $1,000 just for opening my mouth. (In retrospect, I realize she agreed too quickly—she probably would have gone even higher. Oops.)

Cite your standard. If the per-word rate is much lower than what you usually get, mention that. Try, “I’d love to write for you, but for this kind of work, I usually get more per word. Is there any way you can do better?”

Prove your worth. You may be surprised to learn that I don’t try to negotiate every offer. If a new editor comes to me with an assignment at a fair rate, I take it. Then I do a great job on the piece…and ask for money the second time around. Remember that whether you’re a new or seasoned writer, the editor’s taking a chance on you—there are plenty of talented freelancers who are lazy about deadlines or turn in sloppy copy. Once I’ve proven myself, I’m in a much better position to ask for a higher per-word rate for the next story. That’s when I ask for a raise, using language like, “I’m so happy we’ll be working together again! Because you’ve worked with me before, you know I’m going to do a good job for you, and turn in the story before deadline. Considering that you know I’ll deliver for you, can we bump up my per-word rate?” (Or, “Can you do better money-wise this time around?”)

Keep the door open. I’ve asked for more money from editors and been turned down. My motto? It never hurts to ask. When an editor says, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do any better,” or “we have a set rate for writers and I can’t change it,” I don’t complain. If I want the assignment, I say yes, and say, “No problem—I understand! It never hurts to ask, right?" And if I don’t want the assignment, I just explain that I can’t take it on but that I do appreciate the editor getting in touch. I never burn a bridge…and you never know where your editor may end up!

So why not try? Yes, it’s easier (and less stressful!) to simply say “yes” or “no” to an offer than to try to negotiate with an editor, but that’s no reason not to try. Take a deep breath, summon your courage, and ask if the editor can do better. You may be surprised at the answer.

One more thing--writers often fear that if they ask for more money, they’ll lose the assignment. In more than 13 years of freelancing, that has never happened to me. The worst case scenario is that you’ll ask for more money, the editor will refuse, and you’ll have to decide whether you’re willing to take the work or not. Best case? You make more money—simply by asking for it.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to ask for more money on your next freelance assignment. Let me know how it turns out. And if you have any negotiating techniques that you’ve found effective, please share them here!