Four Tips for Starting a Successful Magazine Writing Career

May 26, 2011
Judy Haar

Write for Magazines - Pixomar

A place to start for idea generation; picking the right magazines and building a resume for a successful career in writing for magazines.

If you're going to write for a magazine, there is a simple approach to begin the process. Unfortunately, there will still be rejections, but don't give up. The persistent writer with a great idea will win the prize; publication. The options of writing for magazines are endless; parents, adults, children, science fiction, mystery, trades, Christian, seniors, home, exercise and more. This is where to start and develop a good idea that a magazine editor might buy. Follow these four easy tips to develop a selling idea and get to the right magazine.

Idea generation

Write what you know is always a good start. For example, if you are a small business owner, write about the small business issues you have had to face. Writing from experience provides a great resume and a reason for a magazine to give you a chance. Maybe you have a personal story that you want to capture or a new way to grow your company, speak from knowledge. For fresh happenings in your field, try newspapers and ezines Go to trade meetings or gatherings where ideas and issues are often discussed. Talk with people and see what interests them. Google recent events and see what comes up and what interests you. Try some idea generation techniques to come up with a new slant to an old problem. If you can't come up with an idea of your own, try interviewing some interesting people and writing about their experience.

Find the right magazine

Now that you have an idea, the next step is to find the magazine that may be interested in your topic. What magazine will publish your work? Use databases such as ipl2, a public service organization and a learning/teaching environment, or Poets & Writers, for literary journals and your local library for magazine listings. Narrow your search down. Look on the web for the magazine or go to your local library to view some copies. Read the magazine completely to consider if your writing style fits theirs.

For example, a funny article about a birdfeeder falling to the ground on top of a cat may not fit in a bird magazine. So read several copies. Go on the magazine website and see if a calendar is published with submission guidelines. Pay particular attention to the length of the article, payment terms and rights of the author. Look at what types of articles are written: How-to, subject articles, fiction, nonfiction, personal or spiritual, to name a few. Are the articles written in first-person or third-person? Pay attention and eliminate quick rejections.

Building a resume

If you haven't written often and are just starting out, you will need to build a portfolio. If you have samples of your writing, link to your samples to show subject expertise, writing style, versatility and quality, so that you pull the magazine editor to you. Refer to the samples often. If you don't have a resume, look at starting with a paper, newsletter or your own blog to develop samples of your writing technique. Look towards publications that are easy to begin with.

Query

After you have developed an idea, found the right magazines and built a resume, it is time to write a query letter. Written about frequently, go to your local library and check out a book on successful queries. Try some excellent articles and blogs to help you. Make sure you start with a hook to draw the reader in.

You are now on your way to a fulfilling career writing for magazines. Build up your contacts and get assignments that keep the cash coming in and the joy of creating a winning article, alive.