DO NOT, I Repeat, DO NOT Wait By the Inbox

I did it this morning. Pasted that magazine query into an email and hit 'send'. It's only been an hour and I have to admit: after a short celebration with three Dove chocolate eggs and an episode of Charmed, I checked the inbox.

Why's it so tempting to hang out and let the rest of my writing hang out, too, while I wait for a response? In the past, I've waited days--months, even--for some sort of reply before I moved on to the next project. That was when I had a full-time job, when I could afford to consider myself a hobby writer. As a full-time freelancer, I need to forget about that query and move onto my next one.

With any luck, it'll be a whole four hours before I check my inbox again.

If You're Not Confident, Fake It

There's something comforting about sending out a whole manuscript. Sure, if they don't want it, it means complete and total rejection of your topic, and maybe even your writing. But if they DO want it - well. That's it, complete elation, end of story.

This month I'm working on a different type of story that not only involves cold calling potential sources (gulp), but also requires that I send out a query before the story's completed. That means:
1. They could want my story!...until they see it
2. I could estimate 550 words and end up needing 950. Or vice versa.
3. They may want additional information, which I can't obtain.

All of this is assuming, of course, that they even want the story. Funny how the scary thoughts have taken over right when I'm about to send the dang query in. Some might call it fear of success, but I think it's more a fear of dissappointing the editors. Whatever it is, it's NOT confident. So I've decided to pretend I am and email it anyways.

The worst they can say is yes.

Two More Resources for Magazine Writers

On Saturday I schlepped through the rain along with 25 other writers, to get advice from the director of the writing program at Manhattanville College.

Along with some good old encouragement ("persistance is nine-tenths of acceptance; publishing is a numbers game"), she suggested a few resources that she and her writing students have found helpful. And nope, it's not the standard suggestion of the Writer's Market!:

Little Magazines and Small Presses - the "Writer's Market" for literary magazines and small publications...although many of these markets don't pay.

Mediabistro - magazines list job opening here, and I've been told that for an annual fee, the site also provide up-to-date writer's guidelines and market needs, straight from the editors' mouths. I haven't found this particular service yet-

And for fiction writers, a few great short story collections:
Immediate Fiction
The Pushcart Prize compilation
The O. Henry Prize Stories

For writers in general:
Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write

April Goal: Grow Some Cojones

He was a senior citizen who'd only written fiction for a couple of years, and hadn't written for newspapers before. Still, Rich called the editor at his local paper and offered up his article. His words: "I grew up in Bridgeport, and have a story about how all of the theatres have dissappeared. I'd love to see it in the Bridgeport paper." That simple. The editor asked him to send in the story.

Several published articles later, Rich is working on yet another piece, and the editor's asked him to send in anything else he's written. I'll bet if he asked, he could have his own column, too.

So taking some inspiration from him, I've decided that in April I'll not only grow the basil, thyme and oregano in my windowsill. I'm going to grow some cojones, too, and:

1. Ask for help from two editors I know
2. Submit to a glossy magazine
3. Talk with a published writer that I admire
4. Write a first draft without editing

I think a little bit of guts goes a long way when it comes to getting published. We'll see!

Revised Thinking: Everything is Publishable

There's nothing worse than having an awesome story in your head, and then watching it disintegrate on paper. Painful! So painful in fact, that I've got a collection of half-finished stories snoozing on my laptop.

The key is to not give up on the story, but instead to rewrite it like mad. That's according to novelist Dan Pope, whose workshop I attended last night. He should know: he wrote his entire book in three months, and then spent the next two years revising it. He helped a woman turn a book filled with language like "He go out, he not come back" into an eloquent, publishable book.

This was a woman who spoke English as a second language, who had a limited vocabulary and minimal knowledge about grammar and sentence structure. If revision can get her published, imagine what it could do for some of those snoozing stories we've all got filed away.

Dan's advice: as long as something's there, you can work that material until it's clean and meaningul (and you bleed ink).

Staying on the Writing Wagon

I'm not sure why it takes the bright red panic of a deadline to get me writing, but I have learned that when it comes to long-term projects that have no deadlines, there's nothing better than a conference or workshop to fuel motivation. Sometimes, just talking with another writer is enough to keep me going.

It's amazing what local libraries or bookstores offer. After looking online for awhile, I found out the local Borders is having a new author roundtable tomorrow night, and that there are several groups of local writers out there, along with (Connecticut) writer's events and groups:

http://westportwritersworkshop.com/
http://lowerfairfieldwriters.blogspot.com/
http://www.pencilswritingworkshop.com/
http://www.creativewritingcenter.com/schedule.html
http://www.borders.com/online/store/StoreDetailView_419?schid=GLBC%7CFairfield+CT%7C419

It sounds like a simple thing-and seems almost too silly to bother with sometimes-but it's amazing what a big difference a trip to Borders or a book signing can make.

Market Research: Actually Learning Something from Back Issues

Reading a magazine like a subscriber will give you a good idea of its content and style. It's what I did for years, and probably why I always thought it a big waste of time.

Analyzing a magazine like a writer is the equivalent of hanging out at an editorial meeting, listening to the discussion and having all of your questions answered personally:

1. How Much is Written by Freelancers?
Get six back issues of the magazine, and make a copy of each Table of Contents. For each story listed, write in whether it was written inhouse or by a freelancer (if the writer's name isn't listed on the masthead, then she's probably a freelancer)

2. What Sections are Open to Freelancers?
Now lay the six Table of Contents side-by-side. Which sections of the magazine are only written inhouse? Cross those out. Which sections contain articles that were written by freelancers? These are the golden areas to focus on.

3. What Can I Break In With?

Of the freelancers, how many have written articles for several issues of the magazine? Do these regular freelancers always write the same article (how to make your meals healthier, or eco-traveling)? If so, the magazine may not need similar articles written by you. Of the freelancers, how many have only written one article or so in 6 months? What type of article was it, and what section was it published in? This is probably a good area to break in with.

4. What types of freelancers do they want?
Read the bio blurbs at the end of freelance articles. Some magazines provide mini bios and comments from writers FOB. What types of articles use MD's, nutritionists and authors? Which have general descriptions such as "Jane Smith is a freelancer living in CT"? If you don't have special credits, the best bet is to write on topics along the lines of Jane Smith.

5. What Stories Do They Need More of?
How many articles do they publish in each section? Do they fall under that amount in certain sections? For example, Body + Soul typically publishes 2-3 articles per section. However, I noticed that for some months, they had none or only one article under "Going Natural" (written by a freelancer). This indicates they don't have an inhouse writer that can handle the topic, and would probably welcome ideas from freelancers.

6. What Stories DON'T They Need More of?
Look for columns or certain topics inhouse writers handle each month, such as yoga workouts or "Stuff We Love" These fall under the DON'T list.

7. Prepare for Article Analysis
Hold onto a copy of the editor's note to readers, which usually indicates the magazine's purpose, style, etc., and place it in a folder with the current masthead, writer's guidelines, and articles written by freelancers. Note the issue & section the articles were in. When you're ready to query an idea, analysis of the these will come in handy.