Right From The Editor's Mouth: What She Wants

Of course we spend time thinking about how to make articles more appealing to editors. Common sense (and a thousand writing books) say to write to the interests of imagined "readers," or on topics and in styles requested by publications.

But the email I received today from the editor of a regional parenting publication suggests a whole different criteria for how to pick good-selling article topics:

"Articles that lend themselves to being a "sell-around" for advertising are usually of greater interest. So, anything that would generate a business to advertise on an adjacent page would be great. An example may be a Tutoring Center, Children's Book or Craft Store, etc. for the article you will be sending." 

I'm not suggesting anybody should write articles simply to sell advertising space, and am not sure how I feel about this editor asking for articles in this way...but do appreciate her honesty. And also wonder now:  how many publishers of these RPP's and other publications don't say anything, but also look for topics that will appeal to advertisers?

If I have a helpful and informative article, and adding in a related sidebar or paragraph to sell ad space makes it more tempting to business-savvy publishers, I'm okay with that.

How about you?

Linklove,
Colleen

Related Posts:

My Emails With An Editor
Writer's Agreement (aka, They Want The Article!...Now What?)
Avoid Turning Off A Busy Editor
Tip:  A Simple Way To Start A Relationship With An Editor

Over 200 Parenting Markets. For FreEEEee to One Subscriber

While many writers draw the line at sharing market listings they've spent EONS of time collecting and organizing, there are a few generous writers who are even willing to share that - and I can't believe I was lucky enough to find one.

Kerrie McLoughlin has been published in over 100 regional parenting magazines, and is one of those generous Teachers who goes out of her way to help other writers, posting writers guidelines updates on her blog and answering emailed questions at all hours of the day and night (although with 5 young children, day and night may have merged at this point). Oh, and she's also put everything she's learned along with over 200 parenting markets in an ebook called Get Published in Parenting and Family Magazines:  Get Paid to Write About Your Kids.

• Want the names of 100 regional parenting magazines, along with editor names, emails, pay rates and writer's guidelines? In the book. 
• Detailed advice and information about how to submit parenting articles? In the book. 
• A successful writer's cover letters, invoices, and submissions trackers? Yep, you guessed it. 

In May I'll be giving away one copy of Get Published in Parenting and Family Magazines to one of Kickstart's email subscribers. If you're interested and not yet subscribed by email, remember to do so before the May 31st giveaway. If you don't want to wait, it's available here (no, I'm not an affiliate. It's just that good).

linklove,
Colleen

Simultaneous Submissions Dilemma, Take 2

The nationals make it clear that they won’t take simultaneous submissions. But there’s a grey area when it comes to regional parenting magazines. While they’ll take simultaneous submissions, they also require “regional exclusivity” – which means they don’t care if you sell the same article to dozens of other publications - as long as nobody else in their area of circulation publishes it. So the question is, should you simultaneously submit your piece to publications in the same region?

Here’s what happened to a writing friend of mine:  she submitted her article to dozens of parenting magazines that took simultaneous submissions, and it was accepted by magazine #1 (who hoo!). The editor of that magazine asked that she not sell the article to any other publications in the same region – a standard request that ensures readers won’t see the same article in two different local papers. She agreed, and didn’t sell it to anyone else in the area. Or so she thought.

As they sometimes do, an editor at magazine #2 published her story without giving her a formal acceptance or any heads up. And it just so happened that magazine #1 and magazine #2 were in the same region. Needless to say, editor #1 was very upset, and ended up blacklisting the writer from future submissions – despite her attempts to explain what happened.

But should the writer have been on the hook?

This story and others like it had convinced me and others to avoid the problem - and the question - by only sending simultaneous submissions to magazines in different regions. However, doing so also means reducing the markets for any one article by about 1/3.

And so it makes sense to find a way around the dilemma, without jeapardizing relationships with editors. Some ideas:

• I recently sent an article to ALL of the parenting markets I have, and added a safeguard to the cover letter, specifically asking editors to “please let me know if you would like to purchase this article so that I can ensure regional exclusivity.” 

• I've also read advice suggesting that if you simultaneously submit and then get an acceptance, to send an email notifying involved publications that you're withdrawing your submission because it's been accepted elsewhere. However, I've only seen this advice in relation to poetry/creative writing publications.

What do you think? Do you follow the rules when it comes to simultaneous submissions?

Have you found additional ways to ensure regional exclusivity?

The Art of How-To Writing for Regional Parenting Magazines

I recently met up with a freelancer who paid her kids' way through school with freelance income AND has been published in Women's World, Parenting, and enough other women's magazines to make me sufficiently jealous...and very attentive. Linda said that one of her steady markets has been regional newspapers and magazines. She wrote mainly parenting articles, and discovered that many of the family/parenting publications favor "how to" articles with a certain format and style:

The Art of the How-To Article
The articles Linda writes typically run around 700 words (the lower word counts start at 500 and go up to 1000 on the high end). The pay is around $25 to $50 each, which isn't a lot, BUT-- many regional publications take reprints and usually don't care if the article is published elsewhere, as long as the regions don't overlap. (For example, you can send an article to a publication in Fairfield County, CT, and another to Litchfield County, CT...but not to two different papers that BOTH publish in Fairfield County, because their readership might be the same.)

• Begin the Article with an Intro Paragraph  This can be as short as a sentence (but usually longer), and lets readers know what the spin is (i.e., "Earth Day is the perfect time to think about ways you can save energy--your own energy.") The last sentence introduces the list of tips. For example, "Below are a few fun and easy writing activities to try on your next road trip."  

• List Several Tips  List between three to five tips. Too few tips, and the article appears stingy; too many, and you'll either have too long of an article, or sections that are too short and not meaty enough. Each "tip" should have its own section with a header that plays off your article title. If the piece is about getting kids interested in gardening, and titled, "Grow a Gardener," one heading might be, "Weed Out Their Least Favorite Duties".  Each section should be about the same length, and when possible, flow logically into the next section. References to books or websites are bonus items that editors will appreciate

• Add a Concluding Paragraph at the End

• Include a Sidebar  This should average about 100 words, and offer information NOT covered in the article. For an article about science activities to do at home, the sidebar might mention a list of kids' science websites, or recommended science kits. This is also a good place to add the local touch that many regional magazines want.