magazine writing

For one of my classes last quarter, I had to create three magazine articles that I would actually submit for publication. My prof showed us the best ways to query and how to market writing to specific magazines, and his practical advice proved helpful.

I sold the first piece quickly, though I still haven’t been paid for it: this seems to be common in freelance magazine writing–editors are busy and hard to reach. It will appear in a June issue, my editor said in her one voicemail message.

I sold the second today, to a local newspaper. They will pay me $50 at the end of the month. I’m glad to have sold the article, especially because it benefits the shop I profiled, and they were very helpful there. But I’m disappointed too–the piece focuses on a national trend, and I queried at least three larger publications that never responded. A local paper’s OK, but smaller than I’d aimed at. I guess it’s always good to have backup options.

Filed under grad school, writing |