Would you believe that it is very easy to get a foot in the door to a writing career, simply by writing to the letters pages at magazines or by submitting literally paragraphs for possible publication? Well you had better believe it. I use this method to supplement my other writing and very lucrative it is too.
Simply by writing for five or ten minutes, you can earn yourself what works out at a brilliant hourly rate if your piece is published. If you divide your payment by the number of words you have written you will find that you are earning a better rate of pay for your services than writing a full article!
You may find this incredible, but it is perfectly true. I once earned twice as much for two paragraphs and a photo which was published on a Readers' Tips page than I earned for a complete craft article and the magazine kept the piece of craftwork. The former was quicker to write, easier to submit and because of the length of the piece, the payment was very much higher than my legitimate article.
Short pieces of writing are so much fun to produce, and can be a very good way to earn a living for the enthusiastic person who loves to write, but who is not ready for the 'big time' just yet. It is the perfect way to either break into the business or just earn a bob or two to supplement other employment or writing assignments. You can earn as much or as little as you like, but you must remember that you will have far more pieces rejected or just not published than accepted, especially at first, but the secret is in numbers; the more you send out the more hits you get. I have made a substantial amount of money simply by having my letters, tips and photographs published in weekly and monthly magazines. This is not to mention the many puzzles, fillers and short articles I also submit to many publications, (but that is another subject).
Readers' letters and tips are the easiest markets to break into for the beginning writer and the satisfaction, which comes from seeing your own words in print, is immense. There are so many different types of magazines all with their own requirements, that it is almost impossible not to find openings that are right for you. Even if you don't want to write letters as such, by researching many magazines, you will find many publications that publish 'fillers' - little paragraphs that 'fill' spaces on the page. Readers' Digest is the obvious one to start with. They publish many fillers every issue and the payment is tremendous.
To write really good letters, or indeed fillers, you need to be able to get to the point quickly, be very descriptive, and if you can be humorous too, all the better. When I first started writing I found it very difficult to break into the business and I got many, many rejections from various quarters because I was trying to run before I could walk. Often editors won't see your work without clippings of other pieces you have had published, but if you haven't yet had a piece published, how do you get your clips? It can often seem like a vicious circle.
However, you don't have to be established to get your writing into print if you aim for the sections that solicit reader response in the first place i.e. readers' letters or tips pages. If your work is funny, concise, the right length and hits the right tone for the page you are submitting to, editors will buy your work whoever you are. Letters and tips are also quick to do, and give you valuable experience in targeting your writing, and when you start being successful (and getting paid too) it spurs you on to aim for more diverse publications.
The most important aspect to all this however is to research, research and do more research before you even start to submit pieces. If you don't, you are on the fast track to nowhere. Before you even write your first letter, buy as many magazines as you can afford to find out which ones have the most opportunities per issue and the payments they are offering.
Study the publication you are aiming at. What type of letters do they usually use? Are they light-hearted, serious, humorous or do they simply refer to articles that have already been published in an earlier issue? It is no use sending a funny 'overheard' to a magazine which usually only prints letters which have a message, or a letter which runs to 4 or 5 paragraphs to a newspaper which publishes 20 of the shortest, short letters every day.
You might have put together a super letter, which would make anyone laugh out loud. Trouble is, if it is not targeted at the kind of publication that usually prints this type of letter you will be unsuccessful. Send it to a magazine that regularly features funny letters of approximately the same length as yours and you will maximize your chances.
Study your contribution; would your letter sit comfortably with others that appear on the page in question? If not, think again. Either re-style your letter or send to another more suitable page. If an editor likes to place a comment at the end of readers' letters, why not finish with a question. You may find that he or she won't be able to resist making a comment.
When you have decided what to write about, make sure your contribution is top quality. Is your letter interesting? If you were reading it in a magazine, would it make you smile, ponder, or would it make you skip to the next letter? If you are writing about a topic that has been used a lot recently, do you have a different angle?
Is the purpose of your letter to make someone laugh? Are you warning other people about a scam, or giving a cautionary tale about a current issue? Are you trying to provoke a response to a topic? I once had a letter published about how children should not be afraid to hit back at bullies. That letter prompted many others with opposing points of view.
Never be afraid to cut, cut, and cut. Don't use ten words when five will do and always dive straight to the point. Never waffle. Start your letter where the interest begins, for example;
"Why do I always get the supermarket trolley with the wonky wheel?" not, "I was shopping with my friend at the local supermarket the other week when we got to talking about how we always seem to get trolleys with wonky wheels." See the difference?
Is your letter the right length? If your market never publishes letters longer than 50 words, it is simply no good sending one 150 words long
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Are you sending topical letters out at the right time of year? There is no point sending Christmas tips out in November. Most magazines work at least 3 months in advance, weeklies a little less. It is better to send submissions early rather than miss the boat altogether by being a little late.
When you have compiled your letter, read it through and be honest with yourself. Is it interesting? Does it need cutting down any more or is it just right? If you feel that it is the best you can do, send it off, but don't sit around waiting to see if it will be published. Write some more, and then more! The more letters you send and the more practice you get, the easier it becomes to get it into print.