Write Book Proposal
How to Write For New Magazines as a Freelance Writer
By Brian Scott
Roughly 1,000 magazines are launched every year, according to Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni, a magazine consultant and chair of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi. Nearly 20,000 consumer and trade publications exist in North America, according to the National Directory of Magazines. These statistics don’t include many of the small, independent start-up magazines.
New magazines can be a goldmine to dig up freelance work. Editors of new magazines are eager to find freelance talent to write regularly or to pitch articles and column ideas for at least four to six issues in advance, depending on the magazine’s frequency. New magazines can offer you, the freelance writer, an easier and quicker way to break into magazine writing.
I use various sources to uncover new magazines. My favorite is Ulrichsweb.com, an online directory of magazine serials. Before a magazine launches, the publisher or publishing company applies for an ISSN # and Ulrich’s records the ISSN #, along with the publication’s information, such as launch date, frequency, category, and contact information. Ulrichsweb.com is useful if you want to locate publications before they launch and before they publicly announce their debut via the newswires.
If you do not want to pay for a subscription to Ulrichsweb.com, you can use other free resources, such as MagazineLaunch.com and MrMagazine.com. These free resources track new magazine start-ups by researching the newswires and subscribing to press release services.
Writing for new magazines has some downsides. Firstly, circulation is usually at the low end and so is the magazine’s exposure in the marketplace. Secondly, the pay rate usually isn’t competitive with similar magazines. Thirdly, editors usually won’t pay you until after they publish your piece, instead of paying you on acceptance. Fourthly, many new magazines fail within the first year and it is possible the magazine could fleece you.
HOW TO BREAK IN AND SELL YOUR ARTICLES
Whether the publication or website has writer’s guidelines or not, your aim is to pitch your query letter, article idea, proposal, or full article to the editor. Most writers prefer writing a query letter and sending it to the editor. Follow this process:
1) Go to the publication’s website. See if the website posts its writer’s guidelines. If not, go to the Contact Us page. Contact the editor or the editorial director. On smaller start-up publications, contact the publisher as he usually plays dual roles. Request the publication’s writer’s guidelines. Make sure you address the editor or publisher by full name. Do not send an e-mail with “To Editor” as the subject. It will get deleted.
In addition to requesting writer’s guidelines, I advise you to make a short sales pitch in your e-mail, and include a brief bio. under your name with any relevant qualifications and skills as a writer. If you have a website, include a link to it. If an editor sees your sales pitch, he may want to know more about what you can offer.
2) If the editor’s response is they don’t provide writer’s guidelines, then you need to take a “marketing” approach. You’ll need to craft a query letter and pitch your article idea (or your availability as a freelance writer).
3) If you can’t break in, don’t move on just yet! Mail (yes, snail mail!) the editor your business card and a brief letter about yourself, your qualifications, references, and where to find samples of your work online. Explain how using you as a freelance writer can increase readership for the publication. Explain some of the topics you can cover, who you can interview, and any exclusive information you can obtain regularly.
Many writers e-mail the editor their information to keep on file; however, I also find that mailing my correspondence to the editor gets results. You force the editor to read and touch your correspondence, and this increases the chances of him remembering who you are and what you can provide.
Convincing an editor to outsource work to you or accept your articles for publication has a lot to do with how well you pitch and present yourself and your ideas. This is why writing a near perfect query letter is vital to getting work.
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I want to write a novel. Any point writing a book proposal if…?
I’m writing a novel for the first time. I read that some authors write book proposals to editors (including the plot, characters, why they should consider your book, etc.) before they have even written it?
Is it only established authors that are able to do this? If you have no experience in the business, is it better to write the whole novel and then send it off?
Thanks
I’ve been doing a lot of research on this over the last few days and there is a distinction between a book Proposal and a Query Letter.
A query letter is what you’re talking about. Most publishers will ask for a query letter or a book proposal via e-mail or standard mail. With a query letter you will give a summary of your book, including the ending, and any qualifications you have to write the book, any other published works and accolades. With fiction novels the book will need to be completed or nearly done. The query letter should be good because the agent, or publisher, will decide based on that whether or not to take further interest in your book. If they show interest then they’ll make contact and will ask for the first 3 chapters of book, or the whole manuscript, it depends on the company.
A book proposal is for non fiction work. With book proposals the agent is able to sell the book before it’s even written, with just a proposal of what the book would be about. You will need to have credentials to prove that you’re a credible source to write the book. The information publishers and agents ask for with proposals are more in-depth than for fiction novels. They require that you have experience with what you’re writing and have been published elsewhere, etc. For instance, books on topics such as science, math, medical, history etc. could be sold based on proposals and credentials alone.
Visit some websites of publishers and literary agents and see what they require and you’ll get the gist of how the field works. You can also visit some of the authors’ websites and see how they got started with getting their first book published. But, I agree with the person who said you should worry about completing the story and then worry about finding an agent or publisher.
http://www.aaronline.org – has a database of book agents.
http://www.everywritersresource.com/bookpublishingcompanies.html – a list of book publishers.
I asked a question the other day about a book idea… now I want to write a book proposal…?
I am just wondering if there is a great website that anyone would recommend for writing book proposals. I’ve found many, but they’re all very different. Thanks in advance.
The link (and a little more info about my proposed book) is here:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArWjW.YyYXeKP2uQPa_X9Ufsy6IX?qid=20070712202848AAIBYNV
There are two great books I’d consider: Book Proposals that Sell by Terry Whalin and 101 Bestselling Book Proposals by Frishman & Spizman. Terry Whalin’s web site is very helpful, I’ve listed his site in the box below…
How do you write a book proposal?
Do you follow a specific format and length? How long does it take for you to prepare it?
People love to read about misfortune. Eating disorders, the Holocaust, child abuse, suicide, eating habits of teens. If you’re going for a lighter subject, maybe do the history of something. Like… the history of holidays, the history of a country…
For an assignment, I have to write a book proposal for a non-fiction book. Any ideas?
I do not want to do a biography or a self-help book. I’m mostly just looking for ‘topics’ – something people would be interested in reading.
can you write a book proposal in dot points?
please help or if so do you have a sample of a book proposal?
Do you mean bullet points?
You might include them, but you need running text as well. Hang on a sec and I’ll scurry around and see if I can find a sample for you. Brb.
EDIT: Here you go:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/book_proposal.htm
This site is great! Be sure to check it out.
And this link is to a book publisher’s suggestions on how to write a book proposal:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/downloads/WritingABookProposal.pdf
Writer’s Market 2007 (or the updated version will be released in 2008) is a terrific guide for writers.
Usually, you write a one page query letter to a publisher. It tells a little bit about your book, a little bit about your publishing credentials, and how your novel can contribute to the company.
Never be cocky and say “I’ve written the next classic” or “I slaved over my desk for hours” when a publisher reads those lines – it’s an automatic rejection. They don’t really care if you spent eight years locked in your basement writing a novel. Leave them to judge if it is a next classic.
Again Writer’s Market will show you the format. Never make it longer than one page – a publisher will probably immediately push it aside.