Submitting

September 18, 2009

 

Mary Rosenblum:  So let's talk about submissions.  It can be the really scary part of writing, often the hardest part for novice writers.  And that's generally for two reasons...  the novice writer feels that a rejection is a judgment about the quality of his/her work.  And the total lack of any personal response gets very discouraging. Form rejections are really depressing.  And when I was starting out, I had the same feelings of 'it's a judgment' and the same discouraged feeling at those forms that tell you absolutely nothing.
What you have to realize is that a rejection is not a commentary on the quality of your writing.  Your writing might be dreadful. You might be as good as anyone publishing in this market.  You will both get the same form rejection, most likely. The editor might have something just like your story in inventory or he simply hates stories with cats.
You don't know.
Now if...IF....you submit regularly to that market and the quality of your writing is close to or at the level the editor wants you will sooner or later get a note from that editor.
So it's like playing the lottery then Mary?
Mary Rosenblum:  Not at all, DaSith.  The lottery is chance. The editor is not throwing darts at the slush pile.
Timing  can be a big issue too. you got a great idea but someone else queried couple days before and got the assignment
Mary Rosenblum:  That is particularly true in the NF market. In  the nonfiction world, editors generally have the magazines planned for the next year and have asked freelancers to do the features already.  If you offer something that fits in, you can sell as a newbie.  If you sell a couple to that editor and he/she is happy with you, YOU will get the call for a feature piece.
So  how do i slip something in when every thing is lined up 18 months in advance?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, at first you do your homework, David. The magazine hasn't published anything on this topic for the past year. So you query. If they have an issue already planned, you may well get asked to send in something short. If you oblige, you may get a request for a 'filler' when the editor is short and if you do that well, you may get the feature call.
But question how exactly do you adapt your piece to the magazine's form?
Mary Rosenblum:  You read the magazine, DaSith and decide a: who the readers are b: what the editor wants c: who the advertisers are.

How much lead time for seasonal stories? A year? A year and a half?
Mary Rosenblum:  Charie, for seasonal stories, the editor is going to want stuff in inventory more than six months out for fiction.
Mary, tell us about the first article you ever got published and how you queried and got it in?
Mary Rosenblum:  David, that was many years ago...I think about 1983.   I had goats, I was making cheese and stuff from the milk.  I noticed that Countryside and Small Stock Magazine didn't have a lot of home dairy stuff in their pages. So I wrote the editor and proposed a couple of articles on making cottage cheese and yoghurt at home. The editor offered me a monthly column on home dairying.  I did a monthly column for him for a long time. That  was my very first query.  I simply offered the right thing to the right editor at the right time. Now I've often queried and gotten turned down.  But once you have a relationship with an editor, you get asked to contribute.  They call YOU.
Okay now I've been having trouble with some query letters how do you get what you need to say down without drowning the editor.
Mary Rosenblum:  You practice, practice, practice DaSith.  It's a writing test. If you blow it, you get a 'no'. You’ll find articles on query letters in Writing Craft: Nonfiction on the LR website.
I've read most writers are turned down because their query letters are not professional.
Mary Rosenblum:  That is so true, DLB. Most of the time, the writer pitches the wrong type of piece or is clearly NOT familiar with the mag.  That is the kiss of death.

What do you do if you don’t have clips?
Mary Rosenblum:  Lady, nobody has clips at first. You can get clips pretty easily by starting small.  You can write a review for the LR website. I don't pay, but I don't take everybody.  Write for small ezines, or small circulation magazines that don't get a lot of freelance interest because the pay is awful.  Use those to work your way up.

What  exactly is a filler request?
Mary Rosenblum:  David, a filler request is the editor emailing you and saying I need 250 words about birdwatching in your state by Wednesday at two PM.  If you can deliver fast and well, the editor loves you.

 Sounds like my instructor was right on target when she said there aren't any short cuts. start low and work up.
Mary Rosenblum:  The only short cut is luck, David and like lightning, it is hard to summon at will.
In fiction it is how the story is written that matters.  In nonfiction, the editor assumes that you can write well. It's WHAT you want to write that matters.
Shouldn't all editors f and nf assume you can write well?
Mary Rosenblum:  Of course not, David. Who is going to stop someone from submitting? The submission police? 
Are there typical lengths for filler pieces? 250 or 500 words?
Mary Rosenblum:  That depends on the magazine, Charie. Again, it's all about homework. There is no shortcut for that.
Okay, so say you submit a story to this magazine and you edited the crap out of it, but somehow you made just a minor error. Will the publisher reject it?
Mary Rosenblum:  DaSith, editors want a good read. They'll fix a few zits. They won't rewrite a bad story.
I've read that you need to capture the editors attention with the query letter. Is that true?
Mary Rosenblum:  Of course, DLB.  The editor is going to glance at your letter. If you don't get his/her attention in that first sentence, why waste the time to see if something useful is buried there? You probably can't structure an article well either.

Now, most NF editors DO want the complete personal narrative piece.  Because personal narrative, even though it's a true story, is more like fiction. It's HOW it is written that either works or does not work.
My big question tonight is getting from the bottom (webzines) to the next level up (50-100$+) and so on. Is it just submitting early and often with good quality writing?
Mary Rosenblum:  David, yes. You sell a few small pieces, you write well, you offer editors what they might need, and they may ask you for something even if they've turned down your query. They want regular contributors and if you're regular and you are close to what they need, they'll help you out.
Supposing I  want to write a travel writing article about a place I have recently visited. Do I still need quotes from others or could I write just from my own experience?
Mary Rosenblum:  You've been there, David. You're the expert here. No further experts needed, unless you can get those quotes easily.
On the same token, I presume one could write about a place one hasn't visitted provided he can interview one who does know about it
Mary Rosenblum:  Exactly, David.  Professional freelancers write about stuff they don't know much about all the time. It's called research!!!  Find a topic the magazine might be interested in, line up your sources, and query.  A tip on breaking in... what are you interested in? Whom do you know who is involved in this? Can you ask one or more of those people  for fifteen minutes?
Okay, now you have a base to work with.
Should the query letter present the idea first followed by any reference to expertise or sources, to catch the editor's attention better?
Mary Rosenblum:  Start with the hook, Charie. Then cite your original source. Then your credentials. Unless your credentials are bigger than those of your source. :-)
Can I send in the entire piece?
Mary Rosenblum:  Bss, you always need to read the submission guidelines.  But....and this is a serious BUT to consider.  If you do not have clips, the custom is to send a 'writing sample'. Just send the entire piece along with the query and tell the editor it's your writing sample, that you have no clips.  A student of mine did this all the time. About 50% of the editors she submitted to considered the piece, the other 50% cited their 'query only' policy.  If you have no clips, what do you have to lose?
Do you send the entire clip or just a link to where they can be found?
Mary Rosenblum:  If it's an email query, send the link if the piece is going to be there when they look.  Or make a copy of the webpage and print it if you're sending snail mail.  Copying URLS from the printed page is a pain.

How many clips do you send with your query? Once you have some....
Mary Rosenblum:  Send the best two or three, Charie and mention the others.

Mostly, submitting is a matter of 'go do it'.
Remember two things.
a: A rejection is not a judgment about the quality of your work, whether you are a good or bad writer.
b: Editors are more likely to buy from you if you offer them work that suits their market often.