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The Complete Magazine Writer | |
Notes provided by Don Puscher
Burke talked about the various angels of getting into print in a magazine, including both the textual and photographic aspects of the task.
"There’s no such thing as a rejection," says Burke, an amateur photographer who turned his hobby into a thriving second income. "It’s just an article that hasn’t sold yet."
In the late 70s Burke was taking pictures at a horse show in the Washington, DC area. He donated his photographs to the horse show. They in turn gave the photos to a magazine. That was Burke’s break into the magazine business.
In 1982, while working for NIST, he was transferred to CA. He connected with another horse magazine and started taking picture for them. He’d work with a writer who would provide copy. After a falling out with a writer he was working with, he convinced his editor to let him try his hand at writing. He’s been writing and taking photographs ever since.
Even though Burke admits English was his worst subject in both high school and college, he has been able to get quite a lot of magazine work because of his attitude. "Writing is a business," he says, "and stories are a commodity, like toothpaste." According to Burke there are two things you need to make your business work: a marketing strategy and good ideas. Here is a paraphrasing of that information.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to be professional about your work. That means:
- Have a resume, both paper and online, available and up to date.
- Use good quality paper and printing for all of your work.
- Invest in business cards.
- Get an answering machine.
- Put up a Web page where people can see your resume and samples of your work.
Coming up with good ideas means doing lots of homework. Keep a list of ideas so when you get a chance to talk with an editor you have another idea ready in case he doesn’t like the first one. The best magazines to start with are the ones you are already familiar with. Look at the magazines you subscribe to. What should you look for?
- Read the ads to see what readers are interested in.
- Read the letters to the editor story ideas or follow-ups to stories.
- Read back issues to see what they’ve done, what could be expanded on, and what could be updated.
- Read the calendar of events if they have one. You may be able to find a local event that you could cover for them.
- Would a story or photo you did for another, noncompetitive magazine, work in this one?
- Could you write a "how-to" article for them?
However, there are a number of other good resources for ideas.
Newspapers are a wonderful source of facts, ideas, and names of people to contact for stories. Look at the Travel, Business, and other special sections. Don’t forget the Classifieds. They can be a place to pickup offbeat stories.
The Yellow Pages often hold stories just waiting to be told. Burke related a story of a local company that makes the large, novelty-shaped hot air balloons.
In the age of the Internet bulletin board systems (BBSs) and computer forums like those in CompuServe and America Online can provide you with a feel for current interests, interview contacts, and a way to do research. Being online is also important in getting work. Burke admits that he "hasn’t written a paper query in two years. It’s all been through email."
Television is another source. Burke sited the program "Colorado Getaways" as a place to get ideas of local interest.
Of course no research would be complete without a visit to the local library. The Reference section should contain a copy of the "Working Press of the Nation," a source of publication names, addresses, and contact information for publications throughout the country.
This reference book is also a good way to find association magazines. These magazines are put out by groups for their memberships and are not available on the newsstand. The pay is better than newsstand magazines.
What should you look for when you’re analyzing a magazine? Make sure to get a current issue for the correct address and contact names and keep the following in mind:
- What is the main purpose of the magazine? Is it to inform, entertain, or inspire?
- Who are the readers?
- Is the magazine written by staff or freelance writers?
- What type of photographs are used?
- Who writes the captions for the photographs?
- Can you contribute quotes, anecdotes, and similar pieces to get your foot in the door?
- Most important of all, do you want to see your name in this magazine?
A few quick hints
Burke closed by reminding everyone that "if you want to be a writer, you need to send stuff out and get rejections.
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