Things To Consider When Working With A Large Magazine
The benefits of publishing an article in a large consumer magazine are many. If you sell an article to a magazine such as Cosmopolitan, for instance, you will get paid relatively well – about $1,000 and up per article, or $1 and up per word. In addition, you will be rewarded with an impressive byline, and you’ll find that a number of other doors open up more easily for you. Although it looks enormous, publishing is actually a very small industry. Editors move from place to place, network with other editors, and pass on information about good and bad writers. Your single credit in Cosmopolitan may make it ten times easier to sell an article to Glamour next month.
However, there are also disadvantages to working with a large publication. For instance, you can’t expect a great deal of handholding or personal attention from a large magazine. These publications are on tight schedules, and the editors there are always busy. Unlike small publications, where a more personal relationship is forged between writers and editors, large magazines are always looking ahead to tomorrow. They won’t spend as much time on you or your article as a smaller place might.
AS a new writer for a large magazine, you also can’t expect to land the cover article or to receive one of the coveted spots on that month’s list of contributors. Those spaces are reserved for the writers and articles that will sell the most copies. A first-person essay written by the First Lady will probably attract more readers than yours will, and it is this economic factor that determines cover placement.
In addition, keep in mind that most writers do not successfully submit to large magazines without first paying their dues at smaller ones. Only about 25 percent of the content in magazines like Cosmopolitan is written by freelancers, and those outside writers that are used tend to be recognized, experienced freelancers who have already built up a reputation and an excellent file of clips. Editors at magazines with high visibility and millions of subscribers aren’t willing to take a chance on an unproven writer. They can’t afford to, both financially and deadline wise. A new writer is essentially an unknown who could throw off an entire editorial schedule by missing a deadline or turning in substandard work.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in writing, it’s vitally important that you build up a solid list of publication credits before attempting a large consumer magazine. A magazine like Complete Woman, for example, pays less than Cosmopolitan – only about $160 to $400 per article – but the magazine is 90 percent freelance written, which greatly increases your chances of landing an assignment. You could sell the article to Complete Woman, be rewarded with a clip and a check, and then use that experience to sell another article to the same magazine or move on to other publications. This will provide a guarantee to an editor that you can do the job, and do it well.
Do new, unproven writers have any chance of getting articles into large consumer magazines? Yes, but for a new writer, the best opportunities at a publication like Cosmopolitan are in shorter pieces such as reviews or quick information and tips articles. In an article called “Advice on How to Get Published in Magazines” in the Writer’s Digest special edition “Start Writing Now,” editor and writer David Fryxell advises writers to start at the bottom by submitting ideas for the smaller stories in a magazine. “Just as you should not try to break into a market with a complex proposal, you should not start out competing with a magazine’s regular writers for the top-flight assignments. Find the stories nobody else wants to do, and offer to write them. Editors will love you.” These can be anything from filler articles that are packed with resource information to annual pieces on holiday traditions that the regular writers are tired of covering. Keep in mind that your best weapon here is tenacity. Querying again and again, with excellent ideas and with consistently improving clips, will show the editor that you are determined and persistent.
If you want to get an article or two into publication, but have no intention of building a writing career, you might be better off skipping the top magazines, unless you have outstanding credentials. Remember that most editorial decisions at top magazines are driven by economics and expertise. If you can’t help the magazine sell more copies, the editor will assign the piece to a writer who can. Try your hand at the smaller magazines, being sure to match your piece with the publication’s mission and audience.
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