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Magazine Writing Leads to Book PublishingMany beginning writers overlook magazine writing. Often these new writers (and even some of the older ones) are only trying to publish books. Some people dream of holding their own novel while others are creating some how-to or nonfiction type of book. Each dream is valid and their work is to be applauded. Several years ago at a conference, I met an unpublished author who had faithfully worked on her 100,000 word novel. With three small children, this mother labored to finish her novel. I applauded and encouraged her effort--yet this author was doing little else to build her reputation as a writer. I understand how people value books. I appreciate the worth and cost of writing a printed book for a traditional publisher and I've completed this task over 50 different times for many books. If you want to publish books, I want to encourage you to take a different course of action. As an editor, I read many other publications and I looked for writers who could also write for me. If I write an article, it reaches many more people than my books. On the average a book may sell 5,000 copies. Certainly some books turn into bestsellers but with more than 50,000 new books a year--many books are fortunate to sell 5,000 copies. With one article, I have reached millions of people. For a period, I was Associate Editor of a publication which reached 1.8 million people each month. The greatest feedback that I've received has been for my magazine writing. I've written for more than 50 publications over the last 15 years. Writing for periodicals will build your reputation as a writer with the editors. As you write for magazines, it will give you increased confidence that you can write for publication, meet word limits and deadlines. There are many benefits from writing for magazines. On this page, I will be teaching how you can learn this important skill. First, how do you write a magazine article from beginning to end? Check out this article:
Additional articles about magazine writing This section includes several articles with some additional basics on magazine writing, negotiating and other important aspects to know about if you want to do freelance writing. Travel writing sounds exciting--but how can you move beyond the normal travel magazine article? Learn from Rober Bittner's fascinating how-to experience: Are you surrounded by non-writer want-to-be-writers? How do you: Many writers are easily sidetracked. Seasoned writer Kristi Holl gives some valuable lessons for: Want to write for the national magazines? Then learn some of the key steps from this seasoned writer: Do you need to organize your writing life? Check out the sound wisdom in this article: Are you a confident writer? If not, are you showing that lack of confidence in your articles? Take a step toward fixing it with this article: Interviews are often a key part of collecting the information for a magazine article. Here's some valuable insight from a veteran writer: Are you repeatedly making a mistake that prevents your magazine work from getting published? Use this article from a much-published professional writer to make sure: Are you stuck in a rut? Then follow this seasoned advice: Are you too scattered in the subjects of your magazine writing? Then you need to heed the counsel in this article: If you want to become a good writer, catch the wisdom in this article from World Editor-in-Chief Marvin Olasky: Crack one of the hottest subject areas by writing about health and fitness. Learn how in: Want to be more productive? Then this article is loaded with great advice: How can you turn a single magazine article into multiple checks? Learn how in this article loaded with great wisdom: Here's a lengthy article from Jenna Glatzer, editor-in-chief for www.absolutewrite.com and it contains some excellent step-by-step basics on how to begin freelance writing: Floundering around with many different ideas? Get focused and learn from this professional writer: Don't sign on the dotted line just because a publisher has offered you a contract. First, put it to this five-step test to make sure you're signing a smart contract: When you get a magazine contract, check out this advice from a lawyer turned writer to be armed with the right information: Every writer needs to brush up their negotiating skills and this article will give you some ammunition: If you have a contract, here's a thorough document of wise advice and valuable information from a professional writer/ lawyer: When an editor offers you a contract, how do you evaluate it? Learn from this article: Are you stuck in a marketing rut? Then use the valuable counsel in this article: Self-evaluation is always excellent for any writer--and particularly at the beginning of a new year--or any time: Watch for new magazine writing articles to be added to this section.
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