writefromhome

Once you’ve settled into your home office, have a writing resume completed, and know what you want to write about, it’s time to write a query. A query is a letter that lets an editor know your ideas and your qualifications. If an editor likes your query, he or she will agree to let you write an article and you will have your first writing assignment. If you want to be a successful freelance writer, you will need to learn to write queries frequently. Luckily, it’s not that hard:

1) Gather the ideas you came up with when you were brainstorming about what to write. Have you come up with new ideas since then? Now’s the time to write them down.

2) Gather up some potential magazines, newspapers, and newsletters you might want to write for. You can do this by browsing at your local library, buying some magazines at a local newsstand, or by going online to find the official websites of the magazines and newspapers that interest you. Don’t forget to check out the free magazines and newspapers you see in stores and local businesses. These publications are your markets. If you are having trouble finding your markets, go back to your writing ideas for clues. If your writing ideas are mostly about pets, you will want to target pet magazines and publications. If your writing ideas are mostly about sports, you will want to look for publications that publish sports pieces. There are many places you can look online to find markets:

http://www.fundsforwriters.com

http://www.organizedwriter.com/guidelines.htm

http://www.writingfordollars.com/guidelines.cfm

http://www.publist.com

http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs.php

http://www.writerswrite.com/writersguidelines/

http://www.freelancewriting.com/guidelines/pages/

http://www.absolutemarkets.com/

http://www.gebbieinc.com/magurl.htm

http://home.snafu.de/gadfly/a-c.htm

http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/markets/online-guidelinesAB.htm#AAA

http://www.writersmarket.com/?utm_source=WDG%2Bguidelines&utm_medium=various&utm_campaign=WDG%2Bguidelines%2Bpage

3) Once you have found some magazines that seem to match your ideas, it’s time to browse the magazines. What sorts of articles do they accept? What style and tone do writers use? What sorts of writers do the magazines hire? What articles has a magazine run recently? You’ll waste your time by writing to a magazine editor with an idea that was just published in the magazine.

4) Get the writer’s guidelines. Use Writer’s Market or visit the magazine’s website to get submission information. Be sure to follow any instructions you see there. Some editors want to see your completed article, while others want a query and clips (samples of your published work). You want to make sure that you submit to the right editor and you submit exactly what the editor wants.

5) Look at some query samples. As you sit down to explain to an editor what you want to write, it is useful to look at some successful queries that other writers have written. You can see some samples here:

http://www.writing-world.com/basics/sample.shtml

http://www.poewar.com/how-to-write-a-query-letter/

http://aboutfreelancewriting.com/articles/howtosample/samplequeryletter.htm

6) Write your query letter. Don’t expect to get it perfect the first time, just do the best you can by looking at other successful queries.

7) Submit your query letter. You can do this via snail mail or email – look up what the editor prefers. If you are sending via email, make sure that you read up how to format your query correctly:  http://www.writing-world.com/basics/email.shtml

8) Note the details. Start a notebook or spreadsheet on your computer that tracks the queries. Write down what query you sent, the topic you pitched, where you pitched your idea, which editor you sent your query to, and when you can expect a response (most magazines list their response times in their submission or writer’s guidelines). If you don’t hear back from an editor, you will want to drop a polite note asking about the status of your query. If you get a rejection, you will want to note it down and send a similar idea to another editor. When you get an acceptance, you will want to write that down so that you can celebrate!

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