Featurewriter
09-05-2009, 05:39 AM
This is written in response to posts in this sub-forum addressing difficulty in getting the attention of editors after sending a Letter of Introduction (LOI). I thought the topic needed updating, so here goes ...
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Direct experience helps, but familiarity with the publication, understanding of its purpose and value to target readers, and your related skills rank much higher on the scale of importance for trade editors.
The definition of "trade publications" varies, but generally it describes print (and now, increasingly, online) publications that appeal to a specific segment of a given industry.
For example, "trucking" is an umbrella term that's too vague to build a magazine around, because there are diverse subsets: truck drivers, trucking company owners and senior managers, truck stop operators, trucking safety advisers and managers, fuel suppliers, trucking industry training companies (driver training, hazardous materials transportation, safety supervisor and manager training and certification, etc.) ... you get the idea.
There are also publications that target regions where a specific subset does business. Using trucking as the example again, there are several national publications, but far more that target readership in a single state. In some industries, it can get down to a local level as well.
When I was editor for a state trucking publication (in my case, targeting owners and senior managers), on the rare occasion when a writer would send an LOI, the first thing I'd look for was some reference to having read the magazine. Barring that, the next-most important thing to me was something in the LOI indicating familiarity with communicating with my "type" of audience (business decision-makers).
Total times I found either: 0.
Hell, I'd've settled for a writer telling me about having experience with doing basic research and interviews. But that didn't happen either.
What DID happen - consistently, on the rare occasion that anyone actually bothered to send an LOI - was that the writer would basically tell me, "Hi, I'm a writer looking for a paying gig. I've written for (X, Y, and Z unrelated publications). Contact me if you would like to see samples of my work."
Either that or it was someone trying to poach some free editorial space for a thinly disguised, self-serving marketing article.
Why it's important to know this
Editors see so much of this type of "inquiry" that they rarely read an LOI past the first sentence or two, unless the writer starts by addressing the editor's and/or the publication's requirements.
Requirements
I don't want to turn this into a full "lecture," so I'll just point out the bare minimums:
1. Know why the publication exists. Hard to do this if you've never read it. "To make money" is the bottom-line of the publication's existence, but never assume that the publication itself was created to make money. Perhaps it's an association magazine, barely breaking even (or maybe even costing money to produce), but its readers - in this case, association members - derive tangible business value as well as industry news from it. Since about 80 percent of association members never attend functions, to them, the publication IS the association. So, the magazine itself isn't the revenue-generator; instead, it supports the association's mission, which is funded by member dues (mainly). POINT: Nothing more to add: know why the publication exists.
2. Know what the target readership wants in general: This one takes a little bit of work if you've never done it before, but it's worth it. You'll be able to get some of the answer simply by reading the publication. But some of it can come from "relatively safe" assumption. For example, a magazine aimed at truck drivers, filled with ads for used trucks, articles about truck stops and gadgets, and "how-to" pieces for coping with life on the road that quote drivers and their spouses/families back home, probably aims to deliver info, advice, and resources to support quality of day-to-day life for truckers. POINT: As a writer, you need to at least attempt to understand the readers' motivation behind picking up the magazine in the first place before approaching the editor.
3. Convey how your experience can be relevant to the editor: Look for elements in your background and experience that could appeal. They may not be obvious at first, so don't be too quick to omit them from your consideration.
For example, every year I pick up a few last-minute assignments due to some other writer flaking on an editor. Now, I wouldn't put it quite that way in an LOI. But I might say something like, "I'm often contacted by editors who ask me to pick up an assignment just before deadline due to the occasional writer who doesn't come through."
In that one sentence, I've just told the editor at least five things that are relevant to his or her position: 1) I am reliable. 2) Editors turn to me when there's a problem because they know I'll handle it. 3) Not only will I handle it, but they trust me to handle it quickly. 4) They call me again because of how I dealt with it before. And 5) Since I'm regularly trusted to solve problems brought on by other writers, you can safely assume that I will take care of the routine stuff even more so.
In fairness, it's probably easier for me to get work than other writers who are just starting out. I have the clips, the resume', and well-established relationships with editors who like me and vouch for me. So if you're thinking, "That's all well and good for you, but what about MY relatively meager experience?" ... well, I can only repeat what I've been saying here for the last seven and a half years:
Editors have a hard time finding good writers.
They care LESS if you've written for Cosmopolitan than if you've read their publication.
They care LESS if you have a degree in communications than if you can conduct an interview.
They care LESS about outstanding prose than they do how quickly and efficiently you can deliver value to their readers.
The real bottom-line
You have to be able to clearly answer this question: How can I make the editor's job easier?
To do that, you have to understand where the editor is coming from.
In my experience, the three main points above will go a long way toward helping you get work ... which, even in this economy, is still available.
Mainly because most writers aren't doing these things!
* * * * * * * * * *
Direct experience helps, but familiarity with the publication, understanding of its purpose and value to target readers, and your related skills rank much higher on the scale of importance for trade editors.
The definition of "trade publications" varies, but generally it describes print (and now, increasingly, online) publications that appeal to a specific segment of a given industry.
For example, "trucking" is an umbrella term that's too vague to build a magazine around, because there are diverse subsets: truck drivers, trucking company owners and senior managers, truck stop operators, trucking safety advisers and managers, fuel suppliers, trucking industry training companies (driver training, hazardous materials transportation, safety supervisor and manager training and certification, etc.) ... you get the idea.
There are also publications that target regions where a specific subset does business. Using trucking as the example again, there are several national publications, but far more that target readership in a single state. In some industries, it can get down to a local level as well.
When I was editor for a state trucking publication (in my case, targeting owners and senior managers), on the rare occasion when a writer would send an LOI, the first thing I'd look for was some reference to having read the magazine. Barring that, the next-most important thing to me was something in the LOI indicating familiarity with communicating with my "type" of audience (business decision-makers).
Total times I found either: 0.
Hell, I'd've settled for a writer telling me about having experience with doing basic research and interviews. But that didn't happen either.
What DID happen - consistently, on the rare occasion that anyone actually bothered to send an LOI - was that the writer would basically tell me, "Hi, I'm a writer looking for a paying gig. I've written for (X, Y, and Z unrelated publications). Contact me if you would like to see samples of my work."
Either that or it was someone trying to poach some free editorial space for a thinly disguised, self-serving marketing article.
Why it's important to know this
Editors see so much of this type of "inquiry" that they rarely read an LOI past the first sentence or two, unless the writer starts by addressing the editor's and/or the publication's requirements.
Requirements
I don't want to turn this into a full "lecture," so I'll just point out the bare minimums:
1. Know why the publication exists. Hard to do this if you've never read it. "To make money" is the bottom-line of the publication's existence, but never assume that the publication itself was created to make money. Perhaps it's an association magazine, barely breaking even (or maybe even costing money to produce), but its readers - in this case, association members - derive tangible business value as well as industry news from it. Since about 80 percent of association members never attend functions, to them, the publication IS the association. So, the magazine itself isn't the revenue-generator; instead, it supports the association's mission, which is funded by member dues (mainly). POINT: Nothing more to add: know why the publication exists.
2. Know what the target readership wants in general: This one takes a little bit of work if you've never done it before, but it's worth it. You'll be able to get some of the answer simply by reading the publication. But some of it can come from "relatively safe" assumption. For example, a magazine aimed at truck drivers, filled with ads for used trucks, articles about truck stops and gadgets, and "how-to" pieces for coping with life on the road that quote drivers and their spouses/families back home, probably aims to deliver info, advice, and resources to support quality of day-to-day life for truckers. POINT: As a writer, you need to at least attempt to understand the readers' motivation behind picking up the magazine in the first place before approaching the editor.
3. Convey how your experience can be relevant to the editor: Look for elements in your background and experience that could appeal. They may not be obvious at first, so don't be too quick to omit them from your consideration.
For example, every year I pick up a few last-minute assignments due to some other writer flaking on an editor. Now, I wouldn't put it quite that way in an LOI. But I might say something like, "I'm often contacted by editors who ask me to pick up an assignment just before deadline due to the occasional writer who doesn't come through."
In that one sentence, I've just told the editor at least five things that are relevant to his or her position: 1) I am reliable. 2) Editors turn to me when there's a problem because they know I'll handle it. 3) Not only will I handle it, but they trust me to handle it quickly. 4) They call me again because of how I dealt with it before. And 5) Since I'm regularly trusted to solve problems brought on by other writers, you can safely assume that I will take care of the routine stuff even more so.
In fairness, it's probably easier for me to get work than other writers who are just starting out. I have the clips, the resume', and well-established relationships with editors who like me and vouch for me. So if you're thinking, "That's all well and good for you, but what about MY relatively meager experience?" ... well, I can only repeat what I've been saying here for the last seven and a half years:
Editors have a hard time finding good writers.
They care LESS if you've written for Cosmopolitan than if you've read their publication.
They care LESS if you have a degree in communications than if you can conduct an interview.
They care LESS about outstanding prose than they do how quickly and efficiently you can deliver value to their readers.
The real bottom-line
You have to be able to clearly answer this question: How can I make the editor's job easier?
To do that, you have to understand where the editor is coming from.
In my experience, the three main points above will go a long way toward helping you get work ... which, even in this economy, is still available.
Mainly because most writers aren't doing these things!