|
||||||||||
|
Subscribe to the Absolute Write Newsletter and get the Agents! Agents! Agents! report free! Click here.
|
Win a 1-year subscription to Writer's Digest by subscribing to Absolute Markets-- all paying markets for your writing. Click here. |
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|
Book Reviews a Different Way By Behlor Santi
Here's another way to boost your freelance writing income. How about writing gift guides-- roundups of book reviews? By putting three or more book reviews together, linked by a single theme, you'll create feature-length articles that magazines may pay money for. You'll also make frugal use of the review copies that clog most freelancers' bookcases.
Want to know what a gift guide is? Want to find the right markets for your article? Read on.
Define a gift guide
So you know how to write a book review. You read your book carefully, looking for quotes and anecdotes that make an article pop. You write notes down in your journal, and ask the six journalist's questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. From your notes and answered questions, you create a book review that succinctly describes the plot, showcases your writing style, and answers a reader's main question-- is the book worth buying?
A gift guide is the book review I described above-- just with more punch. First, you combine a bunch of book reviews, linking them thematically. Say that you want to write about Christmas. Find at least three books about an aspect of the holiday. Write about Christmas commercialism, for example. Write each book review the normal way, and describe why all books in the gift guide are important for that particular issue of the publication. For most holidays, the editor will prefer that you describe all books in your gift guide positively. Try to find books that you enjoy, and will enjoy writing about.
Now what?
You have written a complete manuscript or a proposal. Which markets accept gift guides? You could submit your article to a magazine, yet you'll often get a quicker response with newspapers, especially alternative and religious weeklies. Since Writer's Market doesn't print listings of newspapers, you'll have to make a trip to the library, where you'll find two valuable reference books, The Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory and Bacon’s Directory. The Ulrich's Periodicals Directory lists magazines, journals, and newspapers published worldwide and is a good source, if you can decipher the small print and esoteric abbreviations. I prefer the Bacon's Directory. It's a resource for public relations professionals, but we writers are just another type of professional in the media world. Make Bacon's your bible. Study the index, looking for regional magazines and non-daily newspapers. Find the features or book review editor, and jot down all his or her contact information. Contact the editor, and ask if his or her publication accepts roundups of book reviews. Some publications prefer local writers or don't have the budget to pay freelancers. So this preliminary e-mail or phone call is vitally important.
Once you contact the editor and receive the go-ahead to submit your article or query, write to the best of your ability, meet the deadline, and submit photographs if possible.
Markets
Now you know what a gift guide is, how to write one, and how to approach an editor with an article or a query. Here are three markets to get you started:
Jewish Civic Press New Orleans, LA Contact: publisher/editor E-mail address: jewishcivicpress@aol.com
The Reader Omaha, NE Contact: Nicole LeClerc, books editor E-mail address: nicolel@thereader.com Note: Prefers queries from local writers.
Good News, etc. San Diego, CA Contact: Rick Monroe, publisher/editor E-mail address: story@goodnewsetc.com
Freelancers only make as much money as the markets they master. Book reviews are an uncomplicated way to add money to your bank account. With gift guides, you'll have even more opportunities to write about what you love, and just as importantly, make enough money to put food on your table.
Behlor Santi turns 25 in July, likes spumoni ice cream, and loves to chat with fellow writers. Her e-mail address is brooklynwriter2002@yahoo.com. Contact her anytime.
|
Sponsored links 
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer! How to find a book publisher |
Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007
Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
|
