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If You Guide Them, They
Will Come As a newsletter editor and freelance writer, I get to see
writers’ guidelines from all angles: I write them and I read them. If you’re
looking for articles for your newsletter, it can pay off to spend some time
telling writers exactly what your wish list looks like. First, make a separate web page for your writers’
guidelines. Make sure it’s linked
from your home page, not buried six layers deep where writers will never stumble
upon it. Here’s what belongs on
that page: About You Write a couple of paragraphs telling potential writers
about your newsletter, your company, and/or yourself. Let them know how long you’ve been around on the web, what
the main focus of your newsletter is, the frequency of your newsletter (weekly?
Monthly?), and the approximate circulation (e.g., 5,000 subscribers). About Your Audience Tell writers what you know about your readers.
Who are they and what do they want?
What level are they on-- are they beginners in their field, or more
advanced? What’s the
male-to-female ratio? Are they
well-educated? Are they affluent?
Do they live around the world or mainly in one region?
Are they parents? Do they
work from home? The more
information you can give, the better a writer will know how to write something
to resonate with your readers. Article Types Here’s the most important part of the guidelines: What,
exactly, are you hoping writers will submit?
The more specific you can be here, the better. For example, I edit a newsletter for writers.
If I simply said I wanted articles about writing, that wouldn’t do me
much good. People could interpret
that to mean nearly anything, and it wouldn’t help them brainstorm ideas for
what might be appropriate for us. Instead,
I needed to tell them exactly what I was looking for.
So I specified: Primarily, I wanted how-to articles about all different
branches of writing (screenwriting, greeting card writing, nonfiction writing,
etc.). Secondarily, I wanted...
“interviews with working writers or those connected to the publishing or film
industries-- we particularly need interviews with agents, editors, and
producers,” “news stories or trends related to writing,” and
“perspectives from working writers. Can
cover any aspect of a writer's life-- business, craft, or ‘life’ (balancing
work and family, overcoming writer's block, increasing creativity, etc.).”
Give examples whenever possible. Departments If you have any columns or features that you run regularly,
tell writers about them. For
example, if you run a section called “Bet You Didn’t Know That” every
week, and it contains interesting trivia, tell writers about it. If you have a humor section, an opinion section, a book
review section... let the writers know, and point them to a few good examples of
the types of articles you like for each of these sections.
Give direct links to your favorite articles.
It’s not good enough to say, “Read our newsletter to get an idea of
what we publish.” Taboos Likewise, if there are any topics that are off-limit to
writers, tell them. Maybe YOU write
that trivia column every week and have no interest in having another writer
submit an idea for it. Maybe your
newsletter doesn’t want to touch controversial subjects like religion,
abortion, the death penalty, etc. Or
the opposite: Maybe your newsletter takes a specific stance on those issues and
doesn’t want anything from an opposing viewpoint.
If you don’t want any “strong language” (read: swearing), mention
that. If you want everything from a
third-person perspective, not a first-person perspective, say so. Word Count Freelance writers are accustomed to writing according to
specified word counts. If you tell
a writer that you want a “long article” or a “short article,” you’re
likely to get a blank stare in return. You
need to specify a range. If your
“Bet You Didn’t Know That” section is meant to be only a paragraph or two
at the top of your newsletter and a writer sends you a two-page article, it
won’t do you any good. Check the
word count of the articles you’ve already run to get a better idea of what
works for you. This article, for
example, is 1360 words. If
possible, specify a range for each department, as well.
You might write that feature articles are 800-1500 words, humor essays
are about 500 words, and so on. Pay Rate Know that a good three-quarters of your potential writers
are going to skim through everything else just looking for the paragraph with
the dollar signs. If that paragraph
is missing, they may go no further. This doesn’t mean that all is lost if you can’t afford
to pay for articles. What it does
mean is that you must be up-front with writers and tell them what you’re
offering; give them some kind of incentive to write for you. If you do pay, you may choose to pay by the word, or use a
flat rate. For example, most
newsstand magazines pay about $1 a word, which means that an 800-word article
would pay $800. Newsletters more
often pay about $.10 a word, or $80 for that same 800-word article. Or you might choose to pay a set amount: $50 for feature
articles, $25 for departments, and $10 for short humor, reviews, and trivia, for
example. If you cannot pay, make sure you’re offering your writers
something. This is, after all,
their livelihood, and “exposure” appeals only to the most inexperienced
writers. The inclusion of a bio
and/or free advertising space is always good, and if you can give them any of
your products, all the better. I
once wrote an article in exchange for a bio and a homemade candle.
You can also barter for other things: For example, you could offer to
design a free web page for the writer, or make a banner ad for her. Rights Just as important as your pay rate is your rights policy.
Unless you are paying big bucks, there’s no good excuse for asking for
all rights to the articles you publish. If
you want to entice writers, ask for nonexclusive electronic rights only, or ask
for exclusivity for a specified period of time (“exclusive rights for 30 days
after publication, nonexclusive rights thereafter”).
Also include your policy on reprints: Will you consider a piece that has
already been published elsewhere? Before
you balk, consider excluding only your closest competitors (“We are happy to
accept reprints, as long as they have not previously appeared in newsletters X,
Y, or Z”). Contact Info Tell writers how you would like their work submitted.
Do you want to see completed manuscripts, or would you rather look at
query letters? (Queries are short
descriptions of what the writer plans to write about for your newsletter, along
with a bio and samples of the writer’s work.)
Where should they submit their work, and to whom?
Give them the name of an editor, and an e-mail address and/or snail mail
address. Know that very few writers will bother sending queries or
manuscripts by snail mail anymore unless you’re offering high pay. Response Time It’s nice to let writers know how quickly you plan to
respond to them. Otherwise, they
may well bug you every two hours until they hear from you.
So, you might say something like, “Our average response time is 1-2
weeks. If you haven’t heard back
from us in two weeks, please feel free to follow up.”
Also, unless you specify that you do not want simultaneous submissions,
expect that the writer may be submitting to other publications at the same time.
Again, unless you’re offering big bucks and can commit to respond
quickly, do not expect exclusive submissions. Get the Word Out If you are able to pay writers, even just a token amount,
writers’ newsletters will be happy to let their readers know about you.
To start, you can send me the link to your writers’ guidelines at jenna@absolutewrite.com,
and I’ll send it to the 23,000 writers who read Absolute Markets.
Then you can surf around to other writers’ sites and ask them to do the
same. Guide your writers well, and you may find that both the
quality and quantity of submissions skyrockets. Good luck! Jenna Glatzer is the editor of the most popular online magazine for writers: www.AbsoluteWrite.com. She is also the best-selling author of OUTWITTING WRITER’S BLOCK and WORDS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases. Read about them at http://www.absolutewrite.com/jenna/books.htm and she’ll be your best friend forever. |
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