Constant Content

At Celeste's suggestion, I'm starting a new thread, carried over from a discussion on rejections. The question is: cc is great, but how can you also get some of those higher-paying gigs at glossy magazines, adversising agencies, etc.? I've been published in a few print magazines, but it seems like you spend a lot of time beating your head against the wall. I would be deeply grateful for hints and suggestions from more experienced writers.

carpenjoyce wrote:At Celeste's suggestion, I'm starting a new thread, carried over from a discussion on rejections. The question is: cc is great, but how can you also get some of those higher-paying gigs at glossy magazines, adversising agencies, etc.? I've been published in a few print magazines, but it seems like you spend a lot of time beating your head against the wall. I would be deeply grateful for hints and suggestions from more experienced writers.

Reputation, reputation, reputation.

Once a writer becomes a "known" quantity who can meet deadlines, rewrite according to editorial remarks, and remain professional in the face of criticism, then she gets "in" with glossy magazines and will start having editors contacting her. It may take months or years of queries and rejections, but somewhere along the line the persistence and maturity of the writer is revealed.

Also, the networking going on with the medium-level paying gigs usually bubbles up. The editors I know keep an eye on medium-level magazines for a variety of reasons (mentoring, hiring possibilities, etc.) so it's only normal when they see an interesting query from a writer with a clip under a masthead they recognize that they reach out to that other editor to see what type of r-e-p-u-t-a-t-i-o-n the writer has. Cruising around the 'net offers a glimpse into the writer's work as well.

As I was told years ago, talent might get you noticed, but being a professional will get you work.

My opinion anyway.
Mary

Agreed! Also, as editors move up in their own careers, they often take along their favorite freelancers. I have one editor who has taken me with her as she moved to more prestigious publications. As she has moved into higher paying markets, she has made sure that my pay matches. I'm grateful and she knows she can count on me. Maybe I make her job easier or make her look good to her bosses? Maybe its good karma? Maybe both?

Personally, I can't stand the check Writers Market and send query letters process - it is like banging your head against the wall and I don't have the patience for it. I have used Twitter successfully to find clients and I have a website that does really well, too. With Twitter, I use the real time search to monitor phrases like, "I need a freelance writer" or "anyone know a reliable writer." Since these are real time seraches, you can respond right away! Cool, huh?

Another way to get decent jobs is to offer your services to Web developers. They get a lot of customers that need content and they often lack the writing skills to provide it. I have quite a few regulars who send me work. I bill them a predetermined per-word rate and they mark up the price that they charge their customers. Others just recommend me to their customers because they don't want to be involved in the transaction. Either way, it works out nicely. Most have found me through my website, but a writer friend of mine has been successful at contacting local Web developers here in town.

Thank you both for your replies. I agree that the whole query system is a pain in the neck, which is probably why I hang around constant content instead of trying to sell articles to magazines. But with the way things are going, with print sales declining and more and more people taking advantage of the net, I'm hoping sites like these are the wave of the future.