The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Magazine Articles Book

Part 1	Welcome to Writerland	1
1	So, You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?	3
	Words 'R Us	4
	The Perfect Occupation	5
	What About Writing Books?	8
	The Cool Stuff Writers Do	10
	Fabulous You	13
2	The Modern World of the Freelance Writer	15
	The Olden Days	15
	Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes	16
	Welcome to the New Media Landscape	17
	Hot Off the Presses	19
	Sticky Eyeballs	19
	Why Editors Hire Freelancers	21
	Finding the Best Sections for Freelancing	22
	Publications 101: Learning About Op-Eds, Q&As, and Other Types of Articles	23
	How Many Words?	24
3	Success Stories	27
	Kim Wright Wiley	28
	Brooks Clark	30
	Hene Beckerman	33
	Medicine Man Jim Thornton	36
	Cheap Advice: One-Sentence Tips from the Pros	38
4	The Editors Talk	39
	The Hierarchy of the Gods: Learning Which Editor Does What	40
	Regional Athena, Sacramento Magazine's Krista Minard	41
	Islands Girl: Editor-in-Chief Joan Tapper, Islands	43
	The Whole Kid and Kaboodle: Health Editor Kara Corridan, Child	46
	Trade Tactics from Above: Editor-in-Chief Perry Bradley, Business and Commercial Aviation	49
5	So, Is This Really for You?	53
	Enough of the Glitz and Glamour--Here's the Dirt	54
	Help Wanted	54
	Who Really Makes It as a Freelancer	55
	The Organization	55
	Growing a Thicker Skin	59
	Hello, Is Anyone Out There?	59
	Who Pays What (and When)	60
	Is the Check in the Mail?	62
	Deciding Whether This Is the Life for You	62
Part 2	Learning the Basics	63
6	Studying the Market	65
	Becoming a Student of Print	65
	Reading Is Fundamental	66
	In Cold Type	66
	Chains of Gold	67
	Magazine History	68
	The Godfathers	69
	Synergy	70
	How You Fit In	70
	Hanging Out for Fun and Profit	71
	Learn to Read a Magazine	71
	Reading the Papers, Too	74
	Get the Kit	74
7	Generating Ideas for Articles	77
	What Do People Want to Know?	77
	Five Hot Markets!	79
	News Clips	83
	Custom-Fitting Your Ideas to Your Audience	84
8	Writing a Winning Query	87
	The Seduction: Approaching the Editor	88
	Serial Dating: The Multiple Approach	95
	E-Mail Etiquette	95
	Getting Clipped	95
9	Your First Assignment	97
	The Envelope, Please: Your Idea Has Been Accepted!	97
	I See a Vision--the Editor's!	98
	All Work and No Play: Research	100
	Dead Man Writing: Meeting Deadlines	105
	Stupid People Mistakes: Copyediting and Fact-Checking	107
	Lights, Camera, Action, Ship Out!	107
10	The True Gen: Interviewing	109
	Be Prepared	109
	Tooling Around	111
	The Full Monty: The Interview	114
	The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Interview Sources	119
Part 3	Who's Gonna Buy Your Stuff?	121
11	Newspapers: What They're Looking For	123
	Less Filling, Tastes Great!	123
	One Fish, Two Fish, So Many Fish	126
	It's Black and White: What Newspapers Want	128
	Pique This	129
	If I Were a Rich Man	129
	Great Ways to Get Inky Without Squeezing a Squid	130
	Let Your Fingers Do the Pitching	131
12	The Glossies: What They're Looking For	135
	Flash in the Pan: A History and Overview	135
	A Mag Is Born	136
	All That Glitters Isn't Gold: What the Glossy Gods Want	137
	Going Up: In the Door and Up the Elevator	140
	Stalkers Will Be Prosecuted: Ten Ways to Turn Off an Editor in Seconds	141
13	Trade Magazines: What They're Looking For	143
	The Army Wants You!	144
	What the Trades Buy	145
	Getting Your Foot in the Door	146
	Q&A with Amy Hamaker, Executive Editor, Today's Image	149
Part 4	Online: The Newest Frontier	153
14	What's on the Web	155
	Welcome to Web World	155
	Business-to-Business	156
	Why Web Sites Need Writers	157
	Just How Big Is This Market?	158
	Persnickety Editors	160
	No Special Language Required	161
	Start on the Web and Move on to Print	161
	What's Next?	162
15	Online 'Zine Scene	163
	A Brief History of 'Zines	163
	Commerce Intrudes	164
	Meet the Major Players	164
	Travel Magazines on the Web	169
	Hot Stuff	170
	Instant Gratification	171
16	Contentproviders.com	173
	"Content" and Other New Words for Words	173
	Web Style Writing	174
	Sell, Sell, and Sell It Again	177
	Finding Work on the Web	178
	Sitting on the Dock of eBay	180
	A Word to the Wise	180
17	Build It and They Will Come	183
	Matt Drudge and Other Web Celebs	183
	What Do You Have to Say?	186
	Setting Up Your Web Site from A to Z	188
	Web Style? Which Style?	189
	Online Newsletters	189
	Dual Approach	190
	Getting the Word Out	190
	Building on Your Web Site Success	191
Part 5	A Short Course on Writing Effective Articles	193
18	The Parts of the Article	195
	Everything Organized and Ready to Write	195
	Serving Appetizers: Brief Openings and Titles	197
	Soup's On! A Winning Intro/Lead	198
	For the Meat-and-Potatoes Man: The Body of the Piece	199
	Dessert: The Perfect Closing Paragraph	203
	Writing Headlines and Titles	204
19	Hook 'Em Early, Hook 'Em Hard	207
	We're Following the Leader, the Leader, the Leader	207
	Types of Leads	208
20	Machine Gun Writing	215
	We're All Part of a Ritalin Nation	215
	Ratatatatat: Machine Gun Writing	217
	Off with Her Head: Editing	223
Part 6	The Business of Freelancing	227
21	Building a Specialty	229
	Niche and Grow Riche	229
	Market Research Department	230
	A Niche of One's Own	232
	Building a Reputation	233
	Writers Talk About Their Niches	234
	Books 'R Us	236
22	Hey, Is This a Book?	239
	The Lure of the Book	240
	In General, Generalize	241
	Make Friends with an Expert	241
	The Magazine Writer's Guide to Writing Books	242
	Eureka!	244
	Success Stories	247
23	Setting Up Your Business	249
	The Basics of Freelancing	249
	Booting Up	250
	Cool Tools	251
	From the Crazy Mixed-Up Files of	253
	Time Management	254
	Learning to Deal with Sporadic Income	256
	Is the Check Really in the Mail?	257
	What Else Is in the Mail?	258
24	Taxes and the Writer	259
	Setting Up Your System	259
	Records, Records, Records	261
	Scheduling Your C	263
	Do It Four Times a Year	264
	Home Office Deduction?	264
	So, Is This Vacation a Business Expense?	265
	Tracking Your Money Before the Tax Man Does	266
	Writers Talk Taxes	266
25	Contracts and What They Really Mean	269
	Beggars Can Be Choosers	269
	Rights: A Primer	270
	Here a Right, There a Right, Everywhere a Right, Right	271
	Showdown on the Electronic Frontier-- Writers and Their Rights	274
	A Paragraph-by-Paragraph Explanation	276
	Some Final Words	280
	Appendixes
A	Glossary	281
B	Recommended Books	287
C	Sample Contracts	289
D	Sample Writer's Guidelines	295
E	Great Web Sites for Writers	299
	Index	301