Comments on: How and Where to Look https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html a freelance writing resource. Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:44:09 +0000 hourly 1 By: Ashley https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html#comment-5906 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:44:09 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html/#comment-5906 I love hearing the different methods everyone takes toward their magazine article approach. My head is swimming with ideas now. Thanks ladies!

]]> By: Lori https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html#comment-5904 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:29:21 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html/#comment-5904 Me too, Paula. I think it's fantastic the way he's setting this entire book up. Great work by Larsen, if you ask me.

I love it, Cathy. And yes, for corporate clients, that's exactly how I'd do it. Go to the source. Show them how they're not going to be able to live without you.

Oh Devon, I've done that once or twice – enough to remember to keep notes from now on! Totally agree on all points.

Go for it, Ashley! Just do your homework – know that magazine's audience, focus, and needs before writing the query. You can do it.

]]> By: Paula https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html#comment-5903 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:16:31 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html/#comment-5903 I tend to work along both Lori and Devon's lines when developing article ideas. But I also make a list of different pubs I can tailor it to. I take the same basic idea (like Lori's "Are reverse mortgages a good idea") and think of ways to alter it for different markets. I could frame it for a trade by suggesting questions financial planners should ask clients that might benefit from a reverse mortgage, or who think they want one. For a consumer market targeting seniors I'd pitch a story on real people living with reverse mortgages – do they have any regrets? For a consumer market for a younger/middle aged audience, I'd pose it as: How to help you parents decide if a reverse mortgage is good for them. Then I rank the possible markets my things like their stated pay rate, frequency of publication, and what percent of their content comes from freelancers (which is one of the most helpful facts Writer's Market includes in its listings).

BTW, turns out that reverse mortgages aren't always good, and I don't mean financially. A friend's elderly neighbor has a reverse mortgage on a small, run-down house. Literally, the gutter was hanging off the front of the house. My friend told the neighbor she better have her carpenter son repair the gutter or the entire length of gutter could fall off in a heavy rain. The neighbor said, "Oh, he won't fix anything around here since he found out I have a reverse mortgage. If he can't make money off it, he won't lift a finger." My friend got her ladder out and fixed the gutter herself.

BTW Lori – I started reading Devil in the White City last weekend. I'm around page 150 now (for me that's a LOT of reading in a week). But what's it say about me that I'm more riveted by the Holmes sections than the Burnham chapters?

]]> By: Ashley https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html#comment-5902 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:41:11 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html/#comment-5902 With the story I'm working on, I started with a simple idea and talked to a few people, then they recommended people to talk to, and the idea kept growing. I think it's time to separate my ideas for different publications. Would I be too ballsy to pitch to a big publication with only small publication clips to show them? All they can do is say no, right? 😉

Have a great weekend!

]]> By: Devon Ellington https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html#comment-5900 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:18:12 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html/#comment-5900 I either start with the idea or the publication.

If I have an idea, I let it percolate, ask the questions, take notes, research the publications to which it's suited, write the query and send it off.

I have to take notes because, if I don't, I get a response back and don't remember the details of what I was going to do sometimes.

If I start with a publication that I really like or think I'd be a good fit for, I look at back issues, see what they haven't covered that I think would fit, form the query and off we go.

In all cases, it takes research and homework. The well-paid work isn't going to fall in your lap, most of the time. You have to put some hustle in your bustle and convince them they can't live without you.

Your fee should more than cover the time spent researching, in addition to the time spent writing.

]]> By: Cathy https://wordsonpageblog.com/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html#comment-5899 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:16:51 +0000 http://loriwidmer.com/wordsonpage/index.php/2010/07/how-and-where-to-look.html/#comment-5899 Hi Lori:

I specialize in ghostwriting so my approach is a bit different. I go to the busy executive-broker, insurance company, wellness experts, other health care organizations.

I pitch them having their voices heard in their industry magazines. On my website, under Writing Services, I say "Your Name-Your Message."

One of my clients landed a featured article on wellness every other month. I have been ghostwriting for her for over a year. It's one of my favorite assignments. She is very innovative & passionate, but has a hard time expressing that in writing. It's a match made in heaven.

Enjoy your day, Ladies-jealous!

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