Marketing Articles

Maximizing Markets By Patricia D'Ascoli, CAPA Member

Freelance writing can be a rewarding way to make a living, but it will rarely make you rich. In order to generate a steady flow of income from this endeavor, a writer really needs to be creative in finding a variety of markets for his or her work. This entails making the most out of every story idea that comes to mind - looking for as many publications as possible that might be interested in publishing a particular story.

Sometimes all it takes is a quick rewrite and a story can be regenerated for use in a second or even a third market. Occasionally, you can simultaneously write several versions of the same story if you know in advance which publications will be purchasing the piece. And if you own the rights to a story, some publications will pay to reprint stories that have appeared elsewhere.

Getting Started: Choose a topic that will sustain your interest, because it’s a lot more fun to write about something you like, especially when you are not getting paid very much to do it! When I embarked on freelance writing, I decided I wanted to write about authors and the books they write, not only because I love reading, but also because I am fascinated by the book writing process. I chose Connecticut authors to give it a unique perspective, and since there are so many different Connecticut authors, I haven’t run out of material yet.

What’s the angle: Whether your nonfiction piece is a profile of a person or an entity, chances are it will entail doing research and interviews. My angle is this: when a local author publishes a new book that’s worthy of a story! Alternatively, I might write a review of the new book, but reviewing the book is usually part of the research process for writing about an author as well. These are the feature articles I generally write for newspapers in Connecticut.

Who cares: Who is interested in your story? Publications related to your story’s subject matter are, so think local as well as global. When an author publishes a new book, the first market to consider is the local newspaper that covers the town in which the author resides. If this is an author’s first published book, sometimes the newspaper from the author’s hometown might also be interested in a story. As far as subject matter goes, any publication that includes articles about books and authors is fair game, as are markets dealing with the specific type of book the author has published.

Here is an example of the myriad possibilities associated with one Connecticut author I recently profiled. The author is a woman who published an inspirational book for Catholic mothers. This is a sampling of possible markets for this one story:

1. Local newspaper in the town where the author currently lives

2. Local newspaper in the town where the author grew up

3. Alumni magazine for the college(s) the author attended

4. Religious (Catholic) newspapers, magazines and websites

5. Women’s magazines (print and online) and websites

6. Parents magazines (print and online) and websites

7. Writing magazines (print and online) and websites

How to find markets: Both Writers Market and www.writersmarket.com are great sources for markets - both print and online. You don’t need both of these; choose the format that works best for you. Each contains a listing of publications with the associated writers’ guidelines. It is always a good idea to review the guidelines and read a sample of the publication before sending a query. If you have already written the story for a local newspaper, you might want to include a copy of that along with the query to give the editor an idea of your style and especially how you have successfully handled the specific topic already!

Make your own market: If you are passionate about a subject and there is enough material about that subject to last indefinitely, you might also want to consider writing and publishing your own newsletter in addition to freelancing for other publications. Sometimes the newsletter can give you credibility when you are trying to break into a new market. I started publishing Connecticut Muse at the same time I began querying newspapers and magazines on the subject of Connecticut authors and their books, and now I regularly write about Connecticut authors for a variety of newspapers in addition to publishing Connecticut Muse.

I would be happy to help you get started on finding markets for your own special topic. Feel free to email me at pfdasc@aol.com or call me at 860-354-6488.