The Nitty Gritty of Publishing

I get a lot of questions about writing and teaching writing and, frankly, answering these questions is a joy and delight for me. One of my favorite things to do is help other writers, so if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in my comment section at any point in time and I'll do my best to address them.

Melissa writes: I wonder where you would suggest I look for more inside scoop on getting published. You know, the nitty gritty of that aspect of writing. I have an idea for an article that I thought I might submit to a magazine but I have NO idea where to start.

Great question, Melissa! I have a few suggestions for you. The first is to get your hands on either Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide or The Writers' Market Guide, depending on what type of article you are writing. If it's a Christian-oriented article then you would probably need to go with Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide, otherwise you could use the other guide. You can usually find older copies of either of these in the library so you can get a feel for what they offer, but if you plan to submit something you want the current annual edition so you will be using the most up-to-date information.

Market guides tell you who the publishers are, how to contact them, what types of things they publish, what they pay (if anything), the length of articles that they accept, what format they want things in, whether you should send the whole article or just a query letter, and a plethora of other nitty gritty details. Writing the article is only half the equation. Finding the correct market is just as important as writing well. A lot of writers get rejection notices not because they are poor writers, but because they don't take the time to find the right market for their piece.

Another thing I would suggest is to look around you for potential writing markets. Do you belong to any groups that have newsletters or e-zines? What about a hometown newspaper? Does your church have a bulletin that prints articles? Are you familiar with websites that use freelance material? Publishing opportunities for writers abound everywhere. They may not be big or paying markets, but they are a wonderful way to get your feet wet and learn the ropes of writing/publishing. I attribute much of my writing success today to a small newsletter for homemakers that eventually turned into a national magazine and a leading women's ministry. Those little articles that I wrote for free have opened many doors for me over the long haul.

Finally, if you already have some magazines in mind, take a look at their writer's guidelines. You can find these by visiting the magazine's website. If they accept freelance material, they will have their writer's guidelines somewhere on the site. These guidelines will give you all the details you need for submitting to that particular publication.

I hope this helps and let me know if you get that article published!