Magazine Writing

Introduction

If you've always had an ambition to write, freelance writing for magazines is an excellent place to start. Writing non-fiction articles can be a fun and lucrative hobby, or an interesting way to earn a living. The rise of technology provides writers with the freedom to work at home, another big advantage. The Internet is a wonderful way of doing research, and emails and faxes provide the convenience of being able to send articles straight from home, although some magazine editors still require them to be posted.

There is a magazine to cover everyone's area of interest, whether it is travel, history, parenthood or women's issues. There are also trade and industry magazines which are even more specialized, but often pay well. Another big advantage is that freelance writers are not restricted to the magazines of their own country. The Internet can be used to find markets in other countries and email saves the cost of international postage.

There are also many e-zines and websites that pay writers, although writing for magazines is usually more lucrative. Countless websites are designed to benefit writers. They often include helpful articles, links for writers and useful lists of markets.

Many people want to write freelance but are unsure where to begin. This course will give you all the information you need to enable you to begin writing for magazines.

It will show you how to use your background and interests as a starting point and show you the right procedure to begin freelance writing. By the end of the course you will know how to research and write articles for magazines.

If you are interested in freelance writing as a career, however, it is best to ease your way into it. Unless you have a lot of experience and good connections, making a reasonable living as a writer can be difficult. It is usually best to write as a hobby, and see where this leads, unless you have independent means. However, if your articles are interesting and designed for the right market, and you have determination and perseverance anything is possible! As Peter de Vries succinctly remarked: "I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning". (The Observer, 1980)

The course will answer your questions on doing research, finding and analyzing potential markets, writing query letters, outlining articles, and the process of writing an article.

My lessons will concentrate on the following areas:

• How to find ideas
• Finding markets
• Matching ideas to markets
• How to research your article
• Writing and submitting query letters
• Writing outlines
• Writing and submitting articles

Many freelancers, especially beginners, can feel extremely dejected and perhaps even depressed by rejection letters. Sometimes an editor can be unduly critical. Sometimes they don't answer query letters or submissions at all. This can be quite difficult to handle, and I will give you some tips on some ways to cope with this kind of rejection.

During the course I will use the process of researching and writing an actual article as an example. I will also provide links to writer's markets, newsletters, and helpful web sites for writers.

By the end of the course you should be able to fulfil your dream of successfully writing articles for magazines.

Magazine Writing is a valuable course for anyone wishing to break into this challenging, yet rewarding, market. Hilary Williams

Lisa-Anne Sanderson’s concise and pleasant style makes following the lessons easy and with her experience as a freelance writer you know that you are getting advice and guidance from someone who has successfully gone through the publishing process. John Neill

Lessons

Click here to see course syllabus