Writing for Magazines: Step-by-Step
By Karen O'Connor

During the first year of my new-found writing career I sold twelve articles! (producing enough income to pay for part of our family vacation) I also received enough rejection slips to wallpaper my guest bathroom! But I didn't give up.  I chose to commit, and here's what I learned over the past twenty-five years about writing for magazines:

• LIST general topics that interest you, such as: family, money, time, gratitude, prayer.  Narrow your focus.  Then start with one or two subjects.

• LIVE with them for awhile.  Don't rush the process.  Be sure you¹re really interested in following through with what you¹ve listed.  Then allow yourself time to develop ways to be creative with your topics.  For example, the following titles resulted from some of my brainstorming:  "Are You a Shopoholic," "How to Study Less And Learn More," "The Secret of a  Grateful Heart,"  "Teach Us To Pray." All have been published.

• LISTEN for guidance.  Really good ideas are heart-felt, not simply generated by our minds.  What are you feeling guided to write?  And for what purpose?  After having a powerful experience regarding forgiveness, I felt a strong tug to put what I learned into writing.  “The Healing Power of Forgiveness” was published in ten different publications and picked up by a therapist to use as a handout for her clients.  I find that my best writing comes through my heart.

• LOOSE your creativity.    What comes to mind when you think of the items on your list?  Make some notes about what you'd like to say about these topics--and to whom you wish to say it.  Finish the following phrases.

            “This is what I want to say....”

            “This is why I want to say it...”

            “The point of my article or story is...”

            “The audience for my article/story is...”

            Repeat these steps as new ideas or spin-offs  occur to you.

• LOOK for appropriate markets.  Use the marketing guides available to you, such as Writer¹s Market.  Who's publishing the kinds of things you wish to write about?  How will your articles and stories be different yet suitable for a particular publication?  Send for samples.  Study web sites.  Request guidelines for writers.  Editors like to work with writers who do their marketing homework.

• LOWER your expectations.  Everyone would like to crack Reader¹s Digest or Christianity Today.  But it may be that you can reach more people and still make good money by selling your articles and stories to multiple markets that do not overlap.  Many editors of smaller publications are eager to work with committed and creative writers.  $50 times ten = $500.  Sometimes this is an easier way to earn $500 than writing one long article for a bigger market for $500. For example, my article on forgiveness earned me over $1000.  It continues to sell as I discover and submit to new markets.

• LINK ideas with markets.  Give editors what they want and need and find ways to reuse the material you have on hand to create new articles and stories. Spend less time, make more money.  For example, a children's magazine may be interested in a way kids can earn their summer fun with neighborhood money-making projects.  A parenting publication may respond favorably to an article on how parents can encourage their children to earn some of their own spending money.  A Christian family magazine may want an interview with a couple who has successfully rid themselves of debt.  Same topic—three angles, three markets.

• LAUNCH the article or story.  Create your story or article, using all the tools you have at your disposal for plotting fiction or structuring a nonfiction piece. When it's ready, send it off, following the accepted guidelines for submission and include an SASE, your e-mail address, or a post card for a response.  If you don't want the material back (in the event it¹s rejected) give the editor permission to discard it.

• LATCH onto something else and keep going!  Start this process again with a new list of ideas--or a list of new angles on the topics that are already on your list.

• LOG this info onto your computer or write or type it and keep in a notebook along with writers' guidelines.  Keep track of sales and earnings so you¹ll know what to repeat and what to reject.

• LEAVE your desk and go for a brisk walk--at least once a day!

Today, twenty-five years after my first sale I continue to write--despite the rejections and the revisions--even despite the awards and the acclaim.  For I have learned something important in all of this.  I am a writer.  So are you!

Copyright 2003 Karen O’Connor

Karen O'Connor has published 40 books and hundreds of magazine articles for children and adults. She won the 2002 Special Recognition Award for writing and mentoring at the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference.