We prize and value our books. They are permanent and have our names on the spine of the book and the front and back cover. Within the writing community, it is a myth that you are not a writer if you don’t publish a book.
If you’ve written a Christian book, then you need to get a copy of Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace by Sarah Bolme. This book is packed with a wide range of information and resources. As someone who has been in the Christian market for many years as an author and editor, I appreciated the honest and forthright information in this book. Here’s some details Bolme mentions in her introduction:
• Almost half of the books published today are self-published.
• The average self-published book sells between 40 and 200 copies.
• These poor sales are often because the author doesn’t know how to effectively market.
Bolme writes, “When promoting the Kingdom of God, getting books into people’s hands is God’s business. All you can do is what you know to do. Do that and ask God to bless your feeble efforts. After all, if he can feed over 5,000 people with two small fish and five little loaves of bread, He can multiply your marketing efforts to reach thousands of people, if that is His desire. Marketing and selling books are not a sprint; it is a marathon. Too many authors give up too quickly when they do not see immediate results.”
Publishing in magazines is an underused route for authors to reach readers. As a former magazine editor, I understand the power of reaching the audience. With one article, I have reached millions of people. When you write for periodicals, it builds your reputation as a writer with the editors. Also, through magazine writing, you increase your confidence to write for publication and your ability to meet target lengths and deadlines. There are many benefits when you write for magazines.
The bulk of my magazine writing is done on assignment. How do you get an assignment? You can get an assignment when you write a query letter which is targeted to a particular audience and publication.
Which magazines do you read on a consistent basis? Your familiarity with these publications and the types of articles that they publish gives you some needed background. Pull out the magazines that come into your home. Next organize several months from the same publication. Then study the contents. What types of articles do they publish? How-to articles? Personal Experience?
After you have studied the publications, write the publication for their writers’ guidelines. Almost every magazine has guidelines for their authors. You can also use Google to find these guidelines online. Or use The Christian Writers Market Guide by Steve Laube. This guide is a critical tool if you are going to write for the Christian marketplace. After reading through the guidelines, you will have some additional information. Does the publication accept query letters or prefer full manuscripts? Some magazines have a query only system. This means that you have to write a query letter (one page) and get a letter of request from the editor, before sending the full manuscript. Other publications do not look at query letters but only completed manuscripts.
What’s a query letter? Entire books have been written on this topic and one of the best is How to Write Irresistible Query Letters by Lisa Collier Cool (Writer’s Digest Books). A query is a single-page letter which sells your story idea. It has a four-paragraph formula. The first paragraph is a creative beginning for your article. You don’t write the entire article—only the first paragraph which captures the reader’s interest. The purpose of this first paragraph is simply to capture the editor’s attention. Editors are involved in a multitude of tasks. Reading query letters is often done at the end of the day, late at night or in a carpool on the way home. It must be interesting.
The second paragraph of a query includes the main points of how you will approach the article. The third paragraph gives your personal qualifications for this topic and your writing credits (if any). It basically answers the question regarding your expertise which provides the basis for the article.
The final paragraph outlines timelines and deadlines. When could you deliver the article? Make sure you give yourself enough writing time. For example, your query could say you will deliver the completed article “three weeks from assignment”). In addition, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope and mention you look forward to their reply. When I send my pitch, I often send it to as many as ten different publications at the same time.
Within the magazine business, there is an on-going discussion about simultaneous submissions (where you send the same finished article to several publications). If you submit the same work to many different publications at the same time, you may end up on the blacklist of authors. Each publication has a list of people that are blackballed. You don’t want to be on that list. Also, each publication has a list of authors they use regularly and call with ideas. Your goal is to get on the list of regular contributors.
A simultaneous query is not the same as a finished article. Go ahead and query several magazines at the same time on the same topic if you think you can write several different articles on the same subject. One magazine may ask for 500 words on the topic while another may approach it from an entirely different viewpoint and ask for 2,000 words. Your illustrations and information will be considerably different. If you send it to 10 magazines, you may get 10 rejections. On the other hand, perhaps you will get an acceptance or two, or at least a request to see the entire article on speculation. “On speculation” means that the editor is not under obligation to purchase your article if it doesn’t meet the periodical’s standards or expectations.
No one gets magazine assignments just thinking about it. As a writer, you have to take action and regularly pitch your ideas to editors and write query letters. Then when you get an assignment, write an excellent article and submit it on or ahead of the deadline. As you learn to write a query letter and take consistent action, you will increase your odds of publication and get published in magazines.
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