How to Write for Print Newspapers and Magazines
Writing an article for a local newspaper, trade magazine, or even national magazine is simpler than you think. But simple doesn’t mean easy. For freelance writers and industry leaders, a byline in a print publication is synonymous with credibility. Media publications often reserve their print edition for the cream of the crop, and a features editor or managing editor will be highly selective with which writers they tap for print opportunities. Magazine and newspaper bylines are highly regarded, because these publications inherently have limited space. But when it comes to pitching these bylines, it often can feel like trying to hit a moving target. In addition to pitching a great article idea, you’ll also need to send your query letter at the right time in the magazine production process to crack the code. Some magazines are set in stone weeks or months in advance. Others are shuffling content around until the 11th hour. It all depends on the publication. Nevertheless, you should still try, because print bylines are badass. If you’d love to one day write an opinion article, pen a personal essay, or land more freelance gigs with popular magazines, here are some tips to keep in mind.Before the internet, media was mainly delivered through print journalism. A freelance writer or aspiring magazine writer would send a query letter to the editor, and magazine editors would decide which magazine articles to pursue, based not only on the article ideas themselves, but also how well they balance one another. Now, websites can publish all the articles they want — they just create a new URL for every article. The constraint is editor and writer labor, not lack of space. Many of today’s magazines have…
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