I mentioned in my bloggiversary post that I’ve had a few articles published. One reader emailed me to ask me to share a little more about my writing journey and how that all came about. So, I thought that I’d blog about it. I know that many bloggers think about writing for publication as something they’d like to pursue, or at least think about pursuing, and I know for me, it’s always fun to read how other people fell into it.
First of all, I am by no means a famous writer. I’ve had about 20 articles published — and that’s over the last 8 years! Writing has been an on-again, off-again kind of hobby for me since C. was born. At this stage of life, while my kids are still little, I doubt it will become more than that. But I would like to dedicate more consistent time and energy to writing once I am actually getting some decent sleep again!
As I mentioned in this post, I have a degree in accounting. While writing was always part of my life, I never thought about it as something that could actually produce income or serve as a “real job.” It was just something I did for fun. But when I was pregnant with C. (and still in “the work force”), I started wondering if maybe it was a viable option, something I could do from home after the baby was born. So I did what I always do — dove into research. I read every book I could find on the subject, learned the ins and outs of submitting material to magazines, subscribed to Writer’s Digest, and started gathering my ideas.
When C. was about six months old, I came across a little blurb in a magazine I read (Discipleship Journal) asking for submissions for one of their departments. Hey, I can do this, I thought. I don’t have to write a query letter or anything. Just type something up and send it in. So I did, convinced that nothing would come of it.
A few months later, I was playing on the floor with C. when the phone rang. It was an editor from the magazine, calling to let me know they wanted to publish my article (and would pay me for it!), and could I give them a short bio to put at the end of the article? And, oh yeah, what’s your address so that we can FedEx the contract to you? Wow. I never, ever thought that the first thing I submitted would be accepted, but here I was, feeling like a “real writer” having to come up with a bio line and having a contract being “FedExed” to me.
That acceptance gave me the confidence to send out more pieces. I learned how to write query letters and track down editor information. I was thrilled to have two articles in Today’s Christian Woman, and I developed a relationship with some editors at ParentLife where I contributed regularly for a while. I also began to submit pieces to small parenting magazines all over the country.
My writing and submitting has been sporadic, depending on what’s going on in our family, whether I’m doing any other work-from-home projects, and my energy level. Over the last year, with a new baby around, I think I’ve only submitted one thing. But that’s the great thing about writing — for the most part, you can do it on your own time, as much as you want or as little as you want. You can choose to write articles that involve in-depth interviews with experts, or stick to essays that you can write without having to talk to a single other person.
One thing I’ve learned is that writing for publication is less about being a “gifted writer” and more about being willing to put in the work to learn the business. Yes, you need to be able to put a sentence together and write in an interesting and accessible way. But more important is your willingness to study the market, figure out what ideas are salable, learn how to compose a query letter, and most importantly: handle rejection!
Here are a few recommendations I’d give to anyone who’s thinking about pursuing writing for publication (oh, and this is all related to non-fiction; while I’d love to write fiction someday too, I’m nowhere near that just yet!):
* Do your research. Writer’s Digest and The Writer are two magazines that provide information and advice about all kinds of writing. And if I had to pick just a couple books that provide a good overview of the writing and submitting process, I’d have to recommend How to Publish Your Articles, The Renegade Writer, and Writer Mama.
* Mary DeMuth, a fantastic writer, has a great tutorial on writing a query letter on her website — you can find it here.
* Chicken Soup for the Soul is always looking for submissions and is a great place to practice your craft and to get used to the idea of submitting your material. Even if you don’t get a story in one of their books, you’ll be gaining experience.
And speaking of resources, Jennifer from Snapshot has been enjoying some books on writing lately and is posting her thoughts on them today. Click on over to read them.
Thanks for the link, Katrina. I’m going to post a sample query letter in the next comment, just so folks know what it is and how to do it.
Mary
Mary E. DeMuth
(my address, contact info)
Heather XYZ
Managing Editor
XYZ Magazine
1111 Oak Ridge Way
George, WA 12345
Dear Ms. XYZ;
A silent anguish pierces many churchgoers today. Haunted from either a difficult or non-Christian upbringing, parents worry they’ll duplicate the home they were raised in. Broken themselves by broken homes, they live with the fear that their children will experience the same anguish they did. Who are these folks? Pioneer parents. And so far, the church has done little to strategically minister to this demographic.
In a 1200-word article entitled, “How the Church Can Help Pioneer Parents,” I will address this need by showing leaders how to:
· Identify pioneer parents within a congregation (even looking backward toward singles filling the pews who are afraid of marriage and parenting because of their upbringing).
· Understand the common fears and problems pioneer parents face.
· Address how the church can help pioneer parents overcome their past to parent their children effectively today.
I am the author of two parenting books: Building the Christian Family You Never Had: A Practical Guide for Pioneer Parents (WaterBrook, 2006) and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005). In addition, I’ve written two novels exploring God’s redemptive hand through childhood sexual abuse released this year through NavPress: Watching the Tree Limbs and Wishing on Dandelions. My articles have appeared in Marriage Partnership, In Touch, HomeLife, and Disicipleship Journal. I would be happy to have this article ready for you by August 15th.
I recently attended ICRS to do a few book signings and picked up your magazine in the media room. What an encouragement XYZ was to both of us. Thank you for serving the kingdom in this way.
Warmly,
Mary E. DeMuth
Nice post. I have had a couple of articals published but nothing much…I used to work for a company here in Japan that published magazines and wrote a couple of things for them but I don`t have the same desire as some to write to get published.
I enjoyed your post though. If anyone reading this is in Japan and you are looking to be published let me know because I have some contact here of people always looking for stuff!!!
I am definitely joinging spring reading thing challange. I would love to put the banner on my blog too if you could let me know how to do it. My list of books will be up at midnight my time!! I will be back tomorrow to join up properly once mr linky is up!
Thanks
I had to write several query letters two weeks ago and I had noooo idea what I was doing. I’m going to keep this post bookmarked for future reference.
My first article is being published this summer in a homeschool publication…
I hope to get a few more “gigs” here and there.
Katrina, I love picking up ParentLife at church, it is a good magazine!
I like how casual you are about your writing. Some people get quite stressed (maybe because they would like to make a living from it… a woeful proposition, to be sure). In any case, your calm is refreshing.
Yes, I appreciate your laid-back approach as well, my mentor.
Love to hear all the writing info/help etc from the commenters, too!
Wow – this is really helpful! The sample letter from Mary in the comments is a great help too.
I used to be a news reporter and had an article picked up by the AP. It’s been a while since I’ve tried to write and submit articles. You may have inspired me to give it another go! Thanks!
Oh, I guess I did do a submission to Chicken Soup for the Soul for their upcoming Adoption book. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll pick my story!
This was great…thank you! I started looking into publishers about a year ago, but never pursued it 100%. I prefer writing fiction, but this post had so much good info…thanks again for sharing it!