A Byline in A Glossy Magazine? Yes--and Here

Assuming You Have the Talent, There's Nothing To Stop You From Getting Your Foot in the Door

I've knocked around the magazine industry as an editor for more than 30 years--as a features editor at Woman's World, a senior editor at USAir (a general-interest in-flight magazine), and even at a trade mag called American Salon, where I was the business editor.I recently left Time Inc.'s Travel + Leisure, where, starting in 1987, I served at various times as associate editor, senior editor, managing editor, senior consulting editor, and international editor. I've dealt with hundreds of writers during those years, and I know why some of them get all the assignments while others get the silent treatment. So when young journalists ask me for advice about how to start getting writing gigs from big-league magazine brands, you can imagine I'm full of it. Advice!I'm full of advice (wise guy....). So let me run through some of the most basic rules of thumb I've developed during nearly four decades as an editor and a writer. If you have a moderate amount of experience and a lot of talent, these rules could be just what you need to land an assignment with one of the Big Guns in publishing.

Read the Magazine I know what you're thinking. But no, it's not obvious advice. In fact, I'd guess that a majority of writers who pitch a magazine come up with a story idea first and then look for a market--any market--second, whether they're familiar with the magazine they pitch or not. But even if you know a specific title intimately, remember that magazines change constantly. Editors come and go, and with them new approaches flourish and old concepts die. For example, you might think you know what Travel + Leisure is all about based on its 45-year history and reputation, but recent editorial changes have brought about a fresh perspective, new columns, innovative initiatives, and an approach to travel journalism that, while honoring the brand's traditions, is definitely modern, in the best sense. My suggestion: read a title's most recent three issues (at least) and delve into the brand's website content. Soak up that vibe. It will be apparent in your query,

Learn Who's Who One of the most difficult parts of submitting a freelance idea to a magazine is figuring out to whom you should send it. Some magazines have a generic snail-mail or email address (e.g., ). Sending a query there is often an express lane to the Infinite Void, so before that I'd try to find a single, actual, live human being who might be in a position to, if not make an assignment, send it along to a more appropriate editor. How do you do that? You can often figure it out by reading website articles and blog posts credited to staff editors. If one staff editor frequently writes online book reviews, and that's what you want to do, send your pitch to him or her. The same goes for family travel, sports, women's topics, food, or whatever your area of interest may be. And just how do you figure out an editor's email address (I hear you asking)? You're a journalist, aren't you? I'll bet you can figure out a magazine's email naming conventions, whether it's FirstInitialLastName@brand.com or what have you. Some magazine websites have partial contact lists of key editors on their "Contact Us' page. You can also try calling a magazine's main switchboard and asking to speak with a specific person, though most editors prefer email pitches these days, in my experience. Also, read the trade-industry newsletters for the magazine business published by Gorkana, MediaBistro, FOLIO:, and others that frequently chronicle the comings and goings of the editorial population. The one thing I would not suggest, though, is contacting an editor via social media; it can easily come across as intrusive, even stalker-ish.

Network If you're a travel writer, do you belong to the North America Travel Journalists Association or the Society of American Travel Writers or something similar? If you cover fashion, have you reached out to every public relations firm that represents that industry and stages media luncheons, press conferences, and cocktail events for their clients and the press? If you write about cars, do you attend the auto shows and register as a member of the media so you get invited to the convention events? In other words, are you putting yourself in places where you can associate with and learn from your freelance colleagues about which outlets need writers and who the best contacts are? You simply cannot be a successful independent magazine writer by staying at home, staring at your computer.

Lower Your Aim Whether you have been writing for 10 months or 10 years, you are unlikely to get a major feature assignment for a print publication based on your first contact. And possibly not your second, or third, or ever. But a good way to work yourself into the good graces of the editorial staff is to start small, whether it's a squib in the short-takes section in the front-of-the-book or a brief newsworthy blog post on the brand's website. Start small, keep pitching small, and make yourself indispensable doing the small stuff. You will be invited to take on bigger assignments, even if it's years from now--but it will happen eventually. That is, as long as you follow the rest of the rules below...

Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy None of that matters, however, if you can't get your facts straight when you report your story. Most newspapers and an increasing number of magazines and websites have few or no fact-checkers. Reporters are responsible for checking, double-checking, and triple-checking everything they submit to their editors. Your prose may be exquisite, your turns of a phrase, Shakespearean. But if your facts are wrong, you have not only done a disservice to the reader, you may have literally placed your editor and her magazine in legal trouble or offended the magazine's advertisers because of the shoddy reporting. Accuracy is not just a good thing to shoot for; it is, ever and always, essential.

Communicate When you get an assignment, stay in touch with your editor as work continues apace. Now, don't be clingy, and don't constantly be asking for advice. But if a major interview was part of your assignment, let your editor know when the interview is complete and if it went well (or not). If you're tweaking your first draft and will have it ready in three days, go ahead and send an email saying so. Do not fall off the face of the earth (or so it sometimes seems to an editor waiting for word from a writer). Stay in touch, provide updates when useful or required, and always, always reply promptly to phone calls or emails from your editor.

Meet Your Deadline Possibly the only thing worse than inaccuracies in your copy is missing your deadline. Filing your copy on time is a basic component of professionalism. Things do go wrong, however. The dog ate your feature story. You were under the weather (cough>hung-overcough). your="" great-grandpa="" unexpectedly="" died="" again.="" uh-huh,="" right...="" listen,="" if="" ninth-grade="" english="" teacher="" didn't="" buy="" those="" excuses,="" why="" would="" a="" smart="" big-city="" editor?="" granted,="" things dogo seriously amiss on rare occasions, but as a pro, you already will have alerted your editor well in advance of that possibility, and kept her completely up to speed all the while. And then you will submit your story within 24 hours of your original deadline, despite the catastrophic events, right? Right? Far better to simply meet your deadline in the first place.

Be Thankful In my career, I have published thousands of features, departments, monthly columns, digital slideshows, and blog posts. But despite all that, when I get a new assignment, I still feel incredibly lucky (as in, You like me! You really like me!) (Wait, what am I doing? Half the people reading this have no idea who Sally Field is...). But the point I'm making is that those of us in the writing business are fortunate to do what we do, and we shouldn't overlook that fact. Is it hard work? Of course! Is it remunerative? Well, sometimes. Is it professionally and creatively satisfying? Undoubtedly, more than anything else we could do with our lives. Your gratitude for a good assignment, along with the knowledge that you knocked it out of the park, will help make you a writer that editors come back to again and again.

Mark Orwoll is an independent writer and editor who recently retired from Time Inc. and Travel + Leisure after 29 years. His editorial management experience includes international development, licensing, start-ups, editorial management and budgets, public speaking at industry events and on network television, assigning, editing, and writing, including assignments for T+L, USA Weekendmagazine, San Diego, National Lampoon, msnbc.com, the Los Angeles Times, and dozens of other publications. Email him at mark@markorwoll.com. He lives in Pleasantville NY.

Copyright 2016 by Mark Orwoll. Reprinted by permission.