Are you a pizza connoisseur? An expert cookie maker? Maybe you’ve visited a winery, know the best diners in 10 states, or your town hosts the world’s largest strawberry festival. Even if the extent of your food expertise lies only in your grandmother’s recipe box, you have an angle for an article. You just need to know where to sell it.
A monthly magazine’s Articles Editor expressed a liking for my submission, and–saying there was no immediate need for it–saved it in her “Someday” file. Since then, nearly four months have elapsed.
1. Would it be wise to write her to ask if she intends to buy my article in the foreseeable future?
2. Would it be wise to write her to ask if she minds if I submit it elsewhere?
3. Should I feel free to submit it elsewhere without notifying her?
Thank you very much.
I was a successful technical writer, but even with freelance work I never thought I was a true “writer.”
I am a red-haired, Barry-Manilow-loving mom of two. I also have bipolar disorder. Full-time tech writing and coordinating a post-9/11 letter writing campaign worked me into a relapse of the disorder and I fell apart. I lost my job, went on disability, and was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (I couldn’t use some forms of verbal and written communication) after receiving electroshock.
This Week:
We’re having our yard re-landscaped right now and they’re tearing up large chunks of grass for new flowerbeds. The digging and the rains (that are still coming every single day!) have created tons of MUD that has seemingly found its way into every room of our house, both on the wood floors and embedded in the carpet. Each time I get one spot off the carpet, another one appears. There are big people footprints, little people footprints, and even doggy and kitty footprints. I give up. The mud wins (sigh).
I received an email this week from Michael Powers, author of Heart Touchers: Life Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter. Michael had found one of his book’s chapters published on a website. The website had removed his name from the piece and had even added three paragraphs to the end of what was now a published “article.”
Hi Angela,
Thanks for printing my success story last week. I have also gotten two more articles published quite recently, one in American Libraries Magazine and the other in Reminisce Magazine!! This feels good – writing for a living. Well, I still have to work, too, but I feel like I am on my way.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Carolyn Rhodes
There are a few steps you can take which will turn your great idea into a fantastic query letter, and, hopefully, a well-written, attention-grabbing article.
What is the difference between Mainstream / Literary and Genre Short Stories?
Sherry
Editor’s Note: Both MJ Rose and Angela give their opinion on this week’s question.
‘Think outside the box’ is such a cliche’ these days. I wasn’t thinking outside the box when I was asked to write the story, I was (kind of thinking) outside my clothes. I had gone to a nudist colony for the first time. In the conversation pool that afternoon I met the webmaster for the Michigan park where I was staying. When he learned that it was my first visit and that I was a writer he asked me to write a story about it. Of course, I said “yes.” The story was done within two days and e-mailed to him. He was thrilled with my comments and posted them on the park’s website.
