The Write Tuition

The following article was written by Hugh, one of the members of www.mywriterscircle.com

It explains how an article went from idea to publication and hits all the important points along the way. Well worth; a) thinking about after you’ve read it, and, b) applying to some of your own half finished ideas..

(For those unfamilar familiar with the acronym the U3A is the University of the Third Age.) Hugh was a workshop leader for many years, and clearly knows what he is talking about.

Many thanks to Hugh for letting me share it with you.

Gyppo

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A hobby writer’s approach to getting published

This is aimed at hobby writers who have not yet been published but would love to see their name on an item in a magazine and earn some pocket money at the same time. It focuses mainly on factual pieces, but the basic principle could also be applied to fiction.

Don’t sniff at very short pieces like readers’ letters and handy tips. You are still getting published and accumulating credits. Some part-time writers do little else, seeing them as nice little earners.

It is a distillation of what I’ve learnt over the years, getting items in magazines and newspapers from time to time. After I presented it to workshops in the U3A, they all got published.

The approach is based on the THREE QUESTIONS:

What’s it about?
Who’s going to read it?
What’s its purpose?

The questions are interrelated in that the answer to one will often depend on the answer to one or both of the others. Confused already? Don’t be. It’s simple really, and if you do it you will increase your chances of getting published from pretty slim to that moment when a thin envelope glides through your letterbox and you read the magic words “We would like to print your … and can offer you …”

It’s often said that the only difference between the feeling getting published gives you, and sex, is how long the euphoria lasts. If you approach it right, you could find out.

I’ll illustrate the approach with an actual example, starting with a vague idea I’d had and involving the group in every thought process up to the finished article.

Background
I’d had a hip operation. The physiotherapist had given me two sticks. Walk a little further each day, she said. Progress from two sticks to one. But one stick encouraged a limp, which made things worse. In the past I’d done a lot of hill walking and hiking in remote places, and still liked to read magazines like The Great Outdoors. In it I read an article about trekking poles, and how they transferred 25% of your weight from your lower body to your arms and shoulders, while helping you to walk in a natural, balanced way.

I phoned a supplier of poles asking if he thought I could use them as rehabilitation aids, sort of GTi crutches. He was intrigued and sent me a pair on approval. If they helped and I wanted to keep them, he would invoice me for £60. If not, I could send them back.

That’s the background; so let’s get on with the thought processes.

The idea
The poles are doing what I hoped. I wonder if I could write about it. Is the idea worth pursuing? It’s time to ask the three questions.

What’s it about?
An article about trekking poles? That’s already been done. Think again. What’s it really about? It’s about using something designed for one purpose for something else. Ah, now we’re getting somewhere, a new slant on the subject.

Who’s going to read it?
Would anyone be interested? If so, who? Male, female, young, old? Young girls? Obviously not. Who then? Keep narrowing it down. Maybe older people who like to go for walk but find it difficult for one reason or another. And what about physiotherapists themselves?

After eliminating people who couldn’t give a monkey’s about trekking poles or old farts with hip replacements, I’ve kept on narrowing down the possibilities until I’ve identified two potential target reader groups.

What magazines might they read? Of the thousands published I can now narrow those down.

What’s its purpose?
To inform, entertain, instruct, enlighten, amuse? A combination of one or more? My aim is to get it published, which means that I have to determine things like its length, and writing style, whether chatty or more formal, depending on what magazine I aim it at. And that, as we’ve seen, will depend on who’s going to read it, just as who’s going to read it will depend on what it’s about.

See, I told you it’s simple.

* * * * * *

So, what magazines to target? General interest mags aimed at the over 50s? Doubtful — what it’s about focuses on too narrow an audience. Walking mags? I know of one that caters for people who enjoy a nice walk in the English countryside, rather than the more specialised mags aimed at the lads and lassies who climb rock faces or go trekking in the Hindu Kush.

It also has a slot where readers can write a 600-word story about a personal experience to do with walking. I knew that because I knew the magazine. If you are not familiar with a mag you’ve identified as a possible target, you must, of course, get hold of a copy and study it – preferably more than one issue – to see if there are any slots you can aim at. Also you can familiarise yourself with the preferred writing style, and little details like whether they use single or double quote marks.

What about the physios? Time to look in Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, under medical journals. Wow. There’s one called Therapy Weekly, for physiotherapists.

I now have two target magazines, and can send enquiries to both. You can send enquiries to different magazines at the same time, since you are not offering rights to a written article, merely asking if they would be interested in seeing one if you were to write it.

The walking mag took a couple of months to write back to say thanks but no thanks, but the features editor of Therapy Weekly phoned in a couple of days to say yes please. He’d like a b & w photo of the poles in action and would confirm details of length etc in a letter.

The letter told me everything I needed to know, and I quote: “… 750 words written in a light-hearted style but with a serious message, to create the Cor blimey effect, as in ‘Cor blimey, I’d never have thought of that’.” The deadline was in two weeks’ time.

All I had to do now was take photos, have them developed, write the piece and send it off. And start sweating. What if it’s rejected? Egg on face, big time.

A couple of weeks later a large envelope landed on the mat. Oh bugger.

But it wasn’t my script. It was a copy of Therapy Weekly and a cheque. At the next meeting I could nonchalantly hold up my article and say, “There you are. That’s what happens when you use THE APPROACH.”

I had given the trekking poles supplier a mention in the article, and sent him a photocopy. He phoned me. The article had gone round the office and caused a few smiles, he said. Keep the poles with our compliments. What with a pair of poles worth sixty quid, and a cheque for the same again for the article, it was not a bad return for an hour or two enjoying a hobby.

What’s more, the editor had put a footnote under the article: Hugh _______ is a freelance writer living in Suffolk. Woweee……

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