Question about fillers

Dinky duck · Nov 24, 2005

Can anyone let me know if it’s acceptable to write fillers of about 100 to 400 words based solely on secondary sources like newspaper articles to submit to magazines? Is it ok for example, to write a short piece on a project to rescue abandoned cats that has been briefly covered in a couple of newspapers, in my own words and send it in as a filler?

Appreciate your responses!

awatkins · Nov 24, 2005

Hi Dinky duck. Cute nick!

Well, I suppose you could do that, but what if the original articles contained errors, or perhaps something had changed since the articles appeared? That would mean that the pieces you write based on those articles wouldn't be current and might even be inaccurate.

Would it be possible for you to contact the cat rescue organization or the people involved for a brief interview? Then you could write your piece with fresh information. It is always a good idea to verify your information yourself, even for fillers and short-short articles.

Hope this is helpful. Welcome to the Cooler!

Dinky duck · Nov 28, 2005

Thanks awatkins

Hi awatkins,

Thanks for the nice welcome and quick reply. My server was down hence the delayed reply. I'm a writer from Malaysia who is looking to break into the animal writing market in the US. I have some ideas for feature length articles but thought I'd test the waters with fillers first. Most grateful for your advice!

awatkins · Nov 28, 2005

Hi and welcome back! I'm glad your server was restored. Problems like that drive me crazy. *shudder*

Take a look at the threads stickied at the top of the list. You'll find tons of markets, resources, and links to guidelines for animal-related publications. Maybe you'll find a few places you'd like to try sending some of your writing to.

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