Looking for some advice

Well, one thing you can do is write letters to the editor which can be used as clips. A letter to the editor is all about your personal view. In terms of submitting to newspapers and news magazines, you need to show that you are objective in reporting on something. What exactly are you writing about? May help to know what topic so that you can send it to the specific department.

I might be tempted to get signed on with one of the sites that pays people to write, such as, oh shoot, I can't remember, but eHow comes to mind. Also, Examiner.com just opened up some new cities and you could try to get on with them, if you have some level of expertise in a particular area.

Hmm... I'm not sure how seriously either eHow articles *or* letters to the editor are taken as actual clips. I guess they're better than nothing.

However, don't let the idea of "no clips" hold you back -- You have to start somewhere and if your query letter shows that you can write, the editor may assign you the article "on spec." (Meaning, no contract, if it's good, they accept it.)

Smaller regional publications don't care as much about a writing not having clips, and they are a great way to accrue said clips to show a major publication.

I tend to agree with Dawn. My only disagreement is:

Any article on a content mill like eHow, AC, or Examiner can be used, if it's good.

The obit is a clip and should be used. After a while you get to the point where you realize writing is writing and a clip is a clip is a clip.

Unless it's a sample.

Instead of sending published clips, write up a few really good articles and include them as samples. You are not required to mention if they've been published unless the editor asks specifically for published samples.

If you're concerned about getting online published clips, I can help you out.

To clarify... I agree with Julie (and others) that online material from article mills "can" be used, but I don't think they are viewed with any sort of prestige. I see it as the equivalent of sending an unpublished sample. Editors aren't going 'Wow, she's been published on eHow!"

But, as Julie stated, unpublished samples are fine. So writing articles to use as samples and then tossing them onto a content site where you may earn a few bucks is a good compromise between "writing for free to get samples" and "waiting until you're published to submit so you'll have clips."

Does that make sense?

I should add that I think sites like Examiner and About.com, where there is an application process, carry a bit more prestige, probably the publishing equivalent of a larger regional magazine/newspaper.

Dawn

I think Dawn's giving some pretty great advice here and then throw in Julie's good advice.

One thing that caught my eye was that the article you're talking about submitting might have an editor wanting you to have some type of specialization in a field that makes you an "expert".

Also, editors are always on the wary lookout for people who think they are the next Erma Bombeck, who got her start in a small, local newspaper in Kettering, OH.

I remember once I wrote an article for our local newspaper. It ended up being front page (much to my surprise). After that, the editor was inundated with e-mails from people asking how they could become a freelance writer for the paper.

The editor, and I'll ALWAYS love him for this, forwarded them all to me since he didn't want to be the one to shoot them down. Editors tend to shy away from freelancers for this reason, that it opens up a can of worms, unless it's a really small paper.

By the time I got to the newspaper with this story idea, I had "some" published clips in print and he called the newspaper for whom I used to write sports, so I was a known entity. I haven't done anything for them since due to the tsunami that followed, which sucks since I love, love, love writing for newspapers.

Good luck with it, WriteGirl.

One thing... anything written and unpublished is a "sample."
Anything published (anywhere) is a "clip."

(Hence Julie's comment that a clip is a clip is a clip, unless it's a sample.)

Just makes a difference as far as how you refer to it in your cover letter so as not to mislead an editor. ALTHOUGH if a publication requests "published clips" and you don't have any, don't necessarily point that out. Just include your samples and call them samples. Highlight what experience you do have to write the article in your query rather than your past credentials.

And again good luck!

I do and I just collected my first $50 yesterday. Probably worked out to about $10/hour but broken into five and 10 minute chunks of time. My only recommendation is have one credit card that you use for it so you can keep tabs --and make sure to cancel any free trials.

Try to find the name of the Ed-in Chief, address it to her/him. They'll pass it on if it needs to be and normally they send you the correct email/name to send to afterwards.

I can only speak for how it worked at my newspaper, but the managing editor handled all the freelancers. We also didn't take anything on spec. We had our pool of freelancers, all of them were sports writers, who we called when we needed extra coverage. For something like your project, I would just write the article so you have it in hand when you contact editors. It will make your lack of publication a non-issue if the article is good.

Good Luck!

thewritegirl said:

I am working on a piece that I would love to send in to a newspaper or news magazine. The problem is... I'm not sure how to categorize it. I am doing research, and some interviews; along with adding my personal views. The addition of my personal view is why I am not sure how to categorize it.
Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Guess I'm a little late, but that sounds like a regular magazine article to me. Is there any particular reason you're trying to publish this as news? Not that it's a problem, but you may have better luck trying regular magazines. And there are some very important current-issues magazines out there. *shrug*

Best of luck, either way!

congratulations on the JHS!!! way to go!