question for before you query

ladyvincenza said:

Before I query a mag I want to write for, I find out who the editor is (exact name) and what the rates are. (I don't want to write for free unless I have a good reason.) Is this what everyone else does? I'm asking bc someone before told me not to bother publications by calling them/emailing them with these questions. (The information isn't usually on the site.)

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It depends on the mag. I will write and ask for submission guidelines if they're not listed. Most of the time you can find them on the site. If they're not right out front, they're hidden.

After a lot of digging, that's when I ask. 9 times out of 10 I get a friendly response and they encourage me to submit.

It all depends on how you go about it. If you're professional and friendly- say you go..."Hi, I am very interested in submitting to your publication. I scoured your website, but I was unable to locate your submission guidelines. May I ask, do you (or does your publication) accept freelance submissions? If so, I would like to request your writer guidelines."

Emails in that general tone get the friendly responses. Even if they tell me they do not accept freelancers, often I get this- "But we will keep your email and let you know if and when we do accept"

Just up and asking who to submit to and what they pay isn't going to garner as much love.

Hi lady,

I think if you have ANY questions about the guidelines, it's definitely good to call. I've done this whenever the guidelines don't specify WHO the editor is you're pitching to (I mean, there's nothing quite like starting an email with "Dear Editor" that makes me feel like I'm sending my query into The Void). I generally call and say to whoever picks up "Hi, I'm a freelance writer and I want to pitch a story to the editor. Who should I send it to?"

Usually the person on the end of the line is some copyeditor or something who can give me the details. I've never asked about rates but I think it's a fair question.

You won't come off as pushy - you'll come off as professional, and very reasonable. And who knows, if you call, they might remember you when send your query. Anything that helps you stick out in the editor's mind is a good thing, I think.

Good luck!

Monica

ladyvincenza said:

Hello,
Thanks for the help. My question is, though, that even when the submission guidelines are there, they often *don't* mention who to contact (as in a name) or the pay rates. Ergo, what is the best thing to do in this particular situation? Further, why would you say it won't "garner love"? After all, I want to make sure they pay a fair rate before I invest any work, and more so, I want to be sure I am submitting to the right person. Opening with "Dear Editor" isn't supposed to garner much love, as you put it.
Yes, I am positive in my emails, i.e. "I have a great idea to submit; can you please tell me who directly to contact and what your pay rates are?"
To repeat: even if guidelines are available, they often do *not* mention this information. How can I be the only one with this issue? I'd bet nearly every serious writer who submits queries has faced it.
Put it another way: what would you do?

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I'm not sure what I didn't address. I told you what I do...and when they send back the answer it always includes who to address the emails to.

If the guidelines do not have an editor listed I go to the Staff page or contact page. If I still can't find it, I don't bother with putting 'Dear Editor', I just go with 'Hello'.

You're not the only one with this issue, pretty sure there's a link in the stickies somewhere to a few threads we've discussed this.

Re: garner love- I said that just writing and saying 'hey who's the editor and what do you guys pay' wouldn't. I mean- saying it in exactly that way without being polite or friendly.

Lady V:

What you said is pretty much exactly what I write: "I have a great idea to submit; can you please tell me who directly to contact and what your pay rates are?" I might also ask for writer's guidelines if I looked all over the site and couldn't find them. Guidelines do not always list rates and sometimes they give an email to send a query but not a name.

Sometimes I'll call for this information instead.

Is this place listed in the Writer's Market? They can give you an idea what magazine's pay. You should be able to find a copy in the library -- our library has a copy in the ref section as well as one or two to check out.

I think everyone here is just saying that it comes off as rude to ask about money the wrong way. It's one of those questions that if you need to ask, then you don't need to write for them. Meaning, if you don't have the experience to write for a big glossy (or heck, a regional glossy) then you should be happy working for a tiny check and a big fat clip. (A clip that can help you find your way to the big guys.) If you have the experience to write anywhere you want, then why are you wasting time with a magazine that you suspect doesn't pay their writers?

I recently queried a new regional gardening magazine with no idea of pay range. I simply sent a quick e-mail query with my idea, following their website guidelines, and waited. They responded and mentioned pay in their response. I didn't feel it was necessary to ask them their pay upfront - I don't have to accept their pay or assignment if I don't want to agree to the pay, deadline, or whatever - just like they don't have to accept my idea.

I just wanted to say send the query and go from there, the time to discuss money will come when they respond to your idea.

If I can't find guidelines for the mag I send an e-mail and politely ask for that and rate information. If there are guildelines but no name, I pick up the phone, call and ask for the editor who would handle the particular department I would like to query. I would not advise asking for rates over the phone.

Unfortunately I think you can't always know payment information before you query. Sometimes there is just no polite way to get at it until later in the process. If you push--you will lose the job before you even have a shot at it. If you can't deal with that, then I would say just don't query mags if you can't find the rates. That is really the most simple solution if you must know rates ahead of time. It stinks, I know, but there isn't much about freelancing that is easy.

That said, I think you can often take a guess, based on the magazine, the readership and the bylines of other writers who are writing for it. I have done this and have a good track record thus far. Of course, it doesn't always work, but you do develop an eye for it after a while.

Hope that helps!

I just thought of something. If submission guidelines do not include a pay rate, is it fair to assume that it would be a non-paying publication? Or is excluding a pay rate something they might do to keep their options open from writer to writer to pay what they feel any given article is worth?

In my experience not including pay rate in the submission guidelines doesn't equate with non-paying. I've sold two articles in the last week to magazines that didn't list pay rate in their guidelins but both are paying publications. I do believe the one, a regional publication, doesn't list on purpose so that the editor can bargain...

STL - I don't think what you're saying is true at all. Sometimes, one just can't tell from a publication WHAT their rates are. "It's one of those questions that if you need to ask, then you don't need to write for them." -> Sometimes quality publications have surprisingly poor rates, and vice versa. I don't think either not posting rates OR the look of a publication gives any indicate. sometimes, you just HAVE to ask. And, when you ask, be polite, professional and straightforward.

Case in point - 2 competitive magazines... one is print, one digital. Print typically pays more, right? In this case- BIG wrong. The digital mag pays twice as much as the print publication. If I didn't ask, I wouldn't have known that the print pub was not worth my time.

Katie, absolutely, sometimes a magazine doesn't list rates because rates vary based on a writer's experience, the editor's budget, the difficulty of the story, or what the editor had for lunch that day. (three martinis or not?) LOL Okay, kidding about the last, mostly. But yeah.

Dawn