Expert: Cathy Clamp - 10/12/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hello Ms Cathy Clamp,


I am American born, was educated with BA in English many years ago. I have traveled the world, and currently live abroad in a country where English isn't the native tongue.
As I am not so young anymore. I am interested in sharing some of my experiences by writing short stories, articles, or whatever, on a variety of topics. And, having them published. somewhere, somehow.
And, if possible, collecting a bit of money for my efforts. And, perhaps, eventually rely on it as a possible source of income, or even write a book, novel or major work, should the skill, ability, subject matter, etc. generate an interest ...


Quite high hopes considering I have never submitted anything in print before and don't really know where to begin. (However, as an independent Singer/Songwriter musician, I did compose and copyright four music CDs, so far. Maybe that counts for something...)
I have inquired at the local foreign language English newspaper, magazines, and an online publisher who expressed interest but they only seek experienced writers.
And, writing Blogs isn't exactly what I had in mind.
Are my writing skills and techniques good enough and interesting enough for a publisher to take notice? Maybe. I want to try anyway...

So, I ask for suggestions on how to break into the elusive business of writing.
Where can I submit my works? Who to contact? What to do, say and present? How to get started? When to expect critiques, rejections, results, compensation, or other rewards for my efforts?


Any information, suggestions, advice is most appreciated. Thanks.


Joe

ANSWER: Hi, Joe!

Well, you're asking a lot of really good questions and I'll try to start you out in the right direction. First, you need to decide what sort of articles, stories and such you want to write. Yes, I know your first reaction is going to be "whatever I can sell" and that's pretty much how it is for EVERY freelancer starting out. But I've found you'll have more success starting with something you love and have knowledge about. For example, I like to hunt and fish. I know a lot about the sports and a woman's voice in that market is unusual. So, I started writing what are known as "destination" features about little known lakes and hunting areas around where I live. When it's something unique--like a lake in the prairie with the same kind of fish as in the mountains, I found that magazines were interested.

Think about strange things where you live--from interesting public places (maybe a butterfly garden or such) to fossil beds or archaeological digs that locals might not be aware of. Newspapers and regional magazines often need "local color fillers" which are short articles that will teach people something about the area. The important things to know about writing articles is that the people don't want YOUR opinion about the place/thing. They want to hear the information from an expert. So, you'll have to get used to asking people questions about things. I recently taught a class about freelance article writing and could send you the lectures to get you started, if you'd like. If you click on the "followup question" at the bottom of this, and include your email address, I'd be happy to send them along. These boxes aren't long enough to paste them in.

Hope that helps a little bit and let me know! :)

Cathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  Hello Ms Cathy Clamp:

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like solid advice on choosing subject matter. Yes. I'd be happy to receive the lectures on freelance article writing you've mentioned.

Also, any links & addresses, to magazines, newspapers, or other periodicals, online or otherwise, which may accept submissions is also appreciated.

Joe
phdmann@hotmail.com

ANSWER: Hope you got all the emails. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions. :)

Cathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Cathy Clamp:


Thanks much for the lecture notes on Freelance Writing. I've spent the past days reading the lectures. Much useful information included. I will prepare a sample of a Query Letter in the near future.
Many of the basic questions are answered. And, of course, many questions still remain.


When sending a Query Letter, is it necessary to use the regular mail, enclosing a SASE, etc.? Or. since I live overseas, is it acceptable to send via e-mail instead? Is there a protocol or procedure to follow? is it more professional to use the regular mail? Or is there no real difference?


I am unpublished as a writer. Is it relevant to include Copyrighted Songs from music CDs as credits in the Query Letter?  Or, stay away from anything unrelated to the subject matter of the piece I plan to write.


As mentioned in the lectures, after a submitting a Query Letter, a long period of time may elapse before a response from a potential editor. Is it acceptable to follow up with  a phone call or e-mail to inquire on the status of the Query Letter? If so, when? How?


Is it always necessary to submit a Query Letter first?


As a first time writer, or modestly published writer: Is there a typical payment figure we can use as a "rule of thumb" when negotiating? How much per page, for example? In the lectures you've stated a figure of $25 on the low end, and listed $550 on your invoice. Is this a realistic range to work within?


Is it common for the publisher to list a payment fee in the contract? If not, how are payment and other terms stated? Does the novice writer have much power to request a higher payment? Or, would doing so probably nullify any potential deal the first time? I can assume that many factors apply as the size and circulation of the publishers in question, length, content, subject matter of article written, urgency or necessity of the piece, etc. etc.


Are contracts, or payment negotiations usually "piece by piece" for one article? Or is it possible to negotiate for multiple submissions?


Do you advise the writer to register all works with the Copyright office before they are submitted to any publisher? or is this unnecessary? If required: Do you advise copyrighting as a compilation of many works together rather than individually? (Seems money can be saved on compilation of works as would only need to reister once. Please advise?)


Again, for expatriate/overseas writers, is there anything regarding copyrighting, payments, etc. that may differ from a domestic writer?


Do you know if most foreign publishers generally follow the same, or similar, protocal, procedures, etc. as described in the Lectures? (Yes. That is a broad question but I thought I would ask anyway...)

In your lectures, you've mentioned after writing numerous articles on the same subject, the writer may feel confident to request a raise as may be considered "experienced" in a subject. Based on that, if a freelance writer has written a dozen stories on 12 different topics, is the writer considered as equally experienced?
And, In your opinion, when might the writer be considered experienced enough to write longer, more serious, challenging works, novels, etc?


And, countless more questions.... Any answers, advice or further information would be most appreciated. Thanks again.


Joe

Answer
Wow! Lots and lots of questions. That's great, 'cause it means you're really thinking the subject through. Okay, we'll go through one by one (I'll put my answers in ALL CAPS so they're easier to follow: )

"Thanks much for the lecture notes on Freelance Writing. I've spent the past days reading the lectures. Much useful information included. I will prepare a sample of a Query Letter in the near future. Many of the basic questions are answered. And, of course, many questions still remain."

YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR FIRST QUERY. :)


"When sending a Query Letter, is it necessary to use the regular mail, enclosing a SASE, etc.? Or. since I live overseas, is it acceptable to send via e-mail instead? Is there a protocol or procedure to follow? is it more professional to use the regular mail? Or is there no real difference?"

I THINK A LOT DEPENDS ON THE PUBLICATION. YOU'RE REALLY LIMITED BY WHAT THE MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER REQUIRES. IF THE PUBLICATION ACCEPTS EMAIL QUERIES, YOU'RE WELCOME TO SEND THEM. HOWEVER, IF THEY REQUEST SNAIL MAIL, THEN AN EQUERY WOULD BE DISCARDED WITHOUT RESPONSE. AN SASE IS REQUIRED ONLY IF YOU WANT A RESPONSE. THAT'S THE BIG THING. NOW, SOME PUBLICATIONS *ONLY* RESPOND WITH AN AFFIRMATIVE ANYWAY, BUT MANY WILL RESPOND EITHER WAY SO LONG AS A RETURN ENVELOPE IS INCLUDED. IT'S TRICKY WHEN YOU'RE OVERSEAS, BUT WHAT MIGHT HELP WOULD BE TO OBTAIN SOME U.S. POSTAGE STAMPS FROM:

http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?langId=-1&st

THEY'LL SHIP ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHICH WOULD MAKE IT EASIER DO THE SASEs. INTERNATIONAL REPLY COUPONS ARE SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO FIND, SO THIS MIGHT BE A BETTER ALTERNATIVE.

"I am unpublished as a writer. Is it relevant to include Copyrighted Songs from music CDs as credits in the Query Letter?  Or, stay away from anything unrelated to the subject matter of the piece I plan to write. "

NO, IT'S NOT REALLY RELEVANT TO INCLUDE SONGS. HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE SOME PROFESSIONAL/BUSINESS EXPERIENCE IN YOUR FIELD--SAY, YOU'RE WRITING AN ARTICLE ABOUT POURING CONCRETE AND WORK AS A CONCRETE INSTALLER--THEN DEFINITELY DO MENTION THAT.


"As mentioned in the lectures, after a submitting a Query Letter, a long period of time may elapse before a response from a potential editor. Is it acceptable to follow up with  a phone call or e-mail to inquire on the status of the Query Letter? If so, when? How?"

THAT'S A TRICKY QUESTION. MAGAZINES GET A TON OF QUERIES EVERY DAY, AND SOMETIMES, WHEN AN ARTICLE IS A GOOD FIT, BUT FOR A MONTH THAT IS ALREADY FULL, THEY MIGHT HOLD THE QUERY UNTIL THE FOLLOWING YEAR. WHAT I'VE FOUND WORKS BEST IS TO WAIT ABOUT FOUR MONTHS AND THEN SEND A SHORT FOLLOW-UP (BY SNAIL MAIL) AGAIN, IT HAS TO INCLUDE AN SASE--WHICH CAN WIND UP COSTING DOUBLE THE MONEY, SO IT'S IFFY. IT'S SOMETHING YOU TEND TO GET A FEEL FOR OVER TIME, DEPENDING ON THE KIND OF MARKETS YOU TARGET. BUT FOUR MONTHS IS GENERALLY LONG ENOUGH THAT NOBODY WOULD BE OFFENDED AT A POLITE INQUIRY.


"Is it always necessary to submit a Query Letter first?"

IF THE GUIDELINES SAY "QUERY ONLY" OR "QUERY FIRST" THEN YES. OTHERWISE, YOU CAN CERTAINLY SEND THE ARTICLE ON SPEC. REMEMBER, THOUGH, WHAT I SAID IN THE LECTURE ABOUT THE DANGER OF THAT. IF THE EDITOR WANTS A FULL RE-WRITE TO FIT THE ISSUE THEY HAVE IN MIND, YOU MIGHT HAVE WASTED THE TIME TO WRITE IT FIRST. STILL, IT CAN BE A BENEFIT TOO. IT'S A COIN TOSS.


"As a first time writer, or modestly published writer: Is there a typical payment figure we can use as a "rule of thumb" when negotiating? How much per page, for example? In the lectures you've stated a figure of $25 on the low end, and listed $550 on your invoice. Is this a realistic range to work within?"

NOPE. NO RULE OF THUMB. IN MAGAZINE WORK, THE MAGAZINE GENERALLY STATES THEIR PRICE--EITHER PER WORD (1 CENT TO 1 DOLLAR) OR A SPECIFIC FEE FOR THE SIZE OF THE ARTICLE. THE INVOICE I INCLUDED WAS A HIGH PAYING MAGAZINE FOR THE TYPE OF ARTICLE. THE FEE I USUALLY RECEIVED WAS IN THE $50-150 RANGE FOR 1,500 WORDS.


"Is it common for the publisher to list a payment fee in the contract? If not, how are payment and other terms stated? Does the novice writer have much power to request a higher payment? Or, would doing so probably nullify any potential deal the first time? I can assume that many factors apply as the size and circulation of the publishers in question, length, content, subject matter of article written, urgency or necessity of the piece, etc. etc. "

YES. ALTHOUGH NOT EVERY MAGAZINE ACTUALLY OFFERS A CONTRACT. SOMETIMES ALL YOU RECEIVE IS AN EMAILED OR PRINTED ASSIGNMENT THAT SPECIFIES THE PAYMENT TERMS AND DUE DATE. YOUR CORRESPONDENCE ACTS AS YOUR CONTRACT, WHICH IS WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS I STATED IN THE LECTURE--RIGHTS TAKEN, KILL FEE, ETC.


"Are contracts, or payment negotiations usually "piece by piece" for one article? Or is it possible to negotiate for multiple submissions?"

AGAIN, DEPENDS ON THE MARKET. SOME EDITORS DO LIKE TO GET A LIST OF POTENTIAL TOPICS FROM KNOWN WRITERS. BUT TO BEGIN WITH, IT'LL BE AN ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE THING. YOU HAVE TO PROVE YOU CAN PRODUCE THE WORK FIRST.


"Do you advise the writer to register all works with the Copyright office before they are submitted to any publisher? or is this unnecessary? If required: Do you advise copyrighting as a compilation of many works together rather than individually? (Seems money can be saved on compilation of works as would only need to reister once. Please advise?)"

ARTICLES, BY AND LARGE, AREN'T COPYRIGHTED HERE IN THE U.S. MUCH DEPENDS ON THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU LIVE. U.S. COPYRIGHT LAWS ONLY PROTECT THOSE WHO *LIVE* IN THE U.S., RATHER THAN AUTHORS WHO ARE MERELY PUBLISHED HERE. BUT IF YOUR COUNTRY HAS A COPYRIGHTING PROGRAM, AND ALLOWS FOR ARTICLES, THEN IT'S PROBABLY WORTHWHILE TO SEE WHAT THE COST IS. IF IT COSTS AS MUCH AS YOU EARN, IT'S HARDLY A VALUE.


"Again, for expatriate/overseas writers, is there anything regarding copyrighting, payments, etc. that may differ from a domestic writer? "

TAXES COULD BE AN ISSUE. I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT TAXES IN OTHER COUNTRIES, AND IF YOU'RE ALREADY REQUIRED TO FILE A U.S. INCOME TAX FORM BECAUSE OF MONEY EARNED HERE, THEN IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO CHECK OUT.


"Do you know if most foreign publishers generally follow the same, or similar, protocal, procedures, etc. as described in the Lectures? (Yes. That is a broad question but I thought I would ask anyway...)"

NOT A CLUE, I'M AFRAID. I HAVEN'T WORKED WITH ANY OVERSEAS PUBLISHERS. SORRY.

"In your lectures, you've mentioned after writing numerous articles on the same subject, the writer may feel confident to request a raise as may be Considered "experienced" in a subject. Based on that, if a freelance writer has written a dozen stories on 12 different topics, is the writer considered as equally experienced? "

"WRITTEN" OR "PUBLISHED?" YOU CAN WRITE AS MANY AS YOU WANT, BUT YOU'RE ONLY CONSIDERED EXPERIENCE ONCE YOU'VE PUBLISHED A NUMBER OF THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, I DID A LOT OF WORK WITH GAME & FISH MAGAZINE. I COULD ASK FOR A RAISE FROM *THEM* IF I'D DESIRED TO (BUT HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO REFUSE. HE DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE PRICES) BUT I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ASK FOR A RAISE FROM A COMPETITOR WHO HAD NEVER WORKED WITH ME BEFORE--UNLESS THE EDITOR REALLY, *REALLY* WANTED THAT PARTICULAR ARTICLE.


"And, In your opinion, when might the writer be considered experienced enough to write longer, more serious, challenging works, novels, etc? "

FREELANCE MAGAZINE WORK DOESN'T LEND WELL TO BECOMING A NOVELIST. I'M SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL IN THAT I DO BOTH. ARTICLES AREN'T ANYTHING LIKE FICTION, SO A PUBLISHER WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO RELY ON YOUR PUBLICATION RECORD AS A MEASURE OF POTENTIAL SALES TO THE PUBLIC, NOR YOUR ABILITY TO CRAFT WELL-ROUNDED CHARACTERS AND A TIGHT PLOT. IF, HOWEVER, YOU HAVE SOME CREDITS FOR SHORT STORIES, THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE A SMALL FOOT IN THE DOOR. BUT SOME EDITORS ACTUALLY CONSIDER SHORT STORY CREDITS A NEGATIVE, SINCE THE ABILITY TO WRITE A TIGHT PLOT ARC DOESN'T MEAN THE WRITER CAN SUSTAIN A FULL NOVEL.


"And, countless more questions.... Any answers, advice or further information would be most appreciated. Thanks again."

YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. HOPE THIS HELPS! :)

CATHY