Choosing the publication with the most number of readers

by Lucille Wagas

After alternately draining and clogging your brain with thoughts on how to come up with a good story angle; after lending both ears to mentors and friends for suggestions; after finding the Goth in you with all the dark circles in the eyes and blanched look of someone who never got out of his or her bedroom just to wait for the editor to accept the article submitted, what really matters by the end of the day is to get the whole point across to readers.

The writer may have done everything to make an article worth reading and must have sent what he or she made to the most dignified of local dailies. But, what can really assure this writer that the ‘people’ and not just a ‘person’ can value his or her work?

So, before you develop good basketball skills from shooting draft sheets to your waste basket and forget hopes of becoming a world-renowned writer, come up with ways of exposing your work to the general public.

Come to think of it. Who can appreciate the quality in the absence of quantity?

And so, you might say that knowing a publication with the most number of readers sounds like a tough job.

Well, it really is.

But that’s if you don’t get to figure out the easy ways to do it. Here are some of the ways to find a publication that could give your article the exposure it deserves. These tips can be tried randomly as the task is not supposed to be taken like a doctor's prescription.

Stand by the 'stands'
What better way to know what's the choice paper of the community than to ask the distributing fellow. Paper boys and newsstands have their inventory of sales and they can tell you what paper gets to be read by most.

Mentor knows best
You're a wonder if you grew to be a good writer without help from anybody. So, it can be presumed that behind every good writer is a better mentor. What your mentor would be telling you is the publication he or she and most of his colleagues would pick to read. Your mentor buddy’s experiences in writing and status in the journalistic society can be good enough bases that his or her recommendations are noteworthy.

Tell me your friends and i'll tell you what they can do
Friends are often seen as your own mirrors. What your interests are can be what they are also into. So, as an aspiring journalist, it is expected of you to surround your self with friends who read the papers and are writers themselves. Conduct a mini survey among your friends and know what their bet is on the most read publication. After all, what are friends for?

"Ad"-dict
Advertisers could not afford to pour the money in the trash bin. They are scientific when it comes to determining where to post advertisements to effectively reach their target market. This goes to say that advertisers are addicted to advertising on papers with a huge number of readers.

The television and print industry sisterhood
There are newspapers that maintain close ties with television networks. This works to the advantage of the papers most of the time. It is accepted truth that TV is more popular than papers. So, when a TV station is highly commended by people for their contribution in the realm of news and public affairs, expect the publication connected to it to bask under its fame and get just about the same level of support from people, gaining more readers.

And now that you have more than just an inkling to let the world know your word, do you still want to think of becoming a basketball superstar?