Friday, March 6, 2009

Getting Your Article Published in a Newspaper or Magazine

By Jessa Angelie S. Lausa


You have written a good article and you want the people to read it because you’ve worked hard for it, so get it published.


Getting your article published is as hard as making the article itself. But do not be discouraged. The writer needs to have hard work, perseverance, and a positive mental attitude if he/she wants his/her article to be published.


Want to get your article printed on papers with your name on it? Here are some tips that will guide you in getting your article published:


1. Ask your peers and a professional to read and criticize your article.

Even when you think that your article is okay already, it is always
better to let your peers and a professional read it to check on its
grammar and comment on it. Value their comments, and follow their
suggestions to elevate your article’s quality. Don’t submit a mediocre
article to an editor because there are thousands of articles that you
compete with.


2. Look for a specific section of a paper/ magazine where your article best
fits.

Gather a few issues of a newspaper or a magazine. Study carefully on
how they put each topic to a specific section. Study how each topic in
a section is related to each other or study their common denominator.
Then see if your article has some similarities so it would fit to that
section. For instance, are the stories in that section all about
business, sports, or different stories in you community? Contribute
your article to the section where it best fits.


3. Play by the sections rules.

After finding the specific section, follow the rules of writing in
that section where you plan to contribute. Study the flow of the
stories, its length, characters, point of view, and the setting.


4. Revise.

Make your article fit to the section according to its rules. Have your
grammar, spelling, and diction checked. Don’t submit the same
article to different editors at the same time. Each section of
newspaper/magazine has its own editor, should you submit your
article of another paper/magazine, (granted it was rejected by the
first editor) revise it. Don’t forget to include your friends’ and
mentors’ suggestions in revising your article.


5. Make an attention-grabbing query letter.

According to Dave Haslett, the founder of ideas4u.co.uk, “the
writer’s secret friend is the query letter.” In that query, grab the
editor’s attention by telling an anecdote or something that would
make him/her read through the entire query and your article. Include
in your query your relevant experience, why there’s a real need for
the article to be published, and the problem it will help its readers
to overcome. Keep your query letter to a single page.


6. Submit your article.

Don’t attach your files when using email because it takes time for
the editor to download it, and assume that the editor is always busy.
Copy and paste your article to the text box after your query letter.
Choose a bigger font size. Write a short witty phrase about your
article as your subject, and cc it to your own email address to check
that it was received. Before clicking send, proofread everything.


7. Monitor the paper.

Don’t wait for the editor to reply to your email because most of them
don’t. If the editor wants you to revise it, or asks some questions
about it, answer them because your chance of getting published is
getting big. If after a week, your article hasn’t got published or you
hear nothing from the editor, ask him/her politely if he/she has
received and read it. If she/he does, ask about its potential to get
published. If she/he rejects it, withdraw your article and tell the
editor you’ll submit to another paper.



Some tips that will also increase your article’s potential to be published is to send in photographs, and to relate your article according to the theme of the paper. Every writer gets rejected but you shouldn’t give up on it. Always have a positive attitude and try it again.

If your article gets published, don’t forget to thank your editor. Build a good relationship between you and your editors because you will need them for your future articles.When your article gets published, you'll definitely feel that the juice is worth the squeeze, so squeeze some more and squeeze harder!

7 comments:

  1. i am pakistani student and i want them to be published in english news papers, i right on economic issues. how to get them published, and what is the procedure to follow them ?

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  2. ur article is realy informative... thank u

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