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Jennifer Crump Engaging content... attention to detail... on time and on target.
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WHAT ARE EDITORS LOOKING FOR? ©Jennifer Crump (From the workshop: Non-fiction on the Side, 2003 RWA Conference, New York City)
Editors are buying: I. Writers2. Ideas 3. Expertise **Your query must sell one of these three.** Editors are looking for writers who are: I. On time ( never, ever miss a deadline ) *Flawless writing, flawless research. Editors are looking for ideas that: Recession Proofing Your Non-Fiction Career I. Consistently send out queries -even when you are busy. 2. Cultivate several reliable clients who are willing to assign work. 3. Use the hassle quotient to figure out your minimum pay rates. (If a magazine pays 45c/word but you only have a couple of hours of work involved then you might end up making more than with the $1/word markets.) 4. Think lateral progression as well as vertical progression. Move up to bigger paying markets while maintaining ties with the best of the smaller paying markets. 5. Expand on your area of expertise. (If you write for not-for-profits audiences, think about how not-for-profit issues might apply to parenting, business magazines, the health care industry etc. ) 6. Pay close attention to the rights you sell. 7. Recycle, Reuse and Resubmit (Recycle ideas, reuse sources and resubmit rejected queries to similar magazines) 8. Don't write for free. (Freelance -emphasis on the word "lance"...)
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