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Reprint Mania: How to Generate
Sales, Clips and Contacts from Regional Parenting Publications
by Jill Miller Zimon
Regional parenting publications usually pay
writers low fees so that they can stay free to their readers. But this market is
replete with reprint opportunities (also called second serial rights) and the
publications’ local presence gives new and part-time freelancers
without thick clip files a great chance to sell their writing based on life
experience.
By following the steps below, I turned one sale of a gift-giving article into
eight sales, including two assignments from editors who knew me only because of
my reprint query. If you want to boost the number of editors who will see your
work, pay for it and publish it, then sell one article repeatedly to help reach
your goals.
1. Parenting Publications of America
sells its 114 members’ information for $50, but you can access the listings
for free through the site’s "Find a member" Web page (select a state and hit return). That’s 114 family, child, parenting, health, education, psychology, sports, and
product review markets in one place since parenting magazines regularly feature
stories on all those topics. The listings include the name of the publication,
the area(s) it serves, a snail mail and e-mail address, phone and fax numbers, a
Web site address when one exists, names of the publisher and editor, circulation
size and the frequency of publication.
2. Read the publication online and note its departments. Check writers’
biographies to see if they are local. What topics do the non-local writers
cover and do those stories mention local experts? A magazine’s writer’s
guidelines may also address the issue of non-local versus local contributors.
Check a publication’s media kit or advertising section for editorial calendars.
3. Send an e-mail to the editor with the subject line "Do you use reprints?" if
the Web site doesn’t tell you whether they do, or there is no Web site. Identify
yourself as a freelance writer, ask whether they accept reprint submissions and
if they do, do they prefer that you attach your manuscript to an e-mail or that
you cut and paste it into the e-mail. Request information about whatever the site
doesn’t cover i.e., writer’s guidelines, the editorial calendar, and to whom you
should address your submission or query.
4. Put your article’s title in the subject line of your e-mail and compose your
reprint query. Most editors won’t open an e-mail with a generic title. Pitch
the article, say when it was published and by whom, what rights are available,
why you’re qualified to write it and where else you’ve been published if you
have been published before. Mention how your piece meets their editorial
calendar.
5. Send the proofed query with manuscript. Wait about four weeks. If you don’t
receive a response after four weeks, send an e-mail saying that you hope they
received the submission you sent a month ago but, in the event that they didn’t,
you’re cutting and pasting it into this follow-up e-mail because you know how
many e-mails they must review. Thank them for their time.
6. I didn’t query any publications that required snail mail but the steps would
be the same. Only the mode of communication would change.
Several publications on the PPA list are affiliated with United Parenting
Publications (UPP) and don’t accept unsolicited freelance submissions. E-mail
the specific editors first to find out if they'll accept queries. Also, some
publications require exclusive review and use of your article due to competition
(Florida and Connecticut for example). Tell the editors that you will respect
that request until you hear from them or after "x" number of weeks expire.
Last but not least, keep track of the queries and submissions. Reprint work can
multiply quickly and you don’t want to miss any checks or clips now, do you?
Jill Miller
Zimon is a freelance writer from Pepper Pike Ohio. Her work has been published
by The Plain Dealer, Cleveland/Akron Parent, Connecticut Parent, Mid-Ohio Valley
Parent, Metro Parent (Ann Arbor and Detroit) and Suburban Focus. In 2003, she
won Inspiredtojournal.com's Memories with Energy contest, placed second in Funds
For Writer's Success Wanted contest and her personal essay, "Passion Junkie",
placed in the top ten of The Writer magazine's Journey Conference contest. She
and her husband have three children ages 3, 6 and 9. She can be contacted
through jillzimon@sbcglobal.net. Visit Jill's
Web site at
http://www.jillmillerzimon.com
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Have You Read...
I Wanna
Win
by Cheryl Wright
If you want to win writing contests and earn that elusive tag of
'award-winning writer' or if you just want to hone your skills, this book will
point you in the right direction.
New to freelance writing?
Read
this informative article.
Read
Glossary of Writing Terms
Authors Area
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Publishers
Book Marketing
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(Electronic & Print)
Resources
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Organizations
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Guideline Databases
Research & Reference
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Writer Web Sites
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Writing
and Illustrating Children's Books
