21

Aug

Impressing An Editor

Have you ever written to an editor of a publication and not received a reply? You may consider it  rude. You have something to offer them and yet they are allowing a potential creative genius to slip through their nets. You brush yourself down, burn a copy of their magazine and move on to the next publication worthy of your talents.

Think! Why would an editor not respond to you? After a little bit of research I discovered two specific reasons why editors may not give you the recognition you expect.

They are very busy. Many editors receive up to a thousand queries a week, if not more for larger publications. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you like to respond to each and every one of them? Editors are busy people. Meetings, training, brainstorming, planning, interviewing and editing copy are just some of the tasks the editor has to do. As well as receiving and reading as many queries as they have time for.

Your query wasn’t good enough. Considering the amount of queries in a day the editor must receive, you need to ensure that your query stands out from the crowd. They need to be relevant to the publication. You need to show the editor that you understand the themes they cover. You need to explain why they should be interested in you. What have you got to offer them?

When you send a letter or an email to an editor, you need to have done your research. You need to put effort into what you write in your query. If you expect them to take you seriously or even reply with a ‘no thank you’ then do the editor the courtesy in making you worth their time. A poorly written email which you may have copied and pasted from other queries to editors is not going to be taken seriously. Don’t be arrogant and assume that a quick email with no thought on the publication is going to get you anywhere.

Editors are looking for freelance writers. Fact! But you need to impress them from the very beginning. Show an understanding of their publication. Take time in crafting your correspondence to them. Suggest ideas that will interest the editor. It is important to stand out to the editor from the very beginning. Understand their position and work hard to show your worth. By doing this it may be the start of an exciting working relationship.