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Writing Tips

Writing Tips: Thinking a Year Ahead

Writing for newspapers, magazines and the Internet

Yes. You may be busy creating the greatest novel of the 21st Century. That’s great. However, you should consider the advantages of helping to pay your everyday bills with simple “filler” pieces for newspapers and magazines too. You just have to think ahead.

Newspapers, magazines and the whole world of electronic sites are hungry, available markets for writers.  Remember, they need lots of “stuff” on a daily basis to fill their pages. And submissions do not all have to be high-powered articles that offer great political and philosophical insight. You just have to think ahead.

Remember: the bigger the publication, the longer the timeline

Here we are in April 2014. Think like it’s April 2015, Baby! You should now be planning, writing and submitting your terrific piece on the history of April Fool’s Day for next year. Have you got your article on the extravagant Easter Bonnets of the 1920s ready for publication at Easter next year?

What about that story about the most extravagant Hallowe’en parties in your area? You’ve been meaning to write it for a long time. The event planners all have their photos from last year. They’d be delighted to share them with you for a piece about Hallowe’en  this year. It’s never too early.

And finally, how about Christmas? You could be just in the nick of time for submission this year if you check in with the big industry buyers to see what the decorating trends for Christmas 2014 will be. After all, they made all their buying decisions more than a year ago!

Do you have any writing tips to add? Share them in the comments!

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Julia Nelson

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