Focused, strongly branded blogs can grow up to be web portals, like Beth Whitman's Wanderlust and Lipstick, which now boasts a handful of columnists. Mixing features and practical information, her site's part magazine, part guidebook, part all-singing, all-dancing multimedia extravaganza.
Early adopter Tom Brosnahan offers authors advice on transforming into publishers. His Writers Website Planner, though old-school design-wise, remains a great resource. ProPublica's "crowdsorcerer" also offers valuable tips, especially about involving readers in your endeavor.
Increasingly the line blurs between journalists and online authors, including bloggers. Pay, prestige and infrastructure no longer clearly divide the two tribes. Frequency and informality often are the only distinctions, along with publishing self-sufficiency: that net DIY ethos.
That said, many bloggers still set their cap on breaking into the mainstream media, like our class poster-girl Mardi Michels. Not only has she been a featured chef at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival 2009, she's now freelancing for the Food Network Canada's website.
Should you take that route, I highly recommend a portfolio website, independent of your blog. Professional touches include a custom domain name and a homepage with your bio and perhaps links to key writing samples. Both Blogger and Wordpress offer static pages, making it easy to whip up a site via a familiar interface.
Include that site in your pitch (aka query) letters. Editors want to know three things first and foremost: why this article now by you. They're looking for:
- A strong story angle
- Timeliness
- Expertise or unusual access
Other components that help:
- Past publication credits, especially in similar publications
- Familiarity with their outlet ("show don't tell" that by suggesting a department or theme issue)
- Photos or multimedia available
Whenever possible, address your letter to a specific person. Look up an editor’s name in the masthead or a writer’s handbook. Or pick up the phone and ring the office: even the most harried secretary will pass along a name (get the correct spelling too). He or she also might be able to suggest the best department head to contact. If in doubt, aim high, but not for the editor-in-chief of a large publication (who is presumably monster-busy). Deputy and associate editors are a good bet.
Establish your credentials. Why are you qualified to write this piece? Toot your own horn. Stress any elements that build your authority: your location, occupation, hobby or ethnicity, etc.
Never undermine yourself with comments like: "I’m just a blogger" or "I always wanted to be a writer". Be bold and plucky. And remember the old maxim: if you haven’t anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Really, it’s wiser to stay quiet if you have no publication credits or relevant experience: just let your phenomenal pitch speak for itself.
Editors often ask new authors to write "on speculation". It’s the writer’s equivalent of an audition: a chance to prove yourself. Just that. No promises. You’re only paid if the article is accepted and published.
Common spec candidates include anthology essays, short pieces (under 750 words) or funny ones (it’s hard to convey humor’s magic in a query). Some newspapers and magazines only examine finished product, like the Los Angeles Times travel section and the Christian Science Monitor's Home Front department. Always check writer’s guidelines to determine policy.
Speculation helps new talent. Here’s a chance to leapfrog over the old-boy’s or girl’s network, skip the name-dropping publication credits and dazzle them into a commission. Many experienced journalists refuse to play this game, potentially wasting precious time and effort. But hey, that helps emerging authors, who aren't pitching against veterans like Dave Barry, Bill Bryson and Susan Orlean. Less competition!
Research your market before pitching. This helps you strike the right tone, but also ensures a publication is worth your time. Legitimate outlets bloom online from Salon to Slate and MSNBC, certainly. But most offer lower rates than their comparable print cousins.
Beware sites that feed off authors' ambitions from micro-bid assignment sites to profit-sharing schemes like Examiner.com and Today.com, which feature a range of unedited bloggers under one banner. Once the companies have taken their cuts of Google Adsense and other advertising revenue, writers I've spoken to rarely see more than pennies. And clips from outlets like that can hinder more than help ... An emerging author is better off guest-blogging, posting on her own site or volunteering for a reputable webzine.
The point is to get into print, establish yourself as a professional writer and gain experience. Eventually the paid work will muscle out the freebies.
Such an apprenticeship isn't considered kosher universally. Some journalists believe it devalues the whole trade, undermining standard rates, which generally haven't risen in decades. I see the issues as separate: professional writers deserve professional wages. Beginners deserve the opportunity to experiment and expand. An editor willing to work with less polished prose deserves a discounted rate. Just don't underbid colleagues struggling to survive: give work away to worthy nonprofits or new, struggling outlets, not multinational corporations cheaping the editorial budget.
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