4. Contact proper person. I use online version of Writer's Market to stay abreast of contact changes. I use this as a research and lead tool only however. Once I've found publications that fit my acceptable payment range and interest, I'll then visit publication's site and search for freelance information there. Often publication's website will have a different editor listed, or they may even direct you to send your queries to an assistant instead. I always follow rules outlined on publication's website, regardless of what information I originally found on Writer's Market site.

5. When crafting your query, keep it professional and concise. Briefly introduce yourself and your article idea. Mention which upcoming issue of their publication you feel article will fit best in based on their editorial calendar, and if possible, mention how you feel it will fit into their publication based on what you know of their recent articles. And last but not least, include 2 - 4 relevant credits and a link to your online portfolio or clips.

When mentioning credits, I suggest simply listing a few of magazines you've published with in past. Including complete title, issue, page number and so on isn't usually needed. I also strongly suggest including a link to an electronic portfolio, or at least to a page that has a list of your available clips. This makes it easy for editor to review your previous work at their own convenience.

Of course it should go without saying that you have reviewed publication's available guidelines before doing any of above, and that you will present yourself as professionally as possible including performing spelling and grammar checks before sending anything.

My preferred market is business, technical and trade publications, so your own results with these methods may vary slightly. But by following simple submission preparation steps outlined in this article, any freelance writer should be able to turn more queries into paying assignments.

(C) 2002, Kathy Burns This article is provided courtesy of Electronic Perceptions Promotions - http://www.ElectronicPerceptions.com - You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

3) If you'll be traveling, take advantage of any complimentary publications that may come your way: inflight magazines, morning newspapers at hotels, and so on. Again, these may provide you sample issues for markets that you haven't considered before.

4) If you're visiting anyone out-of-town, stop by local library, and check out magazines library keeps stocked. It's quite likely that you'll discover some—especially regional publications—that you won't be able to research as easily back home.

Can you think of other possibilities? Add them to list! Happy holidays, and happy market-hunting.

(c) Copyright 2004 Erika Dreifus. All rights reserved. Article reprint permission is granted provided that entire article--including Author Bio--remains intact and unaltered. Please send a copy of reprint to erikadrei (at) yahoo (dot) com.