But as you sit down to write that e-mail query, you forget everything your mother told you and send editors a query that inevitably brings home rejection. The subject line reads “Query” or something in close proximity with language spammers use—“Become Debt Free Today”. You write your e-mail address and Web address, but leave out other information such as your postal address and phone number. And of course, since it’s an e-mail query, you don’t include clips. After all, editor explicitly mentioned no attachments, right?

After sending out a dozen queries of this sort, many writers sit in front of their computers hoping that some editor will respond. When no one does, they wonder why their queries aren't getting enough response, even though they did everything right.

But you know what-- there's a better way. E-mail is way to go today, so your queries should hit mark right away. Here are some tips that will melt toughest of editors.

For starters, get subject line right. You’re a writer—so be creative. Instead of writing "query" or "submission" or even name of magazine, how about using title of your article? And I don’t have to tell you that title you choose should be informative, witty and creative, do I? It doesn’t always have to be funny, but it has to be interesting. Here’s format I usually follow for my subject lines:

Query: Creative Article Title

We’ve compiled a list of all jobs a freelance writer can find on Internet to keep cash inflow steady:

Magazines Most of freelancing industry focuses on magazines, so let’s start there. You’ll find magazines on every topic imaginable. From teen issues to running, you’ll find at least one magazine to fit in your interests. While magazine publishing is huge and widespread, don’t try to get published everywhere at once. Find a few niche topics and start your way up from there. As your expertise and interests grow, branch out to other magazines as well. Topics most writers start out with include health and nutrition, computers, parenting, teens, relationships, disability, travel, etc.

Fillers in Magazines and Newspapers Not all writers make it to cover pages of magazines. At least not at first. In beginning, you might just have to make do with fillers. And they pay as much as they’re fun to do. Jokes, opinion pieces, short lists, news items and other short pieces are termed fillers. Editors are always on lookout for good fillers, so you stand a good chance of breaking through.

Greeting Cards With e-cards, paper greeting cards seem to have taken a backseat. Nevertheless, sale of paper cards is still ongoing and they are still preferred when it comes to relatives, long-lost friends or special occasions. Despite popular myths, greeting card markets are not as easy to break into as they seem, can take a long time to respond and an even longer time to get your card into print. The upside is that greeting card markets pay extremely well for short writing. What’s more, though limited, opportunities exist for e-card writers too. So when you need to take a break from regular work, dip your fingers into greeting card pool

Doormats, Magnets, Bumper Stickers, T-shirts, etc If you’ve wondered how those words made it to t-shirts, stickers, doormats and magnets, think no more. Freelance writers are often required to write slogans for such material and are paid quite well for it. If you have ability to coin a catchy or humorous one-liner, this could be your shot to riches. You won’t get a byline, and certainly no fame, but you could be earning as much as $50 per word!

Posters They’re up in your room, you’ve seen them in your friend’s office, and you often find a funny one at fast-food place down street. Someone must have written them. Why not you? A lot of companies sell posters and generate handsome sales from them. In fact, writers of posters are usually paid in royalties, that is, by number of posters sold. So, instead of being paid one-time, you’ll be paid over and over again for something you wrote years ago.

Resumes Practically every one needs a resume (yes, even us freelance writers). Some people write them up themselves, some prefer to take help of professionals. Write up a resume for a friend or two at work (even if she doesn’t need one!) as samples and respond to advertisements and calls for resume writers. Keep in mind though that resume writing isn’t your regular every day writing. You’re not supposed to decorate page with flowery prose or funny anecdotes. You need to be professional, crisp and attention-grabbing. Practice with a few fake ones, and you’ll soon be on your way.