Why would anyone want to write for trade journals? Aren't the topics are dry? Don't they require specialized knowledge? Not necessarily. You may want to consider trade journals to increase the potential market for your articles ? and for the money. Trade publications make up a significant portion of the hidden source of funds for professional writers. Breaking in can be surprisingly easy ? when you know the tricks.
What Can You Write?
Use a brainstorming list to begin your search for a specialty. To write for a trade publication, you will need in depth knowledge of a topic. Don't force yourself to learn the inner workings of gravel mines when you love the elegant designs of classic furniture. Trade publications require professional knowledge of a topic, so make sure it's a subject you'll want to spend a lot of time with. Start your list by including things you enjoy and love. Whether you volunteer for a non-profit organization or have a degree in agricultural science, include all of the categories in which you have experience. Some trade publications accept articles of personal experience or interviews with recognized authorities in their field. Include your connections with professionals to make your list more complete. Keep this list handy and add to it regularly.
Where Can You Find Those Trade Journals?
Now that you have a list of specialty areas that you want to be immersed in, you need to find the journals that pay for your information. Almost every profession has a trade journal. The first place for you to look is with a professional organization related to your area of specialty. If you love elegant furniture, than perhaps you should consider "Interior Decorators of America", "American Furniture Manufacturers", or "American Pine". Join at least one of these major professional organizations. Membership rates are often cheaper for affiliate members (those not practicing professionals in the field). Marketing companies buy the organization's list and send free publications and resources to members. These items may include "throw-away journals", free journals paid for by advertising. Even if you join the organization only one time, the professional materials will appear in your mailbox for years. This information will keep you on the cutting edge of your chosen industry.
Online resources are helpful in finding associations, but they include only a few of the possibilities. The most complete resource available is the Encyclopedia of Associations found in your local library. It contains the most complete list of organizations, many of which produce magazines specific to their members. It may take days for you to wade through this tome, but when you find ten journals that correspond to your qualifications, it will be worth the effort.
How Do I Start?
Begin by researching past issues of the magazine. Editors always recommend that potential writers analyze at least six months of back issues and a copy of their writer's guidelines. This is essential with trade journals. Articles seen in the trades are far different in style than those seen in consumer magazines. Pay attention to the complexity of sentences, commonly used terms, and the assumed knowledge of the readers. Style is often less conversational and more technical than what most people read. Many trade magazines use technical terms that are a foreign language to industry outsiders. Make sure you use their language, or you will sound amateurish.
Make a list of published topics. You want to know what not to do as well as the topics they prefer. Painting and Wallcovering Contractor focuses on the professional painting industry, while Walls and Ceilings focuses on plaster restorers and finishers. There is some crossover, but you increase your chances of selling the interview with the restorer of the Sistine Chapel to Walls and Ceilings because of the focus. In addition, Painting and Wallcovering Contractor likes articles on how-to meet regulatory standards. If you know of a regulation that has not been covered recently, send a query offering to update their readers on the topic. Trade journals often recycle subjects with fresh information on three to four year cycles. If you can approach old ideas in a new way, you can give them an article that they will buy.
Which Comes First, the Query or the Manuscript?
Query first, but if the editor does not know you then he or she will want to see a complete manuscript before making a commitment. Many writers despise writing on speculation, but in this case they should consider it. Most journals are in desperate need of good writers. They don't have huge slush piles stacked around the office that your article will have to compete with. As long as you have a topic they can use and can match their style, your article will sell.
Where Can You Find That Professional Knowledge?
Begin with the internet. Online searches enable you to find the title, author, and journal of the article you want, and request a copy of it from your local public or college library. Medical and health topics can be found on Pubmed at www.nih.gov. For other journal searches, contact your local community or college librarian. Without charging you, most libraries will order the article from another library if they don't have it in their collection. They'll even call you when it's ready.
Other useful sources of information include government regulators, local businesses, the business section of the phone directory, and professionals in the industry.
Can You See Your Byline in Trade Journals?
Most full-time professional magazine writers include trade journals in their portfolio. Trade journals need knowledgeable writers who can produce interesting and well-written copy specific to their magazine. Finding these writers is difficult, because most people don't think writing for trade journals is interesting. You'll know differently when you see the check in your mailbox. Many trade journals pay $200-$300 for a 1,000-word article, making it well worth the effort to learn to write for this large and diverse market.
Trade journals are not the flashiest places to publish. Your friends may not be amazed by your publication in Pit and Quarry, but as a writer trying to sell work, do not ignore the journals that want to find you.
Terri Pilcher publishes a FREE weekly e-zine, Writers Guidelines Magazine. Sign up at http://www.terripilcher.com. She also wrote "MONEY Markets 2005: 101 Publishers that Pay Writers in 6 Weeks or Less" and edits PowerPen Market Search (2-day FREE trial). Find both the book and the searchable database of writer's guidelines at http://www.terripilcher.com.
Culver prom limo ..Having trouble finding a solution to a nagging problem? Try... Read More
Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a... Read More
How to Start Your Story with a BangThe purpose of... Read More
If a writer considers writing to be a task, he/she... Read More
(This excerpt is taken from my new writing workshop Writing... Read More
Q: How do I expand on an idea without getting... Read More
Among the various foolproof methods used to boost traffic to... Read More
Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes... Read More
At some point along the way, most of us have... Read More
Word processors are so widely used now that I tend... Read More
Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's... Read More
All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a... Read More
In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as... Read More
What do people expect when they join a writing group?The... Read More
Reading through a writer's notebook or journal is like discovering... Read More
FIVE MINUTES ... Is All You Need ........to phone a... Read More
The purpose of this article is to consider Print-On-Demand publishing... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?When an idea comes to us for... Read More
How to get a lot of traffic to your website... Read More
SALE, SAIL Sale is either offering something for purchase... Read More
Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More
These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More
Regardless of what sort of writer you are and how... Read More
Remember back in the dark days of your school years... Read More
Have you ever written a letter to a friend? Ever... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..Not long ago, I went to an Internet Marketing Seminar.... Read More
These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More
A few days ago, I critiqued a chapter for a... Read More
Writers often get stuck because they make assumptions about writing,... Read More
So, the decision is final. I am a writer.Actually, I... Read More
A certified proofreader is one that has taken a few... Read More
In the ten years that I've taught people how to... Read More
Writing is a personal and introspective process. To share with... Read More
Don't they drive you nuts?You can visit all the rules... Read More
I asked several writers how long it took them to... Read More
William Faulkner, the great Mississippi writer, said, "The tools I... Read More
One day in the mid-1970's a young man stumbled into... Read More
As writers, we initially tend to be either more cerebral... Read More
Are you ready to abandon your short stories? Before you... Read More
A writer writes. Bet you've heard that one... Read More
A QUERY LETTER is written to an editor or agent... Read More
Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches... Read More
Plotting a book can seem an overwhelming task when you're... Read More
Punctuation, when used creatively, is powerful. Note, however, that when... Read More
When the writing bug hits you, get out your pencil,... Read More
Want to write your book? But, need a blueprint on... Read More
This is the ideal topic for us all to think... Read More
The Benefits of Co-Publishing There are a number of publishers,... Read More
Set your journal or diary where you will see it... Read More
There is no specific formula for children's fiction. There are,... Read More
Writing |