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Writing about Writing
By Aline Lechaye
You’ve written fiction, nonfiction, even poetry. You’ve suffered
through writer’s block and money worries. It’s unlikely that
you’re alone. Other writers, at one time or another, have
suffered the same maladies.
Package your experiences as a tutorial, and you may receive
a decent welcome at writer’s magazines. The e-zine Vision,
for example, wants articles on “anything that has to do with
writing, from how you think up a story to finding a proper pen”.
Payment is 1/2 cent/word. Writer to Writer, another e-zine,
takes “articles that help writers to hone their craft”. Word
count is 300 to 1,000. It pays a flat fee ($10) for every article.
A few tips:
Avoid preaching. It’s best not to use phrases like “You should/
must”. Also steer clear of statements such as “the best writers
all do this”. Each writer has their own way of writing, and your
advice should be given in a friendly manner, not as a command.
Provide examples. It’s all very well to say, “Dialogue brightens
up a scene”, but that’s very abstract to the reader. Show how
dialogue makes a dull passage come to life. You could write a
dull sentence (“Mary told him angrily she thought he was an
idiot”) and then the same sentence with dialogue (“You’re such
an idiot!” Mary snapped angrily.”).
Write to be understood. There’s no point in putting in long
paragraphs of grand, artistic prose. Try to write clear and
precise. The whole point of the article is to teach other writers
how to improve, and it’s unlikely they will if they can’t
understand you.
If you specialize in a certain topic, write an article on your
area of expertise instead of a general article. Say you’ve had
a handful of short mysteries published. You could write an
article about hiding clues. Few non-mystery writers could write
about this. However, pieces that talk about conquering writer’s
block can easily be written by any writer.
Absolute Write likes specialized articles more than general
articles, as they’re a site “geared to intermediate/advanced
writers”. They take interviews, essays, and humor, paying 2
cents/word, with a minimum payment of $10. Another market that
looks at specialized material is Writing World, which pays 5
cents/word, up to a maximum of $100. Their site has over 600
articles, so your piece will have to be very different. If you
have something unusual, writing related, to write about, this
is the place to try.
More markets:
Writing Australia: accepts articles and writing-related essays
as well as fiction (general, mainstream, literary, genre). Their
rates are AUS$50 for articles/fiction, and AUS$12.50 to AUS$25
for essays.
Writer’s Digest: pays 30 to 50 cents/word, as well as
contributor’s copies. They take opinion, author profiles,
essays, articles, and market reports.
The Writer: accepts market reports, articles, personal essays,
book reviews, interviews, and features. Payment ranges from
$40 to $500.
Byline: takes fiction, features, essays, and poetry. Pay varies,
but includes one year’s subscription. How-to nonfiction runs
around $100.
Writer’s Weekly: pays $60 for articles that help writers make
money through writing, or those that deal with writing-related
employment, such as self-publishing and ghostwriting.
And, of course, don’t forget Funds for Writers! They take
articles that show writers how to make money writing. Tightly
written articles with resources (links and markets) the reader
can use are what they look for. They pay $35/article ($10 for
reprints).
Check the guidelines and format requirements before you submit,
to make sure you’ve got everything they ask for. And if your
first manuscript is rejected, just keep trying.
Disclaimer: All market information contained in the article is
correct at the time of writing, but is subject to change without
notice.
Markets:
Vision
http://www.lazette.net/vision/submission.htm
Writer to Writer
http://www.writer2writer.com/guidelines.htm
Absolute Write
http://www.absolutewrite.com/site/submissions.htm
Writing World
http://www.writing-world.com/admin1/guidelines.shtml
Writing Australia
http://www.writingaustralia.com/submissions.html
Writer’s Digest
http://www.writersdigest.com/wdguidelines.asp
Byline
http://www.bylinemag.com/guidelines.asp
Writer’s Weekly
http://www.writersweekly.com/misc/guidelines.php
Funds for Writers
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/submissions.htm
BIO
Aline Lechaye has written for various publications, both
online and in print. Her favorite genres are fantasy and
science fiction. E-mail:
alinelechaye@gmail.com
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