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Starting in the mid-90s and for a number of years, I used to send in submissions to magazines. Snippets, letters to the editor, photos, short stories, even full blown articles.
My success rate varied, depending on the market I was targeting, but my acceptances were sweet victories that were celebrated with the beautiful by-line. And also a glorious cheque.
I of course, loved the cheques. Often I could have 2 or 3 rejection slips come in the mail, but they have less impact when there’s an envelope with a cheque in it with the same delivery.
My first ever submission was a short story that was 1,400 words long I knocked out on a hand-me-down 386 PC. It was running Windows 3.0. And no mouse. Windows 3.0 didn’t support a mouse. I had to navigate around Windows using the ALT button and the arrow keys. I didn’t even have a printer. I copied it to a 3.5 inch disk (after buying and installing the drive myself, because it only had the five and a quarter), took it to work and printed it out on a dot matrix printer. And sent it on in. I was rewarded with a $400 cheque for my effort.
Soon I got myself a $3000 bank loan and bought a brand new computer and inkjet printer. I then paid off the loan with the money I made from writing. I was working full time so I wrote in my spare time. I preferred making up my own stories than watching ones others had written being performed on television. However by the year 2000 a few things happened that changed my direction in life. But half a dozen years later I have come full circle, and I’m getting back into writing now, more than ever.
Now I share this, because while I didn’t achieve nationwide fame and becoming a household name, who doesn’t want at magazine fame and fortune? Being known for well crafted words. Being involved in designing an eye catching layout. Hey, why not be the photographer too!
And you can. And NOT have to worry about a rejection from an editor who has had a bad day or has just approved a similar article on the same topic just moments before picking up your submission (yes, that had happened to me).
You can do it right now on HubPages (and Squidoo and диваниAssociated Content and Gather and…). The tools are all there. It’s up to you to create the images and words.
Being a magazine editor, art director, photographer and writer are skills you need to bring to the table when building a hub (lens, or other article). And if you haven’t already got them, you can learn them on the job.
Whether you’re a natural or a novice you’d got to be prepared to put some effort into your work. Put your best foot forward. Publish something that you’re proud of.
Because that’s where it’s at these days. Magazines might not yet be on the endangered species list, but they’re moving online because they know that’s where the audience is. And it opens up a means of really connecting with their audience through comment boxes, and communicating with tools that previously only television had at its disposal, with embedded video.
And it’s a level playing field. The only thing separating the wannabes from the shooting stars is talent and passion. Talent is something you develop by wanting to learn and practising what you’ve learned. And passion isn’t something you can fake. It’s about writing about the things that you know and love.
So exercise that talent on the things you love. Stick to it and watch your readership grow.
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