If you are unsure of which editor to select, check the magazine and the website and a resource like 2014 Writer’s Market. In the process, locate the name of the correct and current editor to whom you should address your query. If possibly, read 12 months of back issues. Become familiar with those magazines, their readers, their advertisers, and their content. Take time to study different magazines or publications that cover the topic about which you want to write or who cover topics of interest to the readers you want to reach. Find the best publication or publications to pitch. To write a query letter for a publication, you need to complete the following six steps. When you put it all together-all the parts of a query, you get a complete or successful pitch. have the appropriate expertise and experience.have angled the article idea for that market.It’s a business tool used to show a publication editor that you: Much like a book proposal, a query letter for a publication of any type serves as a marketing document.
Yet, it’s the whole letter that sells the article or story idea. The pitch in a query letter equates to the first paragraph. There’s more to a query letter than the actual pitch. If the ball (your query) drops out of the mitt, that means you’ve lost the editor’s interest, and you’ll likely get a rejection note thrown back. In this case, the mitt symbolizes an editor’s hands. It’s the pitch that puts the ball in the mitt.
To land that first assignment and byline or your hundredth, foremost, you need to learn how to pitch. If you want to write articles to become a freelance writer, promote your book with articles or just write for publication occasionally, you need to know how to write a good query letter. In both roles, I’ve had a chance to see what works and what doesn’t.
In my past editorial positions for several regional magazines I had to read queries written by other writers and decide whether to accept them. I’ve written query letters and sent them to many magazines and other types of publications-some accepted, some not.