BellaOnline Forums Career Nonfiction Writing I got a gig!!!!!!

Yippie!!!!
I just got my first assignment with a magazine! Okay, it is a regional magazine, but the pay is at or above the national magazine standard!
WHat's better is they want me to shoot the photo's as well...and I'll double my check if they just take one photo...I don't even want to think about if they take more than one.
I'm talking more than a whole week's worth of my former paycheck, for about 1 hour in the field and an hour to write it. Doing the calculations, I'll make at least $150 per hour, if not more!
(Can you see me doing cartwheels?????)
I'm running out now to do it!!!!!!!!

(smiling from ear to ear!_)
~K. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Congratulations!!

Thanks!
I did the leg work today....I'll write it tonight!
~k

Karen,

Do you have the 2004 Writer's Market book? It's a pretty good resource for sending queries to publications that only want them sent by mail.

Send me an email off list if you want me to look up some publications for you. (Not sure how you got the 7 names you contacted.)

Victoria

Yeah, I've got one...it's my prefered research method. Most of the time, if I see a market that fits, I see if they have a website, then I check it out to see if they'll take e-queries. SOme that will don't list it in the "Big Book", for fear of being inundated.
Sometimes, if I'm feeling brazen, and can get a hold of an editor's email address, I'll send an e-query that way-- as long as it doesn't say somewhere "NO EMAIL".
I think editors are beginning to actually prefer this method, it's faster and less work for them. I love it becasue it saves me money and paper and time, plus I usually get a response faster.
Thanks for the help anyway!
~k :beamedup:

Oh but some of them are stuck in the ice age and want clips and your query letter mailed to them.
I love working with those that send off a quick yes or no in email. Who has time to wait 5 weeks for a mailed query response?!

Victoria

One way around the clips thing is to do what I did...put up a website with a clips page. Then, all I have to do is link it in the email and they can go right to it. Plus, many of my cips are "live" and have links to the actual work.

Of course, some editors are lazy, and refuse to waste the time "clicking"-- but I know of at least on instance where a newspaper took me on as a stringer based on perusal of my online clips!

K.

Just saying hi to Karen and Victoria. Congrats on your first gig and hope you both get many more!

warm regards, susie:)