Finding
New Markets
& Recycling Articles...
Note: Be sure to read
the postscript!
On
Feb. 5th, 2003, at the Northern District Library, PWAC held a seminar
on Finding Markets and Recycling Articles. About 40 people came out to
hear Toronto writer Paul Lima and London, Ont.-based freelancer Mark
Kearney speak.
Paul Lima has more than 15 years of experience as a freelance writer,
editor, and workshop facilitator. For more information, visit his
website at www.paullima.com.
Mark Kearney has been a freelance writer for more than 20 years. He's
the co-author, with Randy Ray, of six trivia books. Mark has recycled
newspaper articles into books, and his books back into numerous
newspaper articles. For more information, visit his website at www.triviaguys.com.
PAUL LIMA:
Paul Lima's three-point strategy for finding new markets:
1.
Research and read:
-
Internal Research: Decide how you'd answer the
following questions: Who are you? What is your background: employment,
education, significant life experiences? What are your hobbies and
interests? What are you passionate about? What turns your crank? What
do you know? What don't you know (but would like to find out about)?
What would you love to write about? What would you like to write about?
What can you write about? Why? Why you?
-
Periodical Research: Don't rely on the Web. Go to
a good library and immerse yourself in periodicals. Go to a good
bookstore and read every magazine on the racks. Find magazines and
newspapers that are covering the topics and issues that are close to
your heart, your brain, your life, your work, education and interests.
2.
Learn how to write dynamic query letters:
-
The query letter demonstrates that you have thought
about and researched your article idea, that you've read and understood
what the publication (and it's readers) are about, and that you can
write. Don't write on spec. How do you know how many words the editor
wants? How do you know that the idea hasn't already been assigned?
3.
Follow up on query letters:
-
You can wait for the editor to call, and complain
when the e-mail doesn't arrive or the phone doesn't ring. Or you can
take action and follow up...
I
worked as a freelance writer for about a year and was querying like
crazy but not hearing back from editors, or hearing back for weeks or
months after submitting queries. In desperation, I took a deep breath
and followed up on a pitch I had sent to Computing Now. I identified
myself and said I was following up on the query. I heard the rustle and
rip of an envelope. It was obvious he was opening the query as we
spoke. "Hmm ... nope. Can't use any of your ideas, but ... clips look
good. I'm looking for a columnist to write a monthly 2,000 word feature
on...." I wrote a dozen articles for Computing Now over the next year
(and recycled most of them when I landed a gig with the Star's tech
section).
So
follow up. After all, what's the worst thing that can happen? The
editor can say "no thank you," which means you are free to pitch your
article idea somewhere else.
Trying to break out of a pigeonhole?
Your
query letter has to go beyond exceptional. It has to be as brilliant as
the article will be. I am known as a technology and small business
writer. But go to www.articles.paullima.com
and look under "Life / Arts / Etc." to see just some
of the articles I have written since the dot-com and tech/telecom
meltdown. And I have continued to find homes for new and recycled
business and tech articles.
Here's
a query letter sent to the National Post (Toronto Section) that reads
like an article, but you will see that it is not the article:
If
you find Toronto an unfriendly city, then get a dog.
Toronto is known as a city where you cast your eyes down when you pass
a stranger on the street. Not only is this acceptable behaviour, it is
expected. I've lived in Toronto all my life and never thought anything
of it. It's part of the culture of this city and, quite frankly, I
rather enjoyed the urban isolation--finding solitude in a crowd.
Then we got a dog.…
In the last two months, since the Giant Schnauzer puppy arrived in our
home, I have spoken to more strangers on streets and in parks than I
have in the 45 years in which I have lived in Toronto.
At first, I was quite taken aback by the sudden familiarity. It felt
like an invasion of privacy. I even told my wife I was going to create
an FAQ--a sheet with answers to frequently asked questions:
· Kohl - Spelled k-o-h-l
· Giant Schnauzer
· Four months old
· 27-inches and about 100-pounds, when he's full grown...
I am getting used to what feels like celebrity status, even if the dog
is the centre of attention. I did not know this could happen in
Toronto. But if I had talked to other dog owners, I would have
discovered it is a common phenomenon.
Would you be interested in an article on my recent dog walking
experiences in Toronto? To examine the phenomenon, and the reasons
behind it, I will talk with other dog walkers and a psychologist at the
University of Toronto.
Concluded with 'bout me' bumf.
What
am I doing here? I'm really, really trying to sell the editor
on my ability to write an article that is outside my beat, but I am not
writing and submitting the article. I am writing a query letter. By the
way, I didn't have to follow up on this one. The editor called me two
days later and I filed the full article three days later.
Recycling: I don't know what to say
about recycling ideas and articles, other than to sound like a Nike
commercial: DO IT! Here are leads from five articles I've sold over the
last couple of years:
Your
Office 1999:
Barry Lewis has a dog-eared passport. Over the last year, the computer
and network security expert has been to Slovenia, Zurich, Brussels,
Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Chicago and New Orleans, as well as half a dozen
Canadian cities. While on the road, the president of Cerberus ISC Inc.,
a Toronto-based security consulting firm, conducts security-related
seminars and consults with financial institutions, manufacturers,
government agencies, and other clients....
Toronto
Star Tech Supplement, 1999:
Barry Lewis has a dog-eared passport. Over the last year, the computer
and network security expert has been to Slovenia, Zurich, Brussels,
Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Chicago and New Orleans, as well as half a dozen
Canadian cities. While on the road, the president of Cerberus ISC
Inc....
BellzInc,
2000:
Barry Lewis has a dog-eared passport. Over the last couple of years, he
has been to Brussels, the Netherlands, Chicago and New Orleans numerous
times, as well as Slovenia, Zurich, Luxembourg, and half a dozen
Canadian cities...
Toronto Star Fast Forward, 2000:
Barry Lewis has a dog-eared passport. Over the last couple of years, he
has been to...
Home Business Report, 2002:
Barry Lewis has a dog-eared passport. Over the last couple of years, he
has been to...
I
rest my case. Each article went someplace different, but they
all had to do with travel, technology and business. Recycling lets you
do more in less time, therefore you make more per hour. Conversely, if
you have your lead already written, you then have more time to
research, update and write the rest of your story.
Added since the seminar: In
reply to a late spring query, a National post editor who had hired me a
number of times told me she would not be reviewing any queries until
"the fall." So, a few days after Labour Day (technically it was not yet
fall), I sent her my late spring query again. She replied with "I'll
take it and can you write an article on...." The second article was on
Canada's new privacy act. Didn't even know the act existed.
I did some web research, started a chat about
the act on a business list serv I belong to, and replied with "Darn
right. I'm an expert on the act." Busted my buns on the article -- 5
interviews; 900 words; $350. Filed, then immediately pitch Profit,
BellzInc, Costco Connection and 7 other publications that were targeted
at small and medium enterprises or that dealt with marketing issues.
Sold articles to the first three publications mentioned. Each editor
receive a different query and a different article. However, I only did
two more interviews for the other three articles, and recycled the
massive amount of info I picked up on the first round of interviews for
the Post.
And now, a bit of correspondence, between an editor and me:
To
set the scene: The editor asks if I can write an article on the
importance of online security by Feb. 7. I said, "No problem" without
blinking. Know why? Do you know how many times I've written on this
topic? I have no idea, but I probably need all my fingers and toes to
count that high. So this is part of my reply:
Feb.
7 is fine, thanks. FYI: Had three articles in today's Star, one that
might be of interest.… Wait, it's not e-commerce. Well, if
you are doing non-e-com:
Small business and the quarterly tax bite: Sole proprietors who run
unincorporated small businesses get paid by their clients, and then
have to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, on a quarterly or annual
basis. It requires careful planning to make sure the money is
available, and the biggest challenge comes when their income - and
therefore tax owed - varies from year to year.
The
editor replies:
I
looked up your articles in yesterday's Star -- you pretty well owned
the Your Money section! I notice that both the one you mentioned to me
and the one on borrowing for an RRSP contribution took a small
business/sole proprietor point of view. What would you charge me for
cutting them back to 750 words, focusing on the "how-to" stuff, and
adding some little subheads to make them more readable online? I'd love
to run the RRSP one in an upcoming newsletter, since this is the right
season!
In
conclusion:
I will be making more recycling these articles with this editor than I
made selling first serial rights to the Star. We can talk about
recycling details after Mark's presentation. And now........
MARK
KEARNEY:
In the 1980s, Trivial Pursuit (a board game) was still very big. It was
invented in Canada, but had lots of questions geared towards an
American audience. While this was a good marketing ploy on the part of
the inventors, it left Mark and his friend Randy wondering whether
Canadian trivia would be as popular.
IN THE BEGINNING
They approached several newspapers with an idea to write a weekly
column featuring Canadian trivia, and obtained four customers,
including the Calgary Herald and the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.
At first, it was quite popular, with people writing in with questions.
But eventually interest waned and Mark and Randy lost their markets.
They went back to marketing their research, this time offering recycled
columns that were cut down to about half the size of their original
columns. They charged about $100 per column, which was more than other
papers were paying. This recycled column ran in the Toronto Star for
almost two years.
FROM NEWSPAPERS TO BOOKS
By now, they had been writing trivia-related columns for several years
and had a lot of material. They decided to write a book. They
researched which publishers might be interested in this type of book,
then they approached this targeted list with their idea.
They got a lot of rejections.
One editor said it was a nice idea, but he didn't want it because his
company already had something similar coming out. However, he did
suggest that Mark and Randy organize their research into categories,
like sports, geography, etc.
Around that same time, another publisher said he was interested in the
idea but didn't like the format. Mark and Randy came back to this
publisher and said, well, what if we put the information into
categories, like sports, geography, etc? The publisher liked this
format and accepted the book.
It did better than the authors and publisher expected. It was published
in September of 1996, and by December it went into its third printing.
After a while, the authors approached the publisher again with the idea
of doing a second trivia book, with information not already covered in
the first book. In the end, they had six trivia books published.
FROM BOOKS TO NEWSPAPERS
Mark and Randy went back to the newspapers and Web-based magazines and
approached them with new ideas: quizzes, a fact a day, articles for
special events (like Canada Day, October Fest, Valentines, the
Olympics, etc) all lefting on little known Canadian facts. And it
took very little effort to do because they were taking the same
information they had researched years ago while doing their original
columns and books.
"Ideally, what we want to do is recycle the 'question and answer'
research we did 10 years ago at no extra work," says Mark. If they have
to rework the material to make it fit a publication, they
will.
BENEFITS OF RECYCLING
Mark and Randy sold about 40,000 books, in total. At around a 10 per
cent commission, split between the two authors, the income they
received was only about $6,000 a year each. However, when they add on
the money gained from selling newspaper articles, quizzes, and the
online material, that brings in a few more thousand dollars for very
little additional work or time.
"Find the information, reshape it, and sell it as many times as
possible," Mark says. "It's all about finding different markets, and
tailoring if you have to."
Money is one benefit to recycling. Publicity is another. Whenever they
are published in a newspaper, it gives them free publicity for their
books.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The audience members asked Mark Kearney and Paul Lima questions after
the talk. Here are some of the Questions and Answers.
Finding markets and recycling materials:
Q
- How difficult would it be to recycle non-tech stories-for example,
stories about dogs, pop culture, education, or health) into other
articles or books?
MARK: To write a book, you want to make sure you have enough to fill
about 200 pages.
- For interesting facts, look into history (e.g. 100 years ago on this
day, someone famous walked their dog; invented insulin; created a new
type of educational program).
- Look up information for special days you can tie into your subject
matter. For example, is there a National Dog Month, Education Month, or
Medical Day?
- Approach consumer magazines where your topic would be a good fit. For
example, parenting magazines are interested in education. Children's
magazines would be interested in animals. Also do your research and
find out what trade magazines are out there. Find the ones specializing
in your topic.
- Think globally. If you wrote Toronto-specific articles, can they be
of interest to other cities? If you wrote articles covering issues of
concern to Toronto parents of school-age children, call the school
board in Ottawa and ask parents in Ottawa are also concerned about this
issue.
Q - Do you have a process? What are the steps when you sit down at your
desk and say, "I'll recycle my stuff"?
PAUL: When I get a new assignment, I put a note in Microsoft Outlook to
remind me to look at recycling the story. Three weeks later, after I've
written and filed the article, the reminder pops up and I spend some
time trying to figure out where else I can send the article. I don't
recycle everything I write. But I recycle a lot. After I've worked with
an editor two or three times, I'll pitch recycled ideas by email,
rather than sending a formal query letter. I go though my articles once
in a while and just browse and think about new angles on old ideas and
possible markets.
MARK: I'm not as organized with a process. Randy reminds me when
special days are coming up, when we can recycle our materials, because
I often forget. Be aware of your material and keep up with special days
and events.
Payments and fees:
Q - When you query, do you have a price in mind?
PAUL: Most publications (magazines and newspapers) have a rate they
pay. There's minimal room for negotiation. When someone wants to buy
one of my articles off my Website, I have a difficult time coming up
with a rate to charge. I made more on reprint rights for two articles I
sold from my Website than I did from the original publications. For one
article, I knew the publisher's rates were normally $1 a word, so I
quoted 50-cents a word, which was more than I made for first rights.
MARK: Keeping the rights to your stuff is absolutely vital. I always
sell 'one time rights,' which means they get it once, and not
necessarily first. A lot of editors don't even ask what rights they're
buying. I never think that if they paid me $100 for the first time,
that I should only get $50 the second time around.
Q - Do you send invoices?
MARK: Yes. For the online publication, we gave them two weeks to
display the materials on their Website and told them they couldn't put
it in their archive.
Q - How honest are you to editors that the material is recycled? What
if it's the fifth or sixth time you're selling the same material?
PAUL: When you know the editors, it becomes less formal. You tell them
you have this guy that would fit well with their magazine. The only
complaint I had was when I sold first serial rights to one magazine and
second serial rights to another magazine. The first magazine didn't
publish the article when they were supposed to and the second magazine
ended up publishing the article first. (It wasn't the same article, but
it was the same topic.) The editor of the first magazine complained
that their article should have come out first, and I pointed out that
it would have if they'd kept to their original publishing date. (Paul
says he's up front about when he's recycling material. He'll tell
editors, "I've written about this guy in the past."
Newspapers, Syndication
Q - I'm doing all right pitching ideas to magazines, but I know nothing
about newspapers. I get a run-around when I try to find out who the
editors are.
PAUL: Call the switchboard operator (at the newspaper) and ask who the
editor is for a specific section; get the spelling of their name and
the e-mail address. Visit the newspaper's website, as this information
is often listed online. Certain newspapers don't hire freelancers, and
some editors find it difficult to say 'no,' which may explain the
run-around. If you still can't get the information, contact the
marketing or sales department and ask them. Once you get an editor on
the phone, tell them about your story idea and if they're not
interested, don't waste your time sending them a written query.
MARK: Newspapers are in some ways tougher to crack. Use the telephone.
It's a powerful tool. Try networking. If someone suggests you call an
editor, do it and tell the editor who sent you to them.
If a newspaper chain such as Canwest likes your work, they may
distribute your story to other papers and offer a fixed price to print
it in five of our papers. They pay low rates, but the advantages are
that you don't have to waste your time approaching the papers
individually, and you can find out which papers bought your material
and approach them individually next time. When you remind them that
they already published your stuff in the past, it can be an easier
sell. Torstar also has a syndicate.
Copyright Issues
Q - How can you sell your stuff from the book if the publisher owns the
copyright?
A - Make sure the publisher doesn't own the copyright. The authors
should negotiate to maintain copyright ownership of the materials.
Q - What if a publication wants to republish your material for free?
PAUL received word that a company was using his material in its
employee newsletter. He contacted the company and asked about it. The
company said it had paid a clipping service for the story. Paul said,
That's fine, you can pay the clipping service to find it for it, but
you can't just use my stuff in your marketing materials without my
permission. You have to pay for it. (He had to educate the company
about copyright and ownership.)
MARK and PAUL both said that with non-profits and charities, you may
decide to let them use the materials in exchange for an honorarium or
charitable receipt, if you believe in the cause or want to support the
charity.
Q - I worked as a newspaper reporter and my stuff appeared on other
Websites. What can I do about that?
A - If you worked as a staff reporter, the publication owns the
copyright to the material you created. You can ask the editors whether
they gave permission to these Websites to use the material. If they
didn't, ask your editor or publisher if they'd mind you going after
these sites to collect the payment (for yourself.) Most will say, 'no
problem.'
Q - You interview a source for one publication and then they appear in
numerous publications. Do they mind?
PAUL: When I interview people, I tell them up front the information may
appear in other publications. Most people are okay with that.
Q - I told an editor that the topic I covered for her publication was
going to appear in another publication. She wasn't thrilled and said
she'd prefer that didn't happen.
A - Don't bring it up first. Don't go to the editors and tell them that
the topic may appear in other places. The editor doesn't own copyright
to topics or subjects so you don't need permission from them to use it
again. If they have a problem with it, they can come to you and
complain. Then you'll have to decide who pays you more and which
publication is more important to you. Usually, if you don't bring it up
or point it out, it's not a problem.
Q - If I write for newspapers and they own the copyright to the
stories, can I use the same research in other stories?
A - Yes. You can't copyright an idea. You can write a new article using
the same research.
Q - But, what if I sold 'universal rights?"
A - Universal rights are not the same as copyright. You can sell
universal rights and still own the copyright. In fact, if you sell
every right there is, but insist on keeping the right to the research,
you can use the material to write lots of other articles.
Q - Some company included my article in its marketing materials
(without permission or payment.)
A - Send them an invoice at your corporate rate.
Q - I wrote an article for a newspaper. The agreement was verbal.
Rights were not discussed. When I received the cheque, they had stamped
on the cheque that cashing it meant the author agreed to give all
rights to the newspaper, including electronic rights, without any extra
payment. What would you do in that situation?
A - When rights are not specified, the default is that the author
maintains copyright. Contact the editor and tell them to issue a new
cheque without the stamp, since you had not agreed to sell all rights
and were of the understanding when you wrote the article that you would
be maintaining full copyright. You can negotiate extra payment for
electronic rights. If they won't issue a new cheque, speak with a
copyright lawyer and ask him or her if there's any way around it. For
example, if you simply cross out the sentence and initial it, or write
"without prejudice" on the back of the cheque, will that make the
conditions placed on the cheque null and void?
Anyone faced with this or a similar problem should do their own
research or check with a lawyer. Following these suggestions regarding
the cheque is no guarantee that you will protect your rights.
Be
sure to read the seminar postscript!
For
PWAC
membership information or to discuss PWAC National issues,
visit www.pwac.ca or email [email protected].
BACK TO TOP
Postscript to
PWAC TO's Recycling/Reselling Seminar:
Before filing this postscript,
I discussed by email my thoughts with Moira MacDonald, a successful
freelance writer and PWAC member. Her thoughts follow mine.
Paul Lima Writes: After the
workshop on recycling articles, article ideas, interviews and research,
a few people suggested that Mark Kearney is successful because he
recycles Trivia. However, a few others suggested that I am having some
degree of success because I recycle material based on technology.
Others suggested my success is due to the fact that I cover small
business issues. Perhaps I read too much Sartre in university, but from
my perspective it is all Trivia. Notice I did not say trivial (but it
is, in the long run, that too).
Folks, we could have brought in an entertainment writer who might have
used anecdotes that described how she writes play or move previews
(interviews the writer, director and some of the actors), then writes
reviews, then writes follow up articles on why the production was a
smash hit or a dismal failure, and writes follow up articles once the
movie hits a magic box office number or the play runs for a year... The
point is: Almost anything can be reused or recycled.
I was a communication beat columnist for Fast Forward, the Toronto
Star's technology section. I recycled the same themes over and
repeatedly, for six years: the positive or negative impact of
communications technology on consumers and/or businesses. "Ah-ha," you
say, "but you had a regular column." Yes, and I took the work I created
for that column and used it in many other publications. And don't say,
"Ah-ha, but you are a tech writer" or I'll scream!
Finding other markets was not easy. I had to go looking for them. And
if I had not gone looking for them, I would have never found them. When
I did find them, I didn't always sell to them. "Failure" (and I don't
consider it that, but a more appropriate word eludes me right now) is a
part of this business. My Gosh, if it was easy, the whole world would
do it. It isn't easy. BUT... it is possible!
Allow me to take a stab at an analogy here: Think of your work (the
research, interviews, and writing) as an irregularly shaped
three-dimensional angle. What the editor and reader sees is only the
flat surface of one side--the final article. Your job is to visualize
your work in its totality, an irregularly-shaped three-dimensional
object suspended in air. Walk around it. Look at all the other angles.
And there are other angles.
Of your interviews and research, how much material did you use? How
much did you have to leave on the cutting room floor? Was it only due
to word count? I suspect some of it got left behind because it didn't
fit the surface (article) you were creating. But it's still part of
your work. What other surfaces can you create with what's left over and
with what you have already used? Go. Find a fit for these other angles
in the same publication or other publications. Present variations on
your original work to your editor. Create your own beat within one
publication or create your own beat over multiple publications. Become
the educational expert or the entertainment expert or the social issues
or health issues or god-knows what issues/topic expert. (Trust me,
there is even room for more tech and small business experts.) Find
appropriate markets to which you can sell your expertise and your
ideas--original or recycled.
And no, you don't have to say: "By the way, I've already used the
stats, data, information, etc. I propose to use in this article in The
Star." Use your stats, data, information, knowledge, and expertise as
the foundation on which to build new articles. That is what I do, and
if you heard what Mark said, that is what he does too. Find your way to
see all the angles of your work and find your way to reuse and recycle
what you already know. Then do the additional work required to produce
new trivia based on old trivia.
Moira MacDonald replied: I think
you're absolutely right about people thinking that, oh sure, HE can do
that because look what he's writing about. But me? Oh no, for me that's
so impossible, even though I wish it weren't. That's why I asked the
question I did [about how to recycle issue-oriented education
articles]. I suffer from that kind of self-defeatist thinking and know
that it's possible to recycle, no matter what your write on. You just
have to get creative about it. I needed another perspective on that.
You've done a great job explaining how to think about recycling. The
other way I'm trying to think about it is that we as writers don't, on
the face of it, have the advantage of other industries where an item or
design is created and then reproduced and sold many times over. That
shouldn't hold us back though in thinking about how to approach doing
that. Why should a great idea or novel way of expressing it, or
research information, be limited to a one-time-only publication?
Answer: it shouldn't. And we have to get smarter at finding ways to
ensure that does not happen.
The designer of an amazing easy chair doesn't sell that chair to a
single customer. There are lots more out there who want to have it too
and who can't just "borrow" it from customer number one. Not sure if
this analogy makes sense but it's the way I'm trying to think of it.
Paul Lima replied: Does your
analogy make any sense? It's brilliant! Go forth and sell those chairs.
Sell the original chair repeatedly. Recover it whenever you can and
resell the recover version as well. That's what the seminar was all
about. Absolutely.
BACK TO TOP
For more
information about workshops, seminars and events for writers
in and around the GTA,visit www.networds.ca
Please see PWAC Toronto's list
of Evening
Seminars and workshops
conducted by PWAC members.
