Q&A Time: Breaking into trade pubs?

Do you have advice on how to query trade pubs when you don’t have a copy of the magazine and you are not even sure if they use freelancers who aren’t renowned experts in the field? A lot of freelancing books say to start with trade pubs, but they do not say how to do it without good clips. Where do you find saleable ideas for trade pubs?
– Ironically, another J who works in marketing

www.inkthinkerblog.com — I may not be the very best person to answer this question, but I’ll give it a shot and then I’ll point you to some info other folks have provided. First, I think we need to clarify what we’re talking about when we refer to a trade publication. Wikipedia says,

A trade journal is a periodical, magazine or publication printed with the intention of target marketing to a specific industry or type of trade/business. Trade journals typically contain heavy advertising content focused on the industry in question with little if any “general audience” advertising. They also generally contain industry-specific job notices. Many trade publications can also be considered newsmagazines with a very specific topical focus.

For instance, HR Magazine, Legal Assistant Today, and American Small Farm Magazine are all examples of trade publications, targeting staffing professionals, paralegals, and small farmers, respectively. One way to find a list of trade magazines is to check out the Yahoo! Directory Entry for “Business > Trade Magazines.” You can also check out the Gebbie Press All-in-One Media Directory. Realize that many, if not most, trade magazines are put out by professional organizations serving the target audience, so you can research potential markets by learning more about the associations that publish them.

As far as determining saleable ideas, something of note: Most trade pubs, particularly ones published by associations, have very clearly outlined editorial needs, and they’ll give you assignments. However, if you’re looking at a magazine that requires you to pitch an idea, I think the easiest way to do that is to start targeting pubs in an area where you have some familiarity or interest.

If I were trying to break in from scratch, I’d probably start with either gardening or beekeeping because my mom is a professional beekeeper and I have working knowledge of keeping bees and using the for large- and small-scale pollination. Maybe it’s not the most exciting topic in the world, but with a copy of the editorial calendar and two back issues of a few magazines in those trades, I could probably whip something up.

From my experience, most trade pubs do use freelancers, and very few of those freelancers are experts in the field. If you’re a great writer, you can learn the facts. If you know the facts, all the education in the world may not make you a great writer. Until you begin to develop expertise or find your niche, focus on presenting your writing and research skills. Editors want to hire someone whose writing they can depend on. Sometimes the fact that you’re not a whiz at whatever it is won’t even come up — and if it does, it’s often completely irrelevant.

Case in point: My first trade mag assignment was an 800-word piece (that netted me $1,500!) on making smart decisions when buying a new car, targeted toward the financial industry. Who cares that I’d never actually bought a car? I did the research, I did the writing, and they loved the article. Would being a car-buying expert have netted me a higher rate? Probably. Was it necessary for the article? Absolutely not.

That being said, I don’t advise that you just blindly send your stuff off to random trade mags. Do some research, identify some potential markets where you’d feel comfortable doing the research, and request back issues of the publications to review before crafting your letter of introduction. Compile some professional writing clips (related or not, doesn’t matter) and polish up your resume, and you’ve got your entree into the discussion.

Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the ::inkthinker:: blog? Send an e-mail to kristen@kristenkingfreelancing.com, and I’ll get on it right away!