So you’ve found a niche article publication that seems like a good fit for your submission. To get your piece in, though, you have to follow a set of instructions that usually involve some combination of mailing it in. Uploading it online somewhere, and following up to see if it was read with an editor. If submitting an article sounds like something you’d enjoy doing on a regular basis and not just as an occasional hobby, then writing it probably isn’t the only part of this process that feels awkward.
The world is full of people who would love nothing more than to write for their favorite niche publication on a regular basis. But how do you go from reading someone else’s columns on a website to getting yours into the same company? Here are some tips for taking the first steps toward becoming a published writer.
Know What You’re Getting Into
First things first, you have to be prepared for a lot of rejection. If writing is your profession, then you’re putting the work in every day, but it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get paid. Whoever, if writing is a hobby and you want to get paid for it, then you’re also putting in a lot of work, but you still have to face the possibility that you might not get paid at all. If you’re submitting to niche websites, you’re up against hundreds or even thousands of other writers who are trying to submit the same work to the same publications. That’s why it’s important to pick your targets carefully.
Get to Know the Publication
Before you send anything to an editor, you have to read their website and find out what kind of articles they publish. You might find that you have an idea for an amazing article that would be perfect for them. But if you don’t read their submission guidelines, you might miss out on the one thing you need to get your piece in. If you follow some of the bigger publication names in your niche (like Inc, Entrepreneur, and Forbes). You’ll still need to look for the correct department or section to submit your article. You’ll also need to read the article title format and length requirements, along with any other requirements or preferences they might have.
Write a Great Hook Sentence
Every article starts with a hook sentence. If the editor likes your hook, they’ll read the first paragraph, and if they like that, they’ll read the rest of your article. If they don’t like your hook, they’ll ignore the rest of your article and you’ll get rejected. So make sure you’re writing something good! Depending on the publication, you might be asked to write a different kind of hook sentence than if you were writing for a general audience. If the publication is geared towards a specialist audience, the editor probably wants you to write a summary that gets right to the point and talks about the topics that are most important to them.
Write as Good of a Draft As You Can
Nobody expects you to write the perfect draft the first time you sit down to write. But if you submit an article that’s filled with spelling errors, has missing or incorrect citations, or doesn’t even make sense, you’ll get rejected. This is why it’s important to read the publication’s suggestions for writing and editing. Some publications want everything to be written in perfect, formal language. Others want more casual language and more “everyday person” examples. Some publications have a very strict style guide about how to cite sources and what kinds of sources you can use. Others have less strict rules and just want you to source your information correctly when you cite.
Mail a Final Copy (Or Just Send an Email With It)
This is the part of the article submission process that will vary from publication to publication the most. Some publications ask you to mail in a physical copy of your article. Other publications want you to send your article in an email with your name, contact information, and a picture of yourself (and maybe even a picture of your pet). Some publications only want you to send the first article you write and then ask you to send a new article every month. Others want you to submit a new article every single week.
Take the Rejection and Move On
This is the hardest part of the process, but it’s also the most important. If you get rejected from a publication, don’t take it personally. There are probably hundreds of articles being submitted to every publication every week. It’s just that most of them are written by people who have more experience than you do. If you’re just starting out and you get rejected, that’s totally normal. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or that you can’t get better. It just means that you need more experience in this field and more time to build up your portfolio. Keep practicing, keep learning, and keep writing.
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