TECH: 101 Tips (52)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting 11 Nov 2009

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"Don't strain to be trendy. Don't submit without knowing the magazine well. At least read a few issues first." Linda Landrigan

Just to keep moving ahead on these. This one almost seems contradictory, with the first hint suggesting that you avoid trying to fit the trends. For one thing, what you're reading or seeing published today actually is fairly well out of date compared to what the publishers are seeing today -- and by the time you write and submit and it goes through the publication processes, it will be much later. So go ahead and write what's important to you, without paying much attention to the hottest new trend.

On the other hand, Linda reminds us to check out the magazine or other market that we're submitting to. You get at least some idea of what the editors and the readers are looking for, and you can decide how well your writing fits into that. The latest splatter punk horror piece may not be well received at Ladies Home Journal (is there still a Ladies Home Journal?) Yes, mix-and-match genres are somewhat popular right now, but mystery magazines still want a mystery, romance still wants romance, and so forth. So at least consider the market, dig out a few copies and read them.

I think the real message here is try to find your readers. And that's tricky...