The Italian Connection

by Kate Donnellan

Mike Sedge has worked in the editorial/marketing industry for the past 23 years. He is an accomplished, prolific writer with several books and over 2,600 published articles to his credit. His most recent publications include: “Putting Your Articles Into Foreign Service” in the March issue of Writer’s Digest; an interview with Tom Clancy, published in the US, Singapore and Germany; and Writer’s and Photographer’s Guide to Global Markets, scheduled for release next month. Besides sculpting a successful career for himself as an international writer publishing in diverse markets around the globe, Mike has also managed to design an out-of-the-ordinary lifestyle -- he maintains his American passport and writes in English from his home in Southern Italy. Was this international writer’s career created, or did it just happen?

“After joining the US Navy at nineteen, I was sent to Chicago, then San Diego and, finally, Italy. Here, I attended night school and, ultimately, obtained a BA in European History and Government from the University of LaVerne. I later taught freelance writing and photography seminars at LaVerne and other schools.

Marketing

“Like most writers, I began working for local publications — for little or no pay. This developed into working for specialty military publications and, because of my geographical location, travel magazines. I was self-taught; the method of writing I developed was more marketing than anything else. While attending college, I had taken several marketing classes and applied what I learned to this new career. For example, for an English 101 project, I researched and wrote an article on the “Sunken City of Baiae” which is located off Italy’s coast near Naples. While I got only a “B” on the paper, it sold, and sold, and sold again. To date, it has appeared in more than twenty publications and brought me over $6000. The topic ultimately got me a book contract with Franklin Watts —- Commercialization of the Oceans —- and, just last month, helped in obtaining a $7000 underwater archaeology writing assignment from Discovery Channel. So, my advice is, don’t simply write something, sell it, and move on. Use your writing as a calling card for future work —- even if you wrote the piece twenty years ago.”

Mike’s military background and connections have played a leading role in the path his career has taken, and he continues to draw on those early years and the network he created then in his writing life today. After all, it was the Navy that sent him to Italy in the first place.

“I spent four years in the US Navy but worked closely with NATO forces. I realized, while still on active duty, that the media sought information in this field. After leaving the service, I focused on this niche and was soon working as a staff writer for several military publications: Off Duty, R&R, Family, Salute, Stars and Stripes, Army Times, etc. I also landed stringer positions with The Associated Press, Newsweek, and Time-Life, always covering military affairs. While some of these publications have gone under over the years, I am still a foreign correspondent for Armed Forces Journal International and Diplomat, published in the UK. I decided to live in Italy in 1979, after returning to Michigan during one of its worst snowstorms in history. The always-pleasant Mediterranean climate, the atmosphere, the people, all lured me, like Sirens, back here. The fact that my wife is Italian also helped.”

The Article Is My Product

Living in Italy, yet publishing around the world in English, sounds idyllic to many free-lancers interested in the international scene; and Mike established himself long before the arrival of the Internet put the possibility of a long-distance career within relatively easy reach. “From the beginning, I took a marketing approach: the article is my product. Like a pie, I chop it up and sell each slice, therefore maximizing my income. For example, one slice is German-language rights, one slice first North American rights, then one for the first UK rights, and so on.

“I also targeted various markets and pushed to sell in each of these: travel, in-flight, military, etc. In these cases, I might offer exclusive rights in a military publication or exclusive in-flight magazine rights. Editors love the word ‘exclusive’ but are really only concerned that the article does not appear in a publication that is in direct competition, or a widely circulated publication such as Newsweek. One must remember that making an editor’s life easy is half the sale —- so I always provide ‘packages’ with text, photos, graphics, captions, and anything else that will help. Ninety percent of my work has been sold outside the USA.”

Mike’s self-discipline and drive have been key factors in his success, and he prides himself on being fast. “Early on, I came up with a system of launching my career. Each week I would send out one query letter to three different editors. By the end of the month, I had twelve queries out. I continued this process and as the rejections inevitably came in, I would get the query out again. Eventually, ideas were being sold, and I not only continued to send out queries but produced one or two articles a month. Sticking to this program, by the end of one year I had over three hundred submissions out. When you have that much floating around the world, you don’t have time to think about rejections, and you always have work to accomplish.

“Military, in-flight, and foreign publications are my niches. The latter could apply to any publication around the world and to any writer. For instance, if someone is located in the American Midwest, he might interest a UK magazine on an event or topic about St. Louis. In the same respect, a writer in Singapore might find a perfect topic for an editor in New York. The key is to look beyond national borders. Probably the best example I can provide of this way of thinking and marketing -- and of finding ‘links’ that will make an editor say, ‘That’s perfect for us’ — is a story I sold to Bank American World in 1982. An Italian branch of the Bank of America was servicing the U.S. military community in Naples. Originally, Bank of America was established in San Francisco to service the tiny Italian community there; so I did a ‘turn-the-tables’ article using this theme. The story ran under the title 'Bank of America Serving Little America,' and it brought me a thousand dollars.”

Old Business Methods

Mike still uses time-honored free-lancers’ techniques and the traditional approach to handing the business of writing. “Despite email and the Internet, letters still bring the best results for me. It seems that today, unlike during the ‘Golden Age of Editing’ (if such a time ever really existed), editors do not feel obligated to reply to writers if they are not interested in an idea. This is particularly true with email queries. Of the hundred ideas I might send out today, only fifty receive a reply. This is as true for books as it is for articles. At the same time, if I take the time to write and print a query, then mail it, the return rate is over eighty percent. So, there is something to be said about old methods of doing business.

“I also network a great deal and firmly believe in meeting editors in person. There is no better way to feel out an editor than to sit with him through a coffee or lunch. Do your homework, though, and don’t waste their time — they’re busy people. Know the publication, know what they use, want, need. And have a list of focused ideas to toss out. Doing this, last November, has resulted in $14,000 worth of work from one Washington editor alone.”

Would you say your unusual life choice has made you more sought after as a writer? Would you attribute at least a portion of your success to being in the right place at the right time? "Certainly. Early on, Time-Life, Newsweek and The Associated Press took me on — after I made the effort to meet personally with the people in charge —- because I could offer them something they needed: military correspondence/expertise. Had I been a gardener, I might have approached House & Garden, or a few of the other popular publications in this niche. Everyone is an expert at something: child-raising, cooking, washing clothes, photography. Writers should focus on their knowledge. I’ve written stories on starting plants from stem cutting, to square-dancing and stamp- collecting, to the New-World screw-worm epidemic in Libya. Through the years, I’ve learned to be an expert, based on my ability to research and find sources of information. Right now, I am writing a book that will tell women How to Turn Your Man into a Latin Lover. Of course, it will be published under a female pen-name. The point is, begin writing what you know and polish your research skills. Oh, yes, also remember that it is sometimes easier to pull an encyclopedia or telephone book off the shelf than spend hours on the Net."

Internet Effects

But the widespread use of the Internet has changed things for Sedge, too. “While I still deal with as many publications as before, the administration and speed of doing business has improved greatly. For example, my new book, Writer’s & Photographer’s Guide to Global Markets, was proposed, negotiated, and contracted in only fourteen days. Prior to this, the fastest book deal I’d ever had took three months. The speed factor alone has doubled my workload. Internet has also reduced my postage and courier costs by sixty percent.”

Have you achieved real freedom and mobility? Can and do you take your work with you?
“I purchased my first laptop in 1984; I have since owned four. In this business, one must have a great deal of self-discipline. It is easy to go on a research trip and spend a week literally vacationing; the problem shows up when you get back home and have to face the work. The last two weeks, for instance, I was in Alexandria, Egypt, researching a seven-thousand-word assignment. At the end of each day, I would spend two to three hours in my hotel room typing out two hundred to five hundred words. Upon my return home, I was left with only a few holes to plug and a final edit; so the fourteen days away did not go to waste. Likewise, I will be in London next month for a week researching a story on the finest hotel rooms in the city. When I leave, I’ll have not only enjoyed some luxury suites, but I’ll also have a fifteen-hundred word story for Philippine Airlines’ inflight magazine, Mabuhay.”

How about a word of advice to anyone attempting a writing career based overseas?
“It can be done and done well. In some ways, I believe, it is easier to be based abroad. Editors look at your ideas twice because you are often in the position to provide a unique perspective.”

When Mike isn’t enjoying the cappuccino at the cafe down the street or the other delights of his life on the Mediterranean, he has plenty to keep him busy. “I have two book projects lined up for Discovery Channel. I have a deadline — next week — for a feature on Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe; three more assignments —- two of which will take me to Kenya and the Antarctic —- for Asian in-flight magazines; one assignment for Armed Forces Journal International; two new book proposals; a screenplay being circulated by an ex-VP of Columbia Pictures, and three other book proposals being circulated by two agents. All of this, as of this morning —- but tomorrow, as they say, is another day.”

Mike’s astute business sense and knowledge of international markets is the force behind his quarterly newsletter entitled Markets Abroad http://authorlink.com/forgnmkt.html

And his latest book, Writer’s & Photographer’s Guide to Global Markets, due out in September, not only provides the names of thousands of publications and editors around the world (including what they want, what they pay, and how to approach them) but also gives readers insight into how to establish a successful global writing business for themselves.

“The original concept was to provide advice for everyone -- whether a beginner or a veteran writer/photographer. Unlike many books on writing, this one gives examples —- both good and bad —- of how I’ve been able to create and maintain a $60,000+ a year writing career -- though most of my friends and relatives think I am always on vacation —- that’s one of the benefits of the job!”

-- KD
©1998 Kate Donnellan