Freelance Writing

by Michael Sedge
 

All articles begin with an idea. While I agree with editors who say to narrow the focus of your subject to make it more sellable, I also believe that you should keep a broad readership in mind. By doing so, you automatically open the door to multiple sales. Take, for example, archaeology. Several years ago I wrote a feature on the ancient Roman city of Baiae, which today lies off the Southern Italian coast in ten to thirty feet of water. I could have easily written the tale of a scuba diver and sold it to Diver Magazine. Instead, I took a broad approach, discussing the city's history, famous residents such as Emperor Nero, what led to the town's destruction, archaeological research and finds, and ultimately how contemporary sports divers enjoy exploring the sunken ruins, just as other tourists roam the nearby excavations of Pompeii. 

This approach suddenly expands the market from divers to archaeologists, historians, and even armchair travelers. I expanded the potential readership even further, during the writing, by producing an adventure-style piece -- but that is getting ahead of myself. 

Tasty Query
As a guerrilla writer, you need to come up with a tasty query -- i.e., one that an editor finds hard to refuse. In the case of Baiae, I opened as if I were on an actual dive, effortlessly gliding downwards through the haunting, blue-green Mediterranean waters with eerie ruins coming to view. Upon completion of my query, I loaded my IBM and began a series of "machine-gun" submissions. 

Arky Gonzalez, a well-known journalist and active member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, is famous for his mass-submission techniques. So is Austria-based writer Nino LoBello, whose byline appears in perhaps 100 publications around the world each year, though not necessarily on 100 different articles. Like me, Arky and Nino have discovered that, with a good query and business savvy, they can sell the same article ten, 20, or even 100 times. 

The underwater city of Baiae query went out, initially, to 20 publications, from Asia to Africa and Australia to Europe. Where possible, the proposal was sent by email. In other cases, it was transmitted by fax. Four recipients -- for whom I had no fax number and where I knew electronic submissions were despised -- were sent via snailmail. Within a week I received an acceptance: Oceans took first North American serial rights. 

While the other queries continued to circulate, I began work on the article. Knowing that I would be selling the story to global markets, I decided to avoid American slang, phrases, comparisons, and expert quotes. I chose to utilize metric measures rather than feet and inches, as the latter are utilized almost exclusively in the United States (and perhaps by one other tiny nation in the world). Finally, I chose an adventure theme to insure that my goal for multiple, worldwide sales would be achieved. After all, action-adventure films like Indiana Jones, Stargate, and even Six Days, Seven Nights all experienced enormous international success. 

Sales Marketing
Prior to sending out the queries, I had created a "Sales/Marketing" chart -- something I suggest to all aggressive writers. More than a mere listing of where your submissions go, the Sales/Marketing record is a companion to the marketing research you do in order to target potential buyers for your product -- in this case, your article. The first step in producing a chart is to decide in which countries you will focus your sales efforts. In my case, I chose Australia, Bahrain, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Kuwait, Philippines, Scandinavia, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S. In making these choices, I asked the following questions: 1) What publications am I aware of in these countries, that are potential buyers? 2) What rights can I offer each publication, without overlapping circulation or running into conflicts? 3) What is the best approach -- i.e., email, fax, letter, etc. 

Armed with this information, I compiled my Sales/Marketing chart. Under each country, I listed the potential markets, the rights I would offer, the method and date of query. For example:

By the time the article was written -- and I had added a selection of images and maps to the completed package -- I had sold exclusive U.S. military market rights to Overseas in Germany. Whenever a rejection letter came in, I simply sought another publication within the geographic area to which I could offer the same rights I had proposed to the first publication. To each of those that ultimately accepted my offer, I submitted the completed package, making a note of the date on the Sales/Marketing Chart. When payment arrived, I would note that, as well as the date of publication. This completed a final transaction. 

Eventually the Baiae story sold 27 times, in eight different countries, and brought in over $10,000. At this point I lost interest in this piece and turned it over to the Canadian syndication outfit, Articles International, with which I have a working agreement. In my cover letter, I provided a list of rights that had been sold to date. Because my focus is primarily on English-language rights, Articles International frequently sells translations of my work to clients in Asia, Europe, and South America. 

By maintaining a broad approach and a global perspective in your sales efforts, you will find that many of your article topics can travel a long way.
 

   -- MS
   ©1999 Mike Sedge