Replenishing Your River of Assignments

by Janice Wells

When overwhelmed with writing obligations, it may be tempting to place query writing at the bottom of your priority list. After all, queries don't have deadlines, do they?

Well, as a matter of fact, yes, they do -- if you want to succeed as a writer. In the midst of your busy writing career, should you cease to set and meet self-imposed query deadlines, your blossoming magazine writing career will come to a mind-numbing, screeching halt.

On Top of Your Game
"If we don't keep sending out queries and calling editors and marketing like hyperactive used car salesmen, the assignments dry up and we are back to working as cashiers at K-Mart," says Fran Severn a magazine writer based north of Baltimore. In order to land assignments on a regular basis, Severn, sends at least nine to ten queries a month and sets aside one day every couple of weeks as a marketing day. "I write the queries I've been trying to get to, read new publications, and make follow up calls to editors. It does drop off when I get really busy, but I fight against that happening. If it does, I know I'm going to reach a day when my 'to do' list is empty and there's nothing on the horizon."

Severn purposefully devotes time to query, just as she would set aside time to conduct an interview but, at the same time, maintains scheduling
flexibility. "I don't work to the exclusion of all else on those (market) days. If I have a hot assignment, then I split the time -- maybe do the assignment during the day if I need to make phone calls, then do the query work in the evening. The market day may get split between a couple of days that way, but it gets done. It's very high priority."

Keep the Wheels Turning
While some editors reply in a timely fashion, most editors are slow to respond to queries. Submitting a steady stream of queries can compensate for editor lag time. "Usually I shoot for 12 to 16 (queries) a month, depending on how busy I am," says Kelly James-Enger a Morris, Illinois based magazine writer. "My goal this year was to get out two per week regardless of how busy I am." Her query efforts regularly land her six assignments a month.

In the Midst of Frenzy
For the times when she's unable to stop and write a query but has a great article idea, Severn keeps a legal pad on her desk. "Each page is dedicated to a different idea. I write it down -- usually a couple of words (i.e. 'caving trip' 'Newport News Quilting Club'), and if I have an immediate market in mind, list that, too. Then I pull out the list on marketing day and start working."

When James-Enger is struck with a sudden query idea while in the thick of a writing project, she jots the idea on a post-it and comes back to it later. "I also have several pages in my notebook where I track my queries that are just descriptions of possible story ideas." But to keep her query/assignment ratio constant, James-Enger makes sure she consistently writes and sends fresh queries, even when busy with multiple assignments. "What usually works is to sketch out a draft of the idea when I'm taking a break from deadlines... Then a day or two later, I'll sit down and type it up, polish, etc., rather than trying to do it all in one sitting."

One Sure Thing
As any seasoned magazine writer knows, keeping a steady batch of fresh, exciting queries in circulation is the key to magazine writing prosperity. Without diligently sending a steady stream of queries to your target markets, before you know it, you will find yourself right back at square one, with perhaps one or two assignments trickling in or none at all. So, if you want to keep your writing career alive and well, take time to regularly send queries.

-- JW
© May 1999 Janice Wells
First published in the Writer's Guidelines Database