The Road to Syndication

by Mike Sedge

This month I’d like to share with you a chapter from my recently published book, Successful Syndication.

Sooner or later nearly every writer contemplates syndication. And why not? You could be the next Ann Landers, Dave Barry, or Dr. Ruth. Your innovative weekly column could launch your career to unforeseen heights. You could become internationally famous. Your work could be transformed into a film or televised series. Licensing and merchandising of books, videos, computer games, audiotapes, toys, and more, could have your bank account reeling into the six figures in no time.

Then again, it could all be a pipe dream. But how do you know?

That’s the funny thing about many of the best things in life: you never achieve them unless you try. Certainly you've heard people say, " I’ve got this great book I want to write. It will probably be a best-seller.” Well, maybe it would and maybe it wouldn’t. One thing is certain, though: If these people never sit their butts in a chair and actually produce that book, we’ll never know if they could have been the next Hemingway or Mitchell.

As you explore the fascinating world of syndication, always keep this in mind: You could be that one-in-a-million winner, or you could be one of a million losers. Perhaps the best advice I can offer is to work towards your goal. Struggle for that goal. Fight for that goal. But always be realistic.

A recent report on the publishing industry pointed out that there are about 2,500 nationally syndicated artists (—I include both writers and cartoonists here, as both are recognized art forms—) in the United States. Your goal should, ultimately, be to make that figure 2,501. For most people, the road is long, winding, and bumpy before they reach the smooth blacktop of the national- syndication highway. In getting there, many have taken a back road—and you might also find yourself in a position to do the same.

Ruth Westheimer, the famous " Ask Dr. Ruth" columnist, for instance, gained syndication success after practicing medicine, teaching at Brooklyn College and Columbia University, and writing a series of successful books.

While only a few thousand artists make it to the peak of the national syndication mountain, many hundreds of thousands are climbing the ladder while making an average living through local, state, or regional syndication. Turning the work you do for one publication into something that two, three, four, and eventually 40 or even 400 editors want, is what syndication is all about.

At some point—perhaps even at the onset—you may decide, as many others have, that the best route for you is self-syndication. Writer James Dulley made such a decision several years ago, when he was producing the " Sensible Home" column for a local newspaper. Combining marketing savvy and dedication, Dulley’s work today appears in 400 newspapers and 30 magazines. The syndication fees bring him nearly $1 million a year. Spin-off sales—books and pamphlets—bring him another $1 million.

While individual newspapers and magazines pay very little for syndicated material, there is big money in numbers. Imagine, for example, that Ann Landers’ column appears in 1,200 newspapers with a daily readership of more than 90,000,000 people. The average 300-word column might sell for $4. Multiply this by seven days a week and you have $28. Not much, right? But the folks at Creators Syndicate, which distributes Landers’ columns, realize that with 1,200 clients, it will bring in nearly $1.75 million a year.

There is also a celebrity-like power, or status, that comes with being syndicated. You develop a following or, if you prefer, fans. For many writers, this reward is as valuable as the money they earn. When readers begin to send letters to the editors praising them for publishing your work, or criticizing them for not having your columns in their pages, you know that you have truly reached the zenith of syndication. As Dawn Simpson, editor of the Van Horn Advocate, wrote to Laid-Back West Syndicate, “Our readers love ' A View from the Porch,' (by columnist Linda Mussehl). We couldn’t stop running it or we would have unhappy subscribers.”

Is it for you?

Before spreading your arms and flying to the adventurous world of Syndi-Syndi Land, you must be certain that it’s the right direction for your career. While Peter Pan never wanted to grow-up, there were others—Wendy, for example—who preferred to experience a more traditional lifestyle. The same is true about syndication—it is not for everyone.

Several years ago I sat in a restaurant in Heidelberg, Germany, with editor, writer, and former syndicated cartoonist Charles Kaufman. Over the schnitzel and Bavarian wine, I asked, “Why did you give up syndication?”

“It began to take over my life,” he replied. “I still do my Fred and Frank cartoons for military magazines, but they’re monthly—giving me time to breathe. I couldn’t handle the stress of daily syndication. Your mind is constantly in this cartoon world. Everywhere you go you are thinking about the strip, you carry a note pad around and jot down ideas. At parties I found myself looking and listening for anything and everything that could be developed into visual humor.”

Kaufman’s words echo the nightmare of many former syndicated artists. For them, the seemingly endless task of creating a column or cartoon strip day after day after day become a labor of horror rather than one of love. 

Working as a syndicated artist, in general, is hard, long, and demanding. It can take over your life, as Kaufman put it, leaving you with little time or energy for family, friends, or outside interests. If you succeed, it becomes a business, complete with multi-level contracts, lawyers, and meetings. If you fail, it could discourage you in such a way that you’d change career field forever.

Because daily or weekly syndication requires such dedication, your first consideration should be your topic. When Johnny Hart sat down in 1958 and began to doodle cavemen, little did he realize that he would be sleeping with B.C. characters for the rest of his life. But Hart, like most of today’s successful syndicated artists—writers and illustrators—was in love with his craft and his subject. He had no choice in what he was doing. Cartoons were what he was all about, just as writing should be what you are all about, if you plan to succeed as a syndicated artist.

You must also love your topic in order to be successful in this industry. It must keep you up at night, thinking, while others are soundly sleeping. While driving, you must find yourself pulling to the shoulder of the road to jot down notes for your next column. There must be a burning passion that, in many respects, matches that of a love affair. Only with such a foundation can syndication become a driving force in your life.

Let’s imagine that you’ve developed a passion for a certain topic or a situation. The idea is new—i.e., very little or no direct competition—and it has wide audience appeal. You feel that this subject could be the key that opens the door to syndication success. But, once again, you must ask yourself: Is syndication for me? And, herein lies the problem: If you have never written a syndicated column, how will you know whether or not you can cope with the lifestyle required for such a job?

Perhaps the best way is to begin locally. Working with a single newspaper provides an excellent training ground for potential syndication. The work that goes into a nationally distributed column is the same required for a daily piece in a local paper. It therefore goes without saying that if you can handle the workload, and maintain your enthusiasm on a small scale, you’ll have no problem expanding your efforts to national or international levels.

If you find that daily output is just too much—and there is no embarrassment in this realization, as many of the top syndicated writers cannot keep the pace of 24-hour production—try obtaining weekly or monthly commitments from editors in your area. Several years ago, I was thrilled when a regional newspaper offered me one page to fill each day. This was my big break, so I thought. One year later, in fact, I knew it had been my big break—break in social life, break in friendships, and nearly a break in my marriage. Daily production was just too much for me.

Using the work I’d done for the newspaper, I found a home for my column in a regional magazine. Having to create only one piece every 30 days, I suddenly found myself with more freedom than I needed or desired. I therefore offered the publication a second column, written under a pen name. Eventually, I was producing three columns a month for the editor, and maintaining a normal lifestyle.

Through trial and error, I had discovered what was and was not right for me. My next goal was to expand the network of clients who would publish, and pay for, my columns—that is, to begin syndication. First, however, I had to investigate the national marketplace to insure that my product was right for the audience. 

We’ll discuss this in a future issue as we continue our look at the world of global syndication.

-- MS
©2000 Michael Sedge