The second of Bill Vossler's six tips:
Study the markets
By this, Vossler means putting serious time and thought into analyzing what magazines and newspapers publish, and whether they're likely to accept contributions from outsiders. Many publications put all the information you need on their website; sometimes you'll need to request their guidelines for writers. This is where many would-be writers come a cropper; they spend valuable time crafting pieces which are unsuitable in terms of topic, way too long, or which overlap with recent articles or commissioned pieces in the pipeline. I know this because I've worked as an editor on a newspaper and a monthly magazine. Unless the writers' guidelines say that articles sent on spec are sometimes accepted, always communicate with the editor before investing time in the writing of an article. If you find yourself with time on your hands, use it to generate ideas and research promising topics.
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