Breaking into magazines

You can also make some good coin if you have a stomach like Marisa Miller.

 

National magazines are tough as hell to break into. I don't want to sugarcoat that. You need to be good at what you do, and you need to be tenacious, and you need to get lucky. I got lucky that when I walked into Esquire to ask for a job -- past the big box that holds all the pitches nobody reads -- only a few months later, a job opened up. I was given a shot at it, and I got it, and I'm thrilled to be there.

But just to give you an idea how magazine editors think -- and how writers who want to write for them should think. It's a different mindset from newspapers. (My first editor actually said to me, "I don't want to read one line in your story that I could have read in a newspaper.")

Take Esquire, for instance. An ad page is worth $76,000. Now say you're pitching them a ten-page story (six or eight thousand words). They have to pay you, they have to cover your costs... and they have to fork over $750,000 worth of real estate to you. That explains why magazine editors are so risk averse.

A newspaper uses a freelancer and he doesn't come through, well, that sucks, fill the hole with some wire copy, won't use that douchebag again. A magazine freelancer doesn't come through, and it's not like there's something else waiting to fill that space. And if the story is subpar, it's like, We just threw away hundreds of thousands of dollars for this steaming turd.

So, they're not going to use just anybody. They need to you like you, and just as important, they need to like your idea. Better yet, you need to pitch them an idea that they can't turn down, but it's an idea that, for whatever reason, only you can write -- inside knowledge, contacts, history, something. Hit it out of the park, and then you're in.

Because that's the good news. Once you're in, you're in. It's a pretty small community, magazine writers. Once you've proven yourself at one magazine, other magazines are more likely to take a chance with you. You're less of a risk. (And if you get some stuff into city and regional magazines, you can definitely build your way up -- not that some of those magazines aren't great places to anchor your entire career. Texas Monthly is awesome.) And once you've proven that you're no risk at all -- and, in fact, that there's a good chance you'll reward your editor with something really special -- then you're off and running.

Since I got my break at Esquire, I've gotten calls from magazines that wouldn't have let me in the door five years ago -- calls from magazines that actually shut their door on me. That's not bragging, that's just how the business works. It's like a club that you need to gain entry to, but the membership is lifetime.

But from the start, you have to be honest with yourself -- really, truly honest.

Are you good enough to share space with Gary Smith or Jon Krakauer or Jeff MacGregor? Because that's what you're asking to do.

If you think you have the talent -- and if you think you're willing to bust your ass to get through the door -- then go for it.

If you don't, then forget about it. It's that simple.

Also:

Sometimes, I miss newspapers, but I would never go back. I like writing long, I like using "fuck" in my stories, I like the access I get, I like the editorial support and the fact-checking, I like the profile, I like the adventures.

But it has its own pressures. There's no room for swings and misses. It's a zero fuckup business. And every story takes a ton of work -- long edits, every word turned over like stones. You're getting paid a good salary to write six stories a year, you'd better be sure as shit that those six stories sing.

Everybody thinks, Six stories a year -- talk about easy street! It's not easy. It's just a different kind of hard.

Know that, too. It's a great road to run, but parts of you will still fall off and land in the ditch.

Hope that helps, kiddo.

You try to take my job, and I'll cut your fucking hands off.

 

Good stuff, Jonesy. I think, too, that for first-timers and writers who are getting their feet wet is to focus on a rock-solid idea, and how to sell it, because that's the true measure of worth for 99 percent of magazine stories. Your name won't get you in, your newspaper writing clips won't mean too much -- it's the idea that will carry you until you can establish yourself.

I was a nobody the first time I pitched to a decent, serious, regional academic mag that was way out of my league. But the story was unique, compelling and a good fit for their audience. They put my story on the cover -- written by a 24-year-old newspaper desker with no degree -- and gave it major play ahead of the two other features for that issue both written by professors with Ph.Ds. Talk about a lucky break! But it was the story that deserves the credit. I just wrote it.

 

Let me just agree with those who here who recommend the regional/city magazine route, and add the alternative press and specialty magazines. I got started with zero clips and one idea at a big city magazine, then added a bit of alt press and local specialty magazines. By then I had options, whether to pursue books or shoot for bigger magazines.

 

Mr Smith Jr,

A big story to start is the key. I was able to get in the door with ESPN The Mag because I had lined up a top hockey prospect, Patrick O'Sullivan, who had been emotionally and ultimately physically abused by his father. Worked to get it for more than a year. Got it exclusively. That was good enuf to have them "have a look" at my piece -- I've never figured out whether it was a spec deal or not. Doesn't matter. They ran it, paid me much larger than I expected (never even bothered to talk money wirth them). As "a get" it was good enough that the folks across the street, SI, acknowledged it on si.com's draft preview, allowed that maybe they had been harsh in judging the kid as an under-achiever. Then Wayne Gtretzky told reporters that the story made him. That was five years ago now. The folks at the mag have been great to me throughout. But I'm sure if I came with them with a story that someone else could have found and written, my name would never have made it into the mag. To get in you have to kick the door in. Get a story that will make LeBron cry ... or something.

YD&OHS, etc

 

I have done some work for a few magazines in the men's interest and video game categories and its actually really nice to have 2-4 weeks to work on one specific story.

You don't have the deadline issues that you have with magazines. I know Mob Candy Magazine out of NY is looking for a few or more talented writers.

www.mobcandymag.com

Think of it as MAXIM for wise guys....

 

Thanks for everybody's thoughts.

To me, the hardest part obviously seems to be coming up with a story that I can carry out. I can't very well pitch one off of my beat, because that would be selling out my own newspaper. But magazines don't want a story that has been written already. But they also want the writer to have some credibility on the topic. Such a Catch-22.

 

Don't worry so much about pre-proven credibility. Pitching a story is not the same as applying for a job; your resume and clips aren't going to help you as much. Like I said, you're not going to earn an assignment off your name or your experience -- unless your name is Frank Deford. The rest of us, well, we have to sell our stories.

If the idea is strong, and you pitch it well, that's your credibility.

If you wait until you have an idea on which you have pre-established expertise, you're going to be waiting a long time. Better to come up with an idea that you think will work, pitch it to the right magazine. Sell it well, then write it well. That's the key.

 

Jones and others, you've really motivated me to delve further into the magazine market. i write regularly for a national sports mag that fills a niche. I've wanted to do more for quite some time.

How far out should I be pitching? I've heard all sorts of estimates. I'm sure it depends on the magazine. I'm just curious as to whether I need to be thinking holiday stories in July and spring break stories in December, that sort of thing.

In high school, I used the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature to search subjects for term papers. I'd like to have an online resource like that so I can be sure my ideas are original. Does anyone have a recommendation?

Also, does anyone mind if I drop a PM now and then when I have a specific question?