Breaking Into Major Magazines

Win Assignment after Coveted Magazine (or Web) Assignment with the Rarely Discussed Advanced Skills in this Home-Study Course ...and with Personal Feedback Included! By Marcia Yudkin

Marcia writes:

Dear Freelancer,

Have you wondered what talent or luck you were missing as you struggled to make ends meet with not very prestigious or well-paying writing assignments? The answers to this question may surprise you. I set out last year to study the differences between freelance writers who make good money, publish in well-known magazines and love their work and those who can't snag assignments paying more than a couple of hundreds dollars each. And I discovered that the super-successful magazine writers indeed had certain abilities and habits that the not-successful writers lacked.

The successful writers weren't born with the winning abilities and habits, however. They learned them. And you can too. Based on observations of and interviews with scores of freelancers over many years as well as my own practice and analysis as a successful writer for top magazines, my course "Breaking Into Major Magazines" teaches these advanced stylistic, strategic and business skills so that you too can enjoy impressive assignments and a better-than-decent income.

The course consists of two parts. The first part is a self-paced, eight-lesson curriculum that you can work through as slowly or as quickly as you like. The second part, interlaced with the first, is seven assignments that offer the opportunity for you to deepen your understanding and absorb what you are learning into the way you approach magazine writing in the future. You submit your assignments by e-mail directly to me, Marcia Yudkin, for my prompt personal feedback.

In case you're not familiar with my background, I have successfully supported myself as a writer for more than 20 years, publishing in hundreds of magazines ranging from the New York Times Magazine and Psychology Today to Ladies Home Journal, New Age Journal and Business 2.0.

Now on to the course itself. Here's a lesson-by-lesson outline of what you'll learn:

"Breaking Into Major Magazines" Contents...
Lesson I Understanding a Magazine

• Introduction to the course
• How to analyze a magazine and know what they want and need
• Sample in-depth analyses of three magazines, revealing their needs
• Information sources that keep you up to date on magazine markets

Lesson II Approaching Editors

• The all-important distinction between a topic and an angle
• Eleven ways to make a positive impression on editors
• Do's and don'ts for five types of queries to editors
• When and how to ask for an in-person story conference with an editor

Lesson III Advanced Research and Interviewing

• Quickest, most reliable methods for digging up needed facts
• Tips for using online search engines and directories efficiently, with examples
• Finding experts and other sources and winning their cooperation
• Advice on problematical interview situations

Lesson IV Advanced Writing Techniques

• Thinking up topics that make editors salivate
• How to add human interest and drama to a dry subject
• Developing a distinctive voice worthy of top magazines
• The structural element of an article editors care about most

Lesson V Dealing With Editors

• Understanding why and how to negotiate terms
• Handling necessary rewrites properly
• Making sure your piece gets edited but not over-edited
• How to get paid in difficult situations

Lesson VI Magazine Genres Part I
(Tips from Experts in These Genres)

• Flying high with the in-flight market
• Challenges and satisfactions of celebrity journalism
• Covering sports for a living
• Secrets of narrative nonfiction for major publications

Lesson VII Magazine Genres Part II
(Tips from Experts in These Genres)

• Building your writing business on business writing
• Myths and realities of life as a travel writer
• Earning a healthy living writing about health and medicine
• How to cultivate a relationship with city magazines

Lesson VIII Career Issues

• How much can you make as a freelance writer?
• Weighing options: specializing, collaborating, covering everything
• Staying organized and getting things done
• Maximizing your earnings while still enjoying life

In addition, "Breaking Into Major Magazines" includes seven assignments that you submit to me by e-mail for one-on-one feedback, so that you can make sure that you are on track in developing the skills that advanced, high-earning writers have. Since this is an interactive home-study course, you may take as much or as little time between assignments as you need. Complete the course in a month or in a year, as you prefer.

Now, how much will it cost to receive the 125-page, advice-packed course manual and personal input on your seven course assignments, all done from the convenience of your home, office or the beach on your own schedule? Just $295.00. Not only is that tuition tax deductible for serious freelance writers, you'll undoubtedly earn it back many times over with the first top-level assignment you'll be able to snag with your new skills.

This course isn't for everyone. It assumes you already know some basics, such as what a query letter is and why you'd write one, and that you have already published at least a few nonfiction articles. It also assumes that you'll have the motivation to do the assignments, which provide challenging, valuable learning experiences.

You will get an initial e-mail order confirmation from Wooden Horse and then you will get all your material and instructions directly from Marcia.

If you would like to ask Marcia a question, just send her an email by clicking here.