Publishing articles in newspapers, trade newsletters and magazines can be an excellent way to attract a new audience of book readers.
Many publications will print your article along with your bio and website link.
Trade magazines and neighborhood newspapers are an excellent place to start since they are often in need of writers. Consumer magazines can also be a source for your articles, although the popular magazines that you find on the checkout stands of grocery stores are the most difficult to break in to. It is best to start with smaller or regional publications.
I have personally had tremendous success over the years by submitting my articles to various trade association newsletters, smaller business magazines, and newspapers. In most cases you won’t even know the article was printed because you’ve already granted permission and editors are too busy to follow up. You will only know the article ran if you happen to see it yourself or hear from a reader—or notice a nice spike in book sales!
To get started, visit your local bookstore to find smaller magazines or conduct searches on Google. You can also search sites like www.newspapers.com. Locate contact information for the editor in the publication masthead or website. Many websites offer writer’s guidelines where the editor will indicate whether she accepts submissions via e-mail and what kinds of articles the publication accepts. The most important item to note here is that you are submitting an article for reprint—something you’ve published elsewhere (like on your blog). The larger publications rarely accept reprints and in the journalism world, this is an important distinction.
Incidentally, submitting articles to these publications can also lead to article assignments. Many times after submitting articles, I have been contacted by the editor and assigned a story. And if you’re assigned to write a story, you get paid. You won’t retire off of the funds you earn from writing for smaller publications, but consider it a bonus to get paid to promote yourself!
Use the following format to submit your articles via email. Be sure to simply paste the article content into the body of the email since editors may not be willing to open attachments.
Resumes That Rock
By Edna Entrepreneur
Word count: 975
<insert article body>
<insert author bio>
*This article may be reprinted provided the author bio is included. Thank you very much for your consideration.
Edna Entrepreneur
<insert contact information>
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