20 APRIL 2020 http://www.writers-online.co.ukCould you make money writing for a niche magazine about a specialised interest?
Practical Fishkeeping editor Nathan Hill explains what he wants from new writers.MAGAZINE JOURNALISM
for a writing gig...
A
s the editor of Practical
Fishkeeping (PFK),
a specialist pet care
magazine, my main
problem is sourcing gifted writers.
While I’m graced with a healthy pool
of individuals willing to submit, they
frequently fall into one of two polarised
camps; extremely focused aquarists
with little to no writing background,
or ‘chancers’ with a history of creative
writing, hoping to hide their lack
of subject knowledge with flowery
passages and engaging similes.
Like other editors of titles like mine,
I want someone in that sweet spot,
right in the middle. If you’re prepared
to put in a little research time, that
could be you.The pitch
The pitch is your one chance to attract
an editor, and you waste it at your peril.
More pitches to PFK receive a
generic ‘thank you for your offer
but...’ response than those I chase up,
at somewhere around a 75/25 ratio.
Of the rejected pitches, most can be
summed up as ‘Hi, I’d like to write
for you, if you want to tell me what to
write about...’
This approach is a guaranteed
pitch killer. Editors are extremely
busy people, who already have
people in mind for particular topics.Knowing what you want to write
about in advance, and telling us,
puts you above three quarters of your
competing writers.
Before you even consider pitching to
a magazine like mine, ensure that you
have read it and are familiar with both
the house style and subject matter. In my
publication’s case the practical aspects of
keeping fish, as well as their habitats and
conservation, feature prominently.
Deciding on a fishy topic to write
about need not be too hard. Be honest
about your capabilities, and play to
your strengths. In the first instance,
current affairs are always good to
hobby mags. Join some dedicated fish
groups of Facebook, follow aquarists
on YouTube and Instagram. Find out
what’s hot, right now, because that is
what my audience wants to read about.
Alternatively, a lot in fishkeeping is
cyclical, and fish tend to dip in and
out of vogue over periods of several
years. Source a couple of old back
issues for pennies on Amazon or eBay,
look at the main subjects and find out
if they’ve been covered recently.
I’ll repeat: play to your strengths.
Perhaps you have a gift for interviews.
See if one of the more famous YouTube
aquarists is prepared to grant you a Skype
call. I’d be interested in running an
interview. Perhaps you’re proficient with
data, in which case you could source