4 of 8

Write now Article Tools

I've got a lot of material to draw on here. I've made plenty of mistakes with magazines myself. Here are some of my worst:

Mistake 1: Getting annoyed with an editor

However much you may disagree with an editor, never ever let your frustrations show. If you do, you're not likely to get work with them again. Keep calm. Negotiate. If you want to sell the piece, accept their advice - even if you disagree.

Of course there's always a chance you've upped the stakes and you really don't want to work for that publication anymore. If that's the case state your views in a civil manner and move on to greener pastures.

Mistake 2: Not doing enough research

It can be expensive to buy back copies of all the magazines you want to pitch to, so one day I decided to break my usual rule of reading all of them and pitched what I thought was a good idea to a new editor. It was a feature idea about an exhibtion I'd heard of. Imagine how stupid I felt when the editor emailed back to say sorry, but they'd already 'done' that one in a previous issue that same year.

Mistake 3: Not having a proper contract and commission

I once wrote a tourism piece which took me a long time and included several unusual photographs. I wasn't careful enough in my pay negotiations and agreed to a 'pay on publication' clause. The feature sat in the editor's drawer for nearly a year before he decided it was time to publish and pay me.

Mistake 4: Being disappointed about editorial changes

I used to take editorial changes too personally. An interview I once recorded and transcribed contained some challenging but fascinating statements about a large company. The magazine I was working for edited the copy so that these robust views no longer appeared.

I was disappointed at the time, but I now understand what happened. It was a fairly small magazine and they didn't want to risk going out of business with a possible libel action.

Mistake 5: Waiting for one piece to be published before I send off another

I'm much better at pacing myself now - as soon as one deadline has passed and the copy is handed over - I'm on to the next project.

Mistake 6: Entering too many competitions

Competitions have their place, but if you're not careful you find they're taking up all your energy for small or no return.

Mistake 7: Not taking the Internet seriously enough

When I first started out I pitched almost exclusively to the print media. If you do this, you're ignoring what could be a huge market for your work.

Learn more about this author, Frances Laing.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Mistakes new magazine writers make and how to avoid them?
We want to hear your view. Write now!