by William Cobbs

Created on: April 18, 2009   Last Updated: April 19, 2009

I have read the articles about "how to sell your Helium and Triond and Gather articles," and while ALL of the suggestions are good, there is an old-fashioned way to get many things sold. Go to, if possible, or write a proper letter to the newspaper of your choice. Best is a community newspaper that belongs to a National or International chain...my choice was Media General.

Make a pitch out of the article that you have included with your letter, and ask outright to have it published...of course you will have to write the article in knowledge of what your (local) paper finds most interesting. The most important thing is for you to KNOW what makes your local paper TICK.

In my case, twenty years ago I went into a newspaper office; I, being a new arrival in the small city. I was there to place an advertisement for selling an old car.

Leaving the ad office, I, a successful writer, casually asked the ad man if there was any need for a columnist or writer of local interest stories.

He replied that he had no knowledge of the news section and sent me to the editor in chief.

That editor asked me for examples of my prior work and I left a copy of articles that I had written some years before for a prominent Florida newpaper.

In a few days, this same editor wrote me a letter, asking me to come up with a weekly story designated to please or not please the locals. I suggested a story title of fairly rural appeal, and sent in my first story for the paper.

That paper joined into a chain of eleven newspapers, and ended up being a part of th behemoth Media General.

That was twenty years ago, and I still every Tuesday, no matter where I live, e-mail a 600 word story hopefully to please the locals of my old area. It seems to have worked for I have a 'following',not always a pleased one, but they write letters to the papers or me, some positive, a few negative.

A case in point was the recent election, wherein I was hell-bent to elect OBAMA, and the locals in my original area were 98% for McCain! BUT the great newspapers did not insrtuct, guide, or even object to my political columns..they let me REPORT!

Back to the original theme of this article...I write an interesting theme story for Helium, or Triond, or GATHER, and they pile up...I think I have at present about 400 acceptable stories in those good sites.

When my brain is dead, and Tuesday rolls around, and I know that Saturday will show my story in perhaps eleven papers, if I can't come up with a new and original thing on that particular Tuesday, I re-read my mass of stories in Helium, etc. and pick one for that Tuesday. I may very well rewrite a bit, but so far, at least 100 of those pre-written stories have appeared in print and ben paid for on my regular payment arrangement. The thing can work the other way, too...if I feel very creative on Tuesday, I'll write a new Helium or Triond or other, and then adapt it to the Tuesday E-Mail.

It usually works out.

Remember, you MUST first have a relationship with a newspaper, which can be established by a visit or a careful letter with sample story.

Don't expect big monies, as papers are having a devil of a time surviving...but YOU can help them, and get at least the happy feeling of being a paid writer, whether it is large or small. And you with a bit of work, may help the news industry to survive, a most necessary thing.

November 1, 2009 will mark the twentieth year of the apperance of my 'column' and represents the writing and sale of 1,040 columns and stories.

I am satisfied with that and the small stipends which now total enough to have paid for my house!

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