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Want to know the number one biggest mistake all new magazine writers make?

I made it, and it was irresistible. That's the thing - it's an obvious one when you think about it, but you do it anyway!

Okay, enough already! What is it?

It is, quite simply, this - don't aim for the big glossy magazines when you're just starting out.

You know the ones I mean - the ones everyone wants to get published in. It takes experience and excellent ideas to get in these magazines, and that's something you need to work towards.

I did it. I aimed my very first article at one of the biggest weekly magazines in the UK when I started out. Looking back, there was no way on earth it was going to be accepted, but I did it anyway. And it was a real crushing blow when it was returned to me - almost by return post.

When you're just starting out as a writer, you need all the encouragement you can get. You need to aim lower, because those smaller magazines that don't pay very much are far more likely to accept your early attempts at writing than any others.

Find some smaller circulation magazines that concentrate on a subject that you know a lot about. A hobby magazine maybe, or a trade magazine for a profession you've worked in before (incidentally trade mags are usually crying out for material).

Come up with some good ideas and pitch them to the editor. Keep at it until you get something accepted. Don't worry too much about the low pay to begin with. Get some experience at being published before you begin to set your sights higher.

Then you will find your earnings will start to go up almost automatically, as your experience grows and your repertoire of published work increases.

Then you can start looking at those glossy magazines...

Learn more about this author, Allison Whitehead.
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