By Oscar Johnson
For many set on advancing their careers, getting published is hardly a priority. Conventional wisdom would have us believe it's an ambition for professional writers or others trying to get by on a journalism or liberal arts degree. Those who are truly career savvy, however, know better.
Sure, it's a far cry from having your name in lights. But it can be a way to plug your know-how in the pages of a popular magazine, or aid those aspiring to the ranks of "published academic." It can also beef up your CV with the names of journals and newspapers that have tapped your professional expertise. So why let self-professed writers get all the glory?
In recent months, I've talked with professionals ranging from CEOs to personal trainers who've bolstered their careers and businesses in Japan by writing about what they know for various publications. Not only are they skirting ad fees to tout their talents, they're even occasionally paid – albeit often only a token sum – to do it. It's no wonder.
Print and Internet magazines are hungry for copy that will attract readers. Yet most invest in ad sales – the real moneymaker – instead of writing staff, leaving editors at the mercy of freelance writers. It makes for a wealth of space between the ads that someone has to fill. Daily newspapers may be harder to break into. But they still need "experts" to quote, commentaries for op-ed pages as well as the occasional freelancer. It's all a matter of tapping into media that are eager to publish what you already know.
To do that, it helps to identify what kinds of publications can best serve your career goals. If financial consulting or developing software, for example, is what you want those in the know to identify you with, Nikkei Net (http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp) or tech-savvy J@pan Inc. (http://www.japaninc.net) respectively may be ideal. Industry focused trade magazines can be a great place to start if you're strong in your field but a weaker writer. But why limit yourself?
Articles showcasing your expertise in any publication are better than none at all. And editors can limit how far you write outside the box but not the country. Even if your prose appears in a newspaper back home you're still published. Many magazines, and of course newspapers, like a bit of everything within their pages – perhaps more so here in Japan. Your writings may be just as at home in the business, tech or education sections of a general news or weekly publication as in their business or trade counterparts. Much of your success will depend on how you approach them.
Like removing your shoes before entering someone's home, have the decency to know whom you're talking to – as well as what you're talking about. You'll need to sell your article idea to an editor who probably has a stack of proposals from seasoned and wannabe writers to sort through. As a professional who is not a writer by trade, you're edge is the ability to bridge insider expertise with reader interests. Editors know who their target readers are. It should be clear that you do as well.
So once you've decided where you want your byline to appear, research back issues to learn the articles and angles these publications favor. You should also know which subjects they've already recently covered as well as the name of the appropriate editor to mail your proposal to – not just "the business editor". (After all, when was the last time you got a letter in the post addressed to "resident" that you didn't regard as junk mail?)
Many publications that are open to outside writers will have guidelines for their writing "style" and how to submit article proposals buried somewhere in their Web sites or available upon request. Unless asked, never make first contact by sending a completed article. At some point, you may also be asked for information on your professional and writing experience and/or samples of your published work. But getting your foot in the door usually involves a "query letter" or e-mail outlining your idea for an article. If you don't have a strong writing background, this is your chance to compensate for it.
Draw on your insider perspective about the topic(s) at hand and recent research to detail what targeted readers will get from your article. Craft your pitch in two to four concise pithy paragraphs with an intro that makes the reader want to know more. Beating around the bush, unnecessary highfalutin terms or grammatical errors are unacceptable. Your ability to write the article will be judged by your first query letter – even more so if you can't offer published writing samples.
After a few days, follow up that query with a phone call. If rejected, ask how you can better meet their needs in the future. Staying in touch with daily newspapers and certain business and trade publications can be an inroad to being quoted as an expert source or invited to pen a commentary. If your pitch is accepted, deliver what the editor expects with an eye to how you can steer the opportunity to help your career with future writing for the same publication as well as others.
The Writers Resources Center offers great tips on how to craft query letters as well as other aspects of writing for magazines and newspapers at: http://poewar.com.
