What Is Your Publishing Agenda?

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin



In the early days of my writing life, I wanted to be published
in as many
magazines and other places as I could publish. I met editors, studied their
guidelines and wrote for their readers. I didn't always succeed and get
published but it happened frequently and I grew as a writer (still learning). I
wasn't focused on the financial rewards from publishing back then but I was
focused on writing credits and getting into many different publications.




Through the years, I've seen many magazines begin and
many magazines close their doors. There is still great opportunity for writers
to publish in magazines. It is a stance that I encourage others to do and
something I actively do as well.



At a recent conference, I picked up some of the free magazines
and took them home to study them. As I looked at these magazines, I was thinking
about their audience and focus. Did they use freelance material? What
information was included in the author bio? Did they even mention any details
about the author such as a new book or point to an author's website?



As you ask and answer these specific questions, you will learn
more about the focus of the publication and their agenda. I noticed several of
these publications had material that I “could” be a possible writer. Yet as I
studied the author bio section, I noticed several didn't even have a single line
about the author. Others included some information but nothing about an author's
book or website. I figured out the agenda of the publication (which the editor's
establish) was not a match for my own publishing agenda. My agenda is to reach
new readers and point toward my recent books or a website. Your agenda has to
match the agenda of the publication otherwise you are wasting your limited
writing time and energy.



One local editor has been teasing me about writing for her
publication. At my encouragement, she sent me a few issues of the magazine. I
studied it and noticed this differing agenda (the magazine's agenda and my
goals). Instead of blindly crossing them off my writing possibilities, I wrote
this friend about what I observed. She can correct my misunderstanding or
confirm it. It's the type of communication work we need to do as writers and
something I've not written about in these articles. I hope it helps
you.



In the comments below, let me know if you have a publishing
agenda? What steps to you take to see if your agenda matches a new publication
for your work? I look forward to your thoughts.



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