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How to Make Your Editor Happy with Linda Formichelli’s Editors Unleashed – UPDATED

Posted on February 3, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

cartoon about editors

Image via 4.bp.blogspot.com

The Holly Query

Your relationship with an editor usually starts with the query letter. She might like it and decide to assign you to the topic, or she might just decide that it is horrible and send it to the bin. Given their importance, writing queries can be scary.

Writing queries used to freak me out. I can’t say I am now in love with the process of querying, but at least they don’t scare or overwhelm me anymore. I realized that the hardest part of writing a good query, at least to me, is finding that awesome angle that will fit the magazine readers’ needs and wants correctly while managing to describe this angle in a compelling way in your query. Of course even if you think you got it right, there is the possibility that topic was recently snatched by another writer, and you were a little late.

The Query Is Only the Beginning

But let’s assume that you do know how to send the right kind of query, and let’s assume that you got the job. Congratulations, you’ve got one foot in the door. But now that you started a relationship, you need to work on maintaining a good one by delivering quality work on time, written, styled and formatted according to the parameters you discussed with the editor. And after you come through, sending a second query to that editor will be easier. The editor himself can even call you and ask if you want another assignment.

So you need to do your homework well, send the impeccable query, and listen to the editor.

So far, so obvious, right?  I mean did you really need to be told to check your grammar or not attempt a query before knowing your way around the magazine, and its writer’s guidelines?

What Not To Do With and After The Query- Editors Unleashed

But  apparently some writers do, otherwise Linda Formichelli’s Editors Unleashed would not have needed to cover so much ground with the editor pet peeves.

In this entertaining and informative e-book, she has talked to several editors about how some writers infuriate them during and after query.

But the beauty of this book isn’t that they only share writer “horror” stories, but also the good stories where the writer got and completed the assignment with grace and continued to work with the editor.

There are lots of resources on how to write successful queries, and Linda Formichelli’s free packet of 10 query letters that got her assignments is one of them. It can be obtained by subscribing to her free newsletter.  Formichelli is a successful freelance writer and the co-author of the bestselling book The Renegade Writer. She blogs on The Renegade Writer.

Editors Unleashed used to cost $6.95, but now it is the second free gift for subscribing to  The Renegade Writer. This ultra-useful book  covers query dos and donts as well as what attitude editors expect from writer once the query lands them the job.

Reading this book will help you:

1)      To  get noticed by the editor and land that assignment

2)      To build and maintain a good, on-going relationship with the editor

3)      To build and maintain as a professional, reliable and easy-going writer

4)      To laugh. Seriously, some writer behavior will make you laugh.

*

Some Editor Pet Peeves- Inspired by Editors Unleashed

–          Queries with grammar mistakes and/or typos

–          Queries  that show that the writer has no idea about the magazine’s target audience

–          Queries that are far too long or far too short

–          Queries that are vague

–          Generic queries that could be sent to any magazine and yet would appeal to none

–           Queries that have the magazine’s and/or the editor’s name wrong

….

I’m sure there are more, but you get the point. While some of these are very obvious and takes a little effort on the writer’s part to get rid of them, getting the idea just right can be very tricky. To craft a query that is interesting, engaging and with a slant that hasn’t been done before is a challenge writers face all the time. But by paying attention to the tips in the book, we can transform a frustrating challenge into an activity that comes naturally to us. and getting more and better assignments as a result.

Editors, are your experiences with writers?

Writers, how are you managing the querying process I’d love to read your experiences, both positive and negative.

 Recommended Reading:

7 Great Query Letter Resources: A List of (E-)Books, Articles and Blog Links

  10 Things You Need to Do After You Sent That Awesome Query Letter

Filed Under: E-Book Reviews, Recommended Resources Tagged With: editors, editors unleashed, how to handle a writing assignment, how to work with editors, how to write a query, linda formichelli, query writing, query writing resources, query writing tips, the renegade writer, writer-editor relationships, writers, writers and editors, writing

What Editors Can Learn from the Movie Up In The Air

Posted on March 30, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Up in the Air movie poster - starring George Clooney
Up in the Air movie poster - starring George Clooney.

Editors are busy people. We get it. They receive a gazillion submissions and manuscripts, most of which aren’t even relevant. We do feel their pain. But then again, for every writer who is too lazy to study the writer’s guidelines, there are many writers who put tremendous effort into researching the magazine, dissecting the guidelines and perfecting that query letter. And there is the endless waiting on the writer’s part, when the writer’s going crazy with all the questions in his head:

 -Did they even see the query or did it just get lost in the mail box?

– If they did read the query, did I not get an answer because my e-mail account failed me or because they forgot to reply? Or was it because they just didn’t want to spend time sending out a rejection e-mail?

Did any of these sound familiar? After spending all that time on a query, and spending even more time waiting for the publication’s response time to pass, we are left wondering in the uncertainty of it all. Now, I don’t care how busy the editors are. I want that reply, whether it is positive or negative, right after the response time is over.

This is where the connection (that I made) with the movie Up in the Air comes in. Up in the Air is a romantic comedy/drama starring George Clooney. It is a very bittersweet & entertaining movie and you can read a detailed review (without spoilers) on my entertainment blog. But if you haven’t seen the movie, all you need to know is that George Clooney’s character fires people for a living. If a corporation wants to do the layoffs through an outsider, they get him to do the dirty work. Yes, it is not a pleasant career. And it is not a great moment to hear that you were fired. But it is better to know, as soon as possible, so that you can move on.

With writers, the problem for the most of the time, is that we have to wait weeks, or months to hear we were “hired” or not. Since editors are so busy, wouldn’t it be so find a person who would tell the writers that they simply weren’t right for the job. Writers need to know when they aren’t going to be assigned an article, so that they can pitch the idea to other magazines. Plus, telling someone they are not hired is not as depressing as telling them they are fired.

We need to know. One way or another. So if editors are too busy to reject us, why not let someone else do it? Might be wishful thinking, but I think this idea would actually do both sides a big, fat time-saving favor. What do you think?

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Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: applying to writing jobs, editors, freelance writing, george clooney, george clooney up in the air, movie up in the air, tips for writers, up in the air, up in the air movie, waiting to hear from editors, writers, writing, writing tips

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