If you dream of seeing your byline in your favorite magazine, it is possible to get yourself from online content sites to the pages of magazines if you have the talent and the determination.
If you take some time to do it right from the start, you will save yourself (and potential editors) a lot of stress Study Your Magazine- It's not enough to pluck a magazine title from a list and start submitting your queries.
You need to know the magazine, its content, its recently published topics, its reader base and more.
You should study at least six back issues of the magazine before querying to get an idea of the voice the magazine needs.
Know the Guidelines- Part of knowing your magazine also means knowing the guidelines.
Find out what columns or sections are open to freelancers before you submit your queries.
Try breaking in with magazines and trade publications that are more open to freelancers first instead of going for your top choice, well-known pub that is only 2% freelance written.
Know Your Topic- In order to have your query selected, you need to prove that you know your topic better than anyone else and that you are most capable of describing it to the reader.
You also have to show how there is benefit to the reader.
Mark Your Experts- Part of what makes a great magazine article is your expert quotes.
You will need to interview at least one expert, if not multiple experts for your articles.
In order to get your query accepted, you need to mark your experts for the editor and tell how each expert will be relevant to the article.
Query with Intelligence - It's important to send out those queries like you know your stuff.
Know the magazine, know the editor and know your topic to its fullest extent.
Then, don't give up.
Expect rejections and keep plowing away until you see yourself in print again and again.