I have a confession. My dream job would be to be a writer for Smithsonian or National Geographic. I have fantasies of trekking through Nepal researching a story on the indiginous tribes. I see myself tracking down the fauna in some remote corner of the US and making it interesting and exciting to the average reader.
I am an uber-geek.
OK, that said, I did a little research. This seems to indicate that Smithsonian, at least, accepts freelance articles. In fact, this page seems to indicate that all their articles are written on a freelance basis. Of course, I’m assuming that they don’t toss writing assignments to every yahoo who thinks she can write an article. Therefore, I have a plan.
As many of you know, I recently landed a tech writing job. I write computer related college textbooks. I’m talking the Computers 101 type stuff - I write at the “What is a computer?” level, not the “Here’s how to code up a file system filter” level. I figure in a year or two, I’ll have my name on several books as an assistant writer or something, and hopefully soon after that I’ll have full authorship of a book. At least, that’s the plan.
Given that in a few years, I’ll actually be a Published Author, I figure I’ll no longer be in the “any yahoo” category. I’ll be able to site previously published materials. The Smithsonian editors will be assured I can write in full sentences. I’ll come up with some nifty idea, present it to them, and… what? Is there a chance they’ll like me? How hard is it to get published in such erudite magazines? Will I be trekking to Palau in ten years to do an on-site article about the amazing sea life? Will I be sent to another small Pacific island to take pictures of Amelia Earheart’s remains? Tell me it’ll work!
Hmmmm . . . . Most magazines get their articles one of two ways:
• The editors have editorial meetings, decide what they want to assign, and pick their “pet writers” to do it.
• Sometimes they will indeed pick up ideas from oputside freelancers.
I’d say your best bet would be to contact the executive editor of the magazines (and cc the editor and the publisher). Tell them, what youi’ve written, who you’ve written for, and what you’d like to do for them. The important thing is to establish a friendly relationship with an editor: once you’ve done that, you’re in. Take it slow and steady and chipper.
As far as a staff editorial job, I’ve been after both of those magazines for years, and they have almost no turnover.
So, Eve, are they lying when they say that they get most of their articles from query letters written by freelancers? I have to admit, I had a hard time believing that. It just didn’t make sense that they just sort of hoped they had a query letter in hand from a good writer that matched up to what they wanted to publish in a certain issue.
Am I right in thinking I’ll have a better chance when I get some actual published work under my belt? Regardless, I’m going to do this - it’s a good job, and I have much to learn about this writing stuff. I’m very lucky to have found someone willing to apprentice me on this, and I’m going to soak it for everything it’s worth.
I don’t think editorial jobs interest me. I’d rather be doing the writing. Besides, I doubt they’ll hire me and let me live in the Middle of Nowhere. I’d have to live in NYC, the idea of which scares the bejesus out of me.
Hmmm… I think maybe I’ll just sit back and hope that you get that editorial job. In the meantime, I’ll be sending you gifts and sing your praises on the boards. I’m thinking you’re a fresh flowers once a week type of girl, am I right? Something elegant and lovely, not over the top, but understated and beautiful. Maybe some Forget-me-nots just so you’ll remember lil’ ol’ Athena when you get that staff editorial job at Smithsonian…
I suspect it’s easier to get into Smithsonian than National Geographic. We had some National Geo guys visit our University doing a piece on lasers, and they seemed a pretty closed shop. Smithsonian gives contributor guidelines.
Athena—If they say they get most of their articles from freelance submissions, no doubt they do. Still, all editors develop thjeir Pet Writers, and the trick is to get to be one of them. You certainly have a better shot if you have clips already under your belt. But, hell—send them a proposal or an article, and you never know. It might tickle their fancy. I got my eight-year Moveline gig because one of the editors dropped me a note saying, “I liked your book.” I called him and asked, “So how’s about hiring me?” and he did!
P.S. My favorite flowers are daisies. They never tell.