One thing I’ve observed, after years of working with academics on their writing, is how having expertise on a topic can block you from grasping new ways of doing things. Reaching the public is something plenty of scholars say they would like to do but they run into trouble with the execution because it requires learning a different set of writing skills than they possess.
Maybe your goal is to publish a newspaper op-ed on a current topic in which you have expertise and valuable insights, or a long-form article about fieldwork you’ve done that has important public implications. Once you achieve some measure of success in academe, it’s reasonable to believe you can translate your knowledge and experience into other venues.
Except, not so much. We all learn to conform to our disciplinary norms, and it’s hard to go against habits of mind jelled by long years of training.
You can read plenty of cautions on these pages, from me and many others, about all the ways academic prose can go wonky. We’ve railed against the use of jargon and coded language in trying to reach civilians, while agreeing that shorthand, insider lingo is useful, sometimes essential, in communicating with those who have specialized knowledge in a field. But when you take off your lab coat or leave the echoing halls of the Modern Language Association conference, the citizens of humanity might not know what you mean by “delimitation,” “sequelae,” and “multi situated.” You don’t need to “problematize” anything if your aim is to be understood.
It’s easy to go through your latest essay, replace the academese with readily grasped synonyms, and think your work is ready for prime time. But here are the other factors you should consider in writing for mainstream venues:
Read the publication you want to write for. This should be a duh. Yet a magazine editor who works with many scholars recently told me how often they submit pieces to her — even writers she’s published before — that would be a poor fit for the publication. As would be clear from skimming even a few issues.
Mea culpa. Not long ago, I got a standard rejection letter that read: “The best way to know what we are publishing is of course to read the magazine, which we hope you will continue to do.” The ease of using Submittable had led me to make the dumb mistake of submitting my work to a publication that I had never actually seen, let alone read. It had just seemed like it could be a good place for a particular essay I was having trouble placing.
Study submission guidelines. We expect our students to read the syllabus. And we all know how that goes in real life. Publications that accept submissions from freelance writers will detail what they are looking for under a headline like “writer’s guidelines” (or in The Chronicle’s case: Write for Us). On that page, you’ll typically find a breakdown of sections, including word counts, general pointers, and sometimes, even, their fee schedule. Pay attention to these instructions. Do not send in a 3,500-word manuscript for a section that accepts 1,000-word pieces and expect an editor to go mining for gold.
While I like to hit a word count as closely as possible — I find pruning a fun exercise — an editor at a huge-circulation general-interest magazine said, when I asked about word count, “within 15 percent is A-OK.” Just be ready to cut or add as needed.
Learn to write a pitch. Some publications accept complete manuscripts, but many others prefer a query letter first. There’s an art to writing these punchy one-pagers. A quick Google search will produce plenty of examples and explanations of what your pitch should accomplish. Most important is to be clear why this editor’s readers will be interested. Each query must be crafted for a particular publication. Don’t spam every opinion editor in the country with the same pitch.
Check if there’s a submission portal (either specific to the publication or through a service like Submittable) and paste your query there. Otherwise, find out in what format and to whom you should address your letter. If you know someone at the publication, you can ask who edits a particular section. Your contact may even offer to pass it along. Be gracious and grateful for any help you receive. Be especially nice to editorial assistants, who may soon be in positions to accept or reject pieces.
Flesh out your angle before you query. I find it helpful to first write a complete-ish draft, even if it’s not what I will eventually submit. That way I can work on a strong opening hook for the essay and figure out how I’ll develop it. Then I work backward to craft the query letter. This takes more work and I’m always prepared for an editor to suggest a completely different approach, but the exercise helps me know the piece I am proposing.
Even if I’ve done my homework and familiarized myself with the publication, editors know their history of coverage. And their readership. Your submission has to conform to what they want and find interesting. Some questions to keep in mind:
- Why this topic?
- Why now?
- Why are you the person to write it?
- What will surprise/enlighten/help readers?
Your angle doesn’t necessarily have to be timely, but it can’t just be, “Here’s a bunch of cool research I did.” (Unless it’s really cool and you can say why the editor’s readers will want to know about it.)
Don’t expect a response. Given the great volume of submissions, many editors can respond only to queries they want to pursue. That means you may never get a “thanks, but no thanks” response. If you hear nothing, wait a few weeks, and then assume the answer is no. Even if you make a second, brief attempt at a verdict, you still may not get a response.
Be prepared to accept silence as rejection and move along. Remember that many editors are overwhelmed by inquiries. They don’t want to be rude but sometimes it’s just not possible to get back to everyone. Make it easy for them to say yes, and for the love of all that is holy, don’t nag them into having to say no.
If you do hear back, understand the various levels of response. If the editor writes, “This is really interesting but not right for us,” don’t try to talk her into it. No means no. Don’t be like one of those students who wants to argue about a grade.
If, on the other hand, an editor rejects your piece but conveys an interest in you — something like: “this angle doesn’t work for us but I like your writing style” or “this is a good read but we’ve already covered this topic” — that is an invitation to try again. After giving it a long think, propose something else, and write another careful query letter. Most editors want a stable of writers they know they can count on to deliver good content.
Get to know a publication’s/editor’s taste. Most academic writers will thank their book editors. Newspaper and magazine editors are less visible, but if you spend time studying each section of a publication, you should be able to get a sense of its taste and preferences. Which writers appear frequently? How would you characterize their work? What can you add to the mix that will be complementary?
I have a leg up on this because of my previous career in academic publishing. I notice editors and then stalk them (professionally). I read other pieces they’ve published and mention those in my pitch. (Except, as seen above, when I use Submittable and forget everything I know.) When I get a yes, I’m often quick to come up with a list of other ideas, each of which I describe in a paragraph to gauge interest. I err on the side of overeager.
Use sources in publication-appropriate ways. Academics are trained to give credit in certain, often discipline-specific ways. But when was the last time you read a general-interest magazine that included footnotes, references, or acknowledgments?
Many web-based publications include hyperlinks. That can be a way to add documentation to your piece if it will be useful and interesting. But otherwise, you must learn elegant ways to credit your sources within a sentence. Read the publication for models of how it prefers to attribute information.
Mastering even some of these skills will benefit anyone who wants to be read.
