Tips

Use medical jargon or terms only when absolutely necessary, and then explain them.

Write for a 10th grade reading level. Churchill, a great writer, said, "Short words are best, and the old words, if short, are best of all." Therefore, never use "utilize" when you can utilize "use" instead! Don't worry too much about the title the editor will almost always change it anyway.

Work hard on having a lead paragraph that grabs the reader. "Lisa Perkins turned four in April. We buried her last Tuesday. It didn't have to be that way." Magazines and newspapers like "how to" articles and "list" articles: "Ten ways to keep your kids safe this summer." "Fifteen children's health risks you may not know about." "The five warning signs of acne."

Editors want good information, but if the article isn't lively and well-written, it won't have a chance. You don't have to be Hemingway, but put life and, when appropriate, some humor in your writing. The best articles appeal to the emotions as well as to the intellect.

Write to the appropriate length for the publication. A magazine that wants a 300 word blurb for their "Healthline" section isn't going to edit your 4,000-word piece to fit. The less work the editor has to do, the better your chance of getting published.

Always include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for a reply. Otherwise, you won't hear. Some editors are so busy or rude they won't respond anyway. That's life.

Editors like "sidebars," short lists of resources or supplementary information to publish with the main piece. A Japanese travel magazine rejected my article, but published the recipe sidebar and paid me 3000 Yen in cash!

Include a short bio note at the end of your piece, though they may not use it. (Mary McDonald, MNS, RN, CPNP is a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Johnson Pediatrics in Stepford, MA. She received her Masters of Nursing Science degree from Podunk State and has been in practice for 12 years.)

Send a clean, flat copy of your article in a 9" X 12" envelope each time you submit. Don't fold, or reuse a shopworn copy. And always keep a master copy.

When submitting a complete article (rather than a query) include a one-page cover letter with a paragraph about the piece (pull from your lead to grab the editor), a paragraph about your credentials, and perhaps a note on your publishing credits, if any. At the end, I usually say, "My work is available on disk or by e-mail to save re-keying. It is not necessary to return the ms. I am offering exclusive right on this article for four months.

Thank you for your consideration." That way, if the editor doesn't respond, you don't have to write and withdraw the piece before submitting it elsewhere.

If you are submitting an article to more than one market at a time (which many editors hate), indicate in your cover letter that it is a "simultaneous submission."

There is no good writing--there is only good re-writing. Write, re-write, have someone read it, then re-write again. Now you have a first draft.

Find a friendly critic who will give you honest feedback. Then treat that friend like gold.

Develop a thick skin. The editor wants to accept your piece because it means a problem solved. But every editor gets many more articles than there is space to publish. They aren't rejecting you they just can't use that piece.

Keep trying. If one publication rejects your piece, send it to another. Recently I sold an article for $400 to the last possible market I could find for it, after about ten rejections over three years.

Once your piece is published, if you've sold only first rights, you may be able to rework it a bit and sell it again to another publication. I've sold an article on Maine Windjamming four times and I'm still sending it out.

And after you send out an article, start another one. As a PNP, you have a lot of information about kids' health care that folks need. Share it and it will come back tenfold.

Robert A. Ha