About the Authors x

PART I: Reading, Writing and Relevance 1

1 What Makes a Story Interesting? 3

2 How to Find an Original Idea 14

3 Strong Angles and Focused Ideas 26

4 Digging Deep for Original Stories 39

5 Talking Pointers: How to Conduct Great Interviews 55

PART II: Taking Your Articles to the Freelance Market 73

6 To Market, To Market: Shopping Your Words Around 75

7 Pitch-Perfect Query Letters 91

PART III: Adding Action and Anecdotes 107

8 Where to Begin: The First 100 Words 109

9 Action, Brevity and Style 123

10 Anecdotes: Mining for Gold 138

PART IV: Different Formats, Different Results 151

11 Briefs: Shortcuts to Publication 153

12 Profiles: Slices of Life 167

13 Writing Nonfi ction Narratives 186

14 Eliminating the Ho-Hum From the How-To 211

15 Making a Timely Calendar Connection 225

16 Writing About Trends and Issues 237

PART V: Exploring Digital Opportunities 253

17 Building a Story Blog 255

18 Long-Form Digital Storytelling 265

PART VI: Preparing the Final Draft 277

19 Advancing Beyond the Slush Pile 279

20 Before You Hit the “Send” Button: A Checklist 293

21 Careers in Magazine Publishing 299

Appendix: Shoptalk: A Glossary of Magazine Lingo 314

Index 325

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