Publish a magazine article

How I did it:

I had an idea for an article on the fall of the Berlin Wall.  I knew it would have to be short and I basically pestered everyone (more than 100 people) I knew until I got in touch with an editor at Forbes.    I pitched several ideas to sister, wife, and friends until I found the idea that seemed to appeal to the most people. My wife is an excellent copy editor so she helped me clean up the text and eliminate extra words.  After getting interest from the editor, I sent her the article which she accepted with only minor revisions.

I'm not sure it will help in the future, but I did send the editor a thank you card for her help.  I'm an unknown, she didn't have to bother with me.

Lessons & tips:

Carefully editing makes a huge difference.  I have an unfair advantage in that my wife is really good at seeing unnecessary words and tightening up copy.  I also tried very hard to figure out which type of story would most interest other people.

The most important lesson was that I kept pestering people until they finally helped me.

Resources:

---

Dec 07, 10:56PM PST | 0 comments | 1 cheer