How to get your name in print

[Bas]

With so many "published" woodworkers here, I thought I'd tap the collective wisdom on getting shop tips published. Other than having a really good idea, what else is needed to get your name in print (and a check and/or tools in the mail!)? How important is it to include pictures of the setup, drawings, video of the jig in action, etc.? Is it best to write up an article as a word processing document and send that, or do it via plain e-mail?

Also, any insight into which magazines tend to reward better or accept tips more easily than others?

(Yes, I have a shop tip I want to submit . No, I'm not telling you what it is )

[Joe Scharle]

They are all setup for email (or in the case of Shopnotes, Woodsmith & Workbench which want you to use their site) to use attachments with your email tip description. Send them to every mag you can think of, and the mags give an email address just for tips. Be clear of the purpose of the tip and the remedy. Some of the people screening the tips have less experience than you might assume.

Also, PM me your tip first so I can check it for spelling

[Alan in Little Washington]

What Joe said.

I am a relative newbie at this, but as far as pics of tips, it depends on your tip. Take the best you can and submit in highest resolution. The graphics dept at the mags will often take a pic of a tip and turn it into a sketch anyway, so you just need to show them what it looks like, especially if the dimensions are not critical. FWW did that with the pic of my spray gun stand. For their (unpaid ) FWW online blog about my shop, they used my pics and most of my text, but did all the layout and cropping. Some want pics and dimensional drawings.

As far as text, I guarantee they will edit what you submit. If all the information is there, it is easier for them to do so. But I try to make my write-up as clear and concise as possible. I wish I was a better writer!!

As far as full and feature articles go, they are a different animal than tips. They can be more involved, but pay more money, especially if you take the pics. Also, they pay much more if you are a "name" in woodworking (or one of their "contributing editors" which is actually a contractual term)- they pay much more for an article from say Sam Maloof, Lonnie Bird, Christian Becksvoort, etc. than one from Alan in Little Washington (Who?!?!?!? )

Some of the mags like PopWW have online submission/writer's guides. Most, like PopWW, want you to submit a proposal first. In response to a proposal, Pop WW wanted my to do a 4 pager, but somehow things got messed up, so it never happened.

Bas, with your particular sense of humor, you might consider doing something for PopWW's "Out of the Woodwork" feature.

[Bas]

Thanks Joe. The part about just sending it to every mag is really helpful, I probably would have done each one individually (and waited for them to accept or reject). As for helping with the spelling of the tip, here it is (everyone else don't look):














Measure twice, cut once.

(Hey, I'm weird, not stupid! )

[TracyP]

Originally Posted by Bas

Thanks Joe. The part about just sending it to every mag is really helpful, I probably would have done each one individually (and waited for them to accept or reject). As for helping with the spelling of the tip, here it is (everyone else don't look):














Measure twice, cut once.

(Hey, I'm weird, not stupid! )

Great tip Bas.

[tom hintz]

Tack-on photos and clear, concise text all impress editors. They don't want to do anything more than they have to with their limited resources. Most can take text in plain email (don't use the goofy backgrounds or formated text...drives them nuts) but attaching a Word doc file often makes it easier for them to get it into their system and could win a Brownie point or two.

Goog luck!

[AndyBarnhart]

I agree with Tom. I used to write for software development magazines; even had a column for a little while (got tired of it after a while; it became a second job). While submitting a single tip is different than pitching an article, there is one thing that helps no matter what - knowing how much editors hate hassles. In your very brief email or cover letter, state that you took the pictures and wrote the tip to fit their guidelines (get them, read them, follow them) and would be willing to take additional pictures and/or edit the text and resubmit if they have suggestions that would make it fit their publication better. If an editor has a couple to decide between that interest him about the same and one guy clearly indicates there are no ownership issues and his willingness to adjust if necesary while the other just has an email address, which do you think he will pick?

[rywilson]

Originally Posted by Joe Scharle

Send them to every mag you can think of, and the mags give an email address just for tips.

Does anyone have a list of all the emails?

[AndyBarnhart]

A few more thoughts...

I would not sit on a response, but would immediately reply and accept it, even if it were from the lowest paying one. If you weren't going to accept, you should not have submitted.

If I acepted an offer, I would not let the other editors know but just play the odds that I was only getting the one offer. You may get differing opinions on this, but if you send a follow up saying it is sold elsewhere, your name will get routed around to people who have to look through what they have to make sure they aren't considering it. So it may very minor, but you have just done potential damage to your name at that publication probably for no reason at all. The flip side is that if you do get an actual offer that you have to turn down, you may do more significant damage to your name with one editor.

This changes if you really do have a fabulous idea and do a really good photo shoot and write up and are likely to get more than one response. The reality is that most things are going to get turned down everywhere. If you want to get really depressed, try writing some fiction and submittting that a few places. I am a wannabe in that world. One of my rejection letters has hand written encouragement from the editor in the margin. I saved that one; it's like a muskie fisherman seeing a swirl near his lure. No fish, but a story he'll tell for years.

[Alan in Little Washington]

I would like to build on Andy's point. Like Andy, I do not notify the other magazines that I have accepted an offer, unless they contact me first.

A subsequent offer (or even rejection) can actually be good. After accepting an offer last winter from FWW, I received second offer by phone from another mag. I informed the caller that I had unfortunately accepted another offer. He was very polite and understood (it happens to them ALL THE TIME). He said, while he knew of a couple of magazines who didn't care and would also use the tip, his magazine would not.

With the detailed legal contracts I have signed so far, the second mag and I both could have gotten into trouble had they also published the tip if the original magazine had found out.

But I digress, I actually spent some time on the phone with the rep from the second mag. We talked about tips and articles and I described a few of the ideas I have in work. While he stopped short of asking me to send them directly to him or guaranteeing that he would publish them, he did encourage me to submit and said he would be especially interested in one or two ideas I had. Bottom line, I learned a lot from that call, and while I can't say for sure, it may have contributed to my last tip being selected (is my name on a special list?) because that magazine selected this latest tip.

On a different but related issue- To improve my pics, I plan to make some lighting and flash filters and/or a small, easily stored, photo booth.

[junquecol]

Sometimes the hottest tip you have is a dud in the eyes of the editors. It really depends upon what they are looking for at the moment. If in the last six months they have published ten tips similar to yours (but not as good,) then they probably won't do yours. A tip on a "better tip" than what they just published isn't going anywhere either. If you have an "idea" but don't have a picture showing how it works, this is another strike against you. They want to see that your idea is doable. Send it to magazines using your name and wife's name. A couple years back, the tip about using a "mac washer" on router wrenches appeared in TWO magazines the same month. Names were different (same last name), but cities of residence were the same. Some editors just like some better than others, If you get ShopNote / Woodsmith, look how many tips Dana Craig has published. Jeff Greff used to do the same thing. Main thing is to SEND THEM IN!