Guest Post – So you want to be a writer….

Many people dismiss writing to the letters pages of magazines as beneath them.

True – it’s never going to earn you a fortune, but we know many writers who make enough money to fund their leisure activities, or win themselves interesting and useful ‘gifts’.  And, it gives you the opportunity to share all those tips you’ve picked up along the way about saving money and making life easier.  So here are some suggestions to make the most of your letter writing:

• Keep your letters short and to the point.  Study letters in past editions of the magazine you are targeting and write to a similar length.
• Make sure letters are chatty, but they must still be grammatically correct and be free from typos.
• Stick to one main point. For example, the letter could be in response to a previous letter or an article that has been published in an earlier edition of the magazine; it may recount an amusing incident that happened to you or your family; it might tell about something funny that has been seen or overheard or it can give a helpful tip on how to do something more effectively and save money.
• Injecting humour into your writing, if appropriate, can make your letter more saleable.
• Most magazines now accept letters by email and text as well as by post – but very few welcome hand-written offerings!
• However you send your letter, make sure you include full contact details, including your phone number.
• Even if you are writing to a reader’s column that usually only prints initials at the end of each letter, the editor will expect you provide your full name.
• If you’re sharing a tip or a funny anecdote about your family it often pays dividends if you can send a photo – so always have your camera at the ready.
• Finally, don’t send your letter to more than one magazine at the same time. You can write on a similar topic (if appropriate) to a number of magazines, but make sure each letter is original.

And if you do decide that you want to move on from writing readers’ letters to articles, stories and even, dare I say it, that novel you’ve been plotting for years, then the Writers Bureau can give you all the support you need with their creative writing courses.

Diana Nadin is Director of Studies for the Writers Bureau. She has commissioned and edited their courses for longer than she cares to remember and writes a weekly blog at www.writersbureau.com/blog

This is a guest post from the Writers Bureau.