We've just started doing some distribution at work for a new local magazine. It's nothing major but yet another bit of bread and butter which adds to our portfolio and customer base. The monthly magazine is in its 3rd month but reading through the magazine I felt that the quality of writing wasn't exactly setting the world alight.
Now there's nothing particularly wrong with that. If you read up on writing advice the professionals tell you to keep the words simple, paragraphs short and nothing overly complicated. People don't like to read something that they don't understand. It undermines their ability apparently.
I guess to appeal to the masses you've got to dumb down.
6 weeks or so ago I got talking to the owner of the magazine and told him about my daily blog and about the content that we have been producing at work. For context I hired an excellent right hand man earlier in the year to work alongside me creating digital content, both written and videoed and he has proved to be everything that I'd hoped. Anyway I pitched to the owner that we'd like to write a regular column in the magazine, nothing about our business but just as another creative outlet writing locally based content and he said he'd talk to his business partner.
Just as the trail was going cold I got a call from him asking if he and his business partner could pop in for a meeting. That was yesterday. We met his business partner, I outlined our proposal once again and watched as their eyes lit up. Here we were offering to write 6 months of copy ready material and not really asking for anything in return. We even offered a potential deferred role of editor for other peoples material should they feel our proofs were of sufficient quality.
How do you get your first foot on the ladder? Well first you need to hone a skill. Then you need to find a route to market. Then you need to offer yourself for free (people love getting something for nothing). Then you need to build up experience (or in this case a portfolio). Then you can begin to either earn, exchange or trade up to the next level.
It's not exactly difficult. You've just got to be patient.
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