I wrote my first short story in pencil on a Big Chief tablet when I was nine years old.  I decided then that I wanted to be a writer and never let go of that dream.  But the realities of trying to make a living writing fiction soon made me realize that I’d better find other ways to bring in money, at least at first.  So I turned to writing nonfiction for magazines and newspapers.  Though I’ve sold eight books now, I still depend on freelancing to supplement my income and to add variety to my writing life.  My work has been published in Modern Bride, Ladies' Home Journal, Popular Mechanics, True West, the Boston Globe, the Dallas Morning News, Texas Highways, and dozens of other magazines you've probably never heard of. You, too, can make extra money, and hone your craft, writing nonfiction.  This article will help you get started.

Why write nonfiction?

I think writing nonfiction can have definite benefits for fiction writers.

Number one on my list of benefits is gratification.  It takes a long time to write a whole novel, and longer still to see it published and sitting on the shelf.  It doesn't take nearly as long to write a magazine article, and usually it's a much quicker route to publication. There are many, many markets for nonfiction work, so I think it's easier to sell an article than a book.  I can't tell you how many times, when I was working on my books and collecting rejection slips, and then an article I'd written would be printed and I'd see my byline there.  Some little voice in my head would say 'see, you ARE a writer.'  It sounds like a little thing, but it's important to us that our work be acknowledged, and nonfiction is a good way to achieve that.

Writing nonfiction also helps you hone your craft.  You can experiment with different forms and styles, writing essays and how-to articles, humor and serious stuff.  A good article is closely related to good fiction in that it must have an opening hook.  It usually has dialogue, in the form of quotes.  It has characters, in the form of people the reader can relate to.  That's why, instead of saying something like 'when your child comes home from school with a failing grade, what do you do?' a better article says "When Betty Jones' third-grader Stefanie, walked in the door with an F emblazoned on her report card, the Denver, Colorado mother of two wondered what she could do to help her child."  Do you see the difference?  Putting people in your articles automatically makes them more compelling.  You won't do this with every article, but when you can, it's very effective.  And it's one reason I think writers with a background in fiction have an advantage over those whose experience is only in straight journalism.

Writing nonfiction also helps you hone your craft in that it can help you learn about marketing.  It can help you gain confidence in dealing with editors and help you learn how to write good query letters.  And it can help you learn to cope with rejection.  I think rejection is sort of like bad weather.  You don't ever learn to like it, but you can become somewhat acclimated to it, and you can learn not to take it personally.

Writing nonfiction is a great way to have fun and meet interesting people.  I've interviewed fascinating people over the years and done some fun stuff.  I've had a private tour of King Ranch, attended a private showing of drawings by Michelangelo, had a behind the scenes tour of an IMAX theater, and taken several free trips.  I might even use some of this research in my fiction some day.

If you're already published, writing nonfiction can be a great way to promote yourself.  A lot of magazines will run a short bio of the author at the end of each article, and you can use these to promote your latest or upcoming release.

My last reason for writing nonfiction is Money.  I put this last because most people don't get rich writing magazine and newspaper articles. And like anything else, it takes a while to build up to the point where you can support yourself from your writing.  But you can bring in extra cash writing nonfiction, and if you really work at it, you can make a comfortable, though not extravagant, living.

What to write?

Okay, now that we have the Why to Write question out of the way, you have to decide what to write.  I guess the most common question I get from people is How can I get started?

If you're going to write, you need ideas.  And you have to keep coming up with new ideas in order to sell over and over again.  Sally Wendkos Olds surveyed 267 members of the American Society of Journalists and authors and asked them where they got the idea for their first published piece.  Here are the results:

46 got their ideas from a personal experience or hobby

2 wrote articles as byproducts of research they were doing for books

7 got their ideas from something they read in a magazine or newspaper

1 turned speech and lecture material into a nonfiction article.

That only adds up to 56 -- perhaps the other respondents couldn't remember.  But I think you can quickly see that personal experience is a great starting place for article ideas.  This is one case where the old adage 'write what you know' really holds true.  If you write about something you already know about, you don't have to do as much research.  When you do do research, you can more quickly narrow your focus, and you'll know better where to find the information you need.  Also, I think writing what you know helps you establish yourself quickly as an 'expert' in the area.  Even if you've never published anything before, the fact that you have personal knowledge of your article's subject matter will give you credibility in the eyes of editors and readers.

My two areas of specialty are Texas history and medical business.  These both arose directly out of my background.  I've studied Texas history as a hobby for years, and I used to work for a company that designed travel tours of Texas.  After that, I worked for a hospital.  As a result, I write lots of medical, travel and history articles.

So I think the first thing you can do to get started writing nonfiction is to sit down and make an inventory of your own interests and experiences.  Take a look at what you know.  If you've been a secretary, or a waitress, or a teacher or a construction foreman, you could write for trade magazines for secretaries, waitresses, teachers or construction foreman.  Take that idea one step further.  What knowledge do secretaries, waitresses, teachers and construction foremen have that other people might like to know?  A secretary might write an article for executives on how to hire the best secretary or 'what secretaries really want on secretary's day' or you might target a women's magazine with 'where the best jobs are for today's secretaries.'

A waitress could write 'how to get the best service in a restaurant' or 'how much should you really tip.'

A teacher could tell parents how to help their child succeed in school or write about the influence of corporate advertising in the classroom.

A construction foreman might tell homeowners how to hire the best home builder or even how to build a better deck.

Write down everything that comes to mind.  If you bought your first car with money you earned mowing lawns, you could write for a teen magazine on how to run a successful lawnmowing business.

Next, list your hobbies and interests.

Are you a potter, a stamp collector, a history buff or a golfer?  There are magazines for just about every hobby known to man.  And don't forget that general interest magazines might be interested in articles related to your hobby.

Do you know any other potters, stamp collectors, history buffs or golfers who might make interesting profiles for a magazine?

How about an article on the history of pottery, stamp collecting or golf?

Would a regional magazine be interested in notable pottery or stamp collections in your area?  How about a travel piece on a historical site or a roundup of your area's golf courses?

The possibilities are endless.List your life experiences.

Have you served in the military, lived in a foreign country, survived cancer, been a single parent?  There are other people who would like to hear about your experiences.   

Are you getting the idea?  At this stage, you're just brainstorming, looking for that area, that niche, where you could write several articles to get your foot in the door, so to speak.

Where to sell what you write

Now that you've identified things in your background that might give you material for articles, you need to find places to sell those articles.  One good place to start is Writer's Market.  It's published every year in a paper edition, and it's also on CD-ROM.  You can also find it at libraries.  Another place to look is the magazine racks at bookstores.  You'll find literally hundreds of magazines and they all need articles.  Read the magazines, read the descriptions in writer's market, and try to match your article ideas with the magazines.  For instance, you might want to write an article on activities grandmothers can do with their grandchildren.  You might think any woman's magazine would like that, but if you read the description for Redbook, you'll find out they consider themselves a 'magazine for young mothers.'  Woman's Day might be a better fit for your article, and Grandparents magazine would be even better.  So it takes a little research.  After you've had practice, you'll become more adept at identifying markets for your work.

By the way, magazines generally fall into two categories.  Consumer magazines are those magazines you'll find at bookstores and supermarkets.  Another big group of publications is called trade magazines.  Trade magazines are aimed at members of a particular profession, and are usually available by subscription only.  Some trade magazines are listed in a special section at the back of Writer's Market.  You'll find many others by looking around your workplace and asking other people.  For instance, my beautician has trade magazines for beauticians and nail technicians.  The other day, I was waiting to be seated in a restaurant, and they had whole stacks of restaurant trade magazines on a table by the front door.  The Romance Writer's Report is our trade magazine.  Trade magazines use lots of writers, and because they're not as well known as consumer magazines,  trade magazines are sometimes easier to get started in. Once you're established with a trade magazine, they'll often give repeat assignments.  I write almost every month for a medical trade group in California that owns five or six different magazines geared to professions such as Xray techs and physical therapists.

You might want to start by trying to sell to magazines you currently read.  If you're subscribing to a publication, that means the subject matter interests you enough to make you pay out some money for the subscription, so you already have an interest -- and probably some expertise, in the kinds of articles they print.

When you find a magazine you think you want to write for, you'll want to study an issue or two to get a feel for their style.  Pay attention to the types of articles the magazines use.  Does a trade magazine always print a safety article?  Can you think of a safety issue you could write about?  Do they like lists -- 10 ways to improve your golf swing?  50 top tips from the pros?  Can you come up with a list of your own?  Ask yourself who the magazine is written for and what they want to know?  How can you draw on your background to give them that information?

When you're researching magazines, you'll notice articles fall into some general categories.  There's the 'how-to article" -- How to build a table,  how to make your characters come alive in fiction, how to save money at the grocery store.

There's the list:  Twenty ways to save money at the grocery store, Top ten vacations for parents and children, Fifteen facts about fat.

A profile is an article all about one person, or business.  Often these are of celebrities, but in trade magazines, a profile is often written about a business or professional person.  you interview the person and this forms the basis of your article.

A personal experience relates something you went through, or someone else went through.  Reader's Digest publishes these a lot in their articles about people who survived great danger.  Redbook publishes a 'Young Mother's Story' while Ladies Home Journal has a 'My Problem and How I Solved It" piece in every issue. 

Another kind of article is the general overview of an issue or place.  Travel articles fall into this category, as well as general overviews of a subject. 

You want to keep doing this -- Brainstorming ideas, finding magazines, until you're exhausted or run out of patience.

How to Write a Nonfiction Query

Now that you know what you want to write about and who you want to write it for, the next thing you want to do is to write a query letter asking the editor if they're interested in the story you want to write.

A nonfiction query is very simple.  There are a number of books and articles on writing queries, but my basic formula is to present the idea in the first paragraph, give a few details about how I'd develop the idea, including any experts I intend to interview, in the second and third paragraphs.  In the last paragraph, I emphasize my own experience.  If you've written for other publications, say so, but if not, don't worry.  Close by asking for the assignment. Send the letter with a SASE and move on to the next place on your list.  If you have a number of markets you think would like your article, you can send multiple queries at a time.

One thing I'd like to suggest is that, even if you qualify as an expert in a particular topic, plan to interview one or two other 'experts' for your article.  I think a common mistake beginners make -- and a mistake I made when I was starting out -- was to put only my own point of view in an article.  Including the experiences of others will add authority to your piece and editors are looking for that.  For instance, if you're an avid golfer and you want to write a roundup of the best golf courses in your area, talk to the golf pros at some of the clubs and add their opinions to your article.

If you're a teacher writing about advertising in the classroom, talk to other teachers, a school administrator, or someone at the University of Colorado who is studying the subject.

You can find 'experts' by calling universities or organizations and asking, or even doing a search on the Internet.  Most people love to talk about themselves and though you may have to work around their busy schedules, it's not that difficult to get them to talk to you.

One of four things will happen when you send your query.  One, you may never hear anything.  Two, you'll get a rejection. Three, you'll get a rejection, but they'll ask you to write something else.  Three different places I queried in my first blizzard of letters after I was laid off gave me this response.  I am still writing regularly for two of them to this day.  You see, even though they couldn't use the particular idea I sent them, they recognized my expertise -- and they recognized that I could write a coherent query letter, and was willing to interview other people for my articles.  Magazines are looking for all those things.

The fourth thing that can happen is they'll ask you to write the article.  Sometimes it will be 'on spec' meaning they want to see it before they'll buy it.  I have no problem doing this for a magazine that's unfamiliar with my work.

If you get the assignment, write the best article you can, to the length specified, and get it in on time.  Do everything you can to impress the editor.  Send it in with a nice cover letter and ask for another assignment.

Before long, you'll have a relationship with several editors.  Once editors know you and like your work, they'll be more likely to work with you.

Keep sending out queries. 

If you have trouble selling to a particular magazine and you really want to write for them, try approaching them about writing smaller pieces.  These are know as 'front of the book' pieces, because that's usually where they're located. 

Once you have an article published, make copies of the article.  You now have a 'clip' to send with your query.  If you're writing for golf magazines, a clip from another golf magazine can give you an extra edge when approaching a new magazine.  Good clips make getting new assignments easier.

Once you've established yourself in one area, you can branch out.  I started out writing about Texas history, then expanded to Texas travel.  After I'd written a number of articles for medical trade magazines, I started writing medical consumer articles, too.

If you decide you want to write nonfiction articles for magazines and newspapers, you can start by

1. Making a list of article possibilities, based on your own interests and experience.

2. Research possible markets

3. Study those markets

4. Send a query letter

5. Repeat as needed.

It takes a while to build a freelance career and it's a challenge to be constantly coming up with new ideas and news markets.  But it's a challenge I really enjoy.  It's a break from writing fiction, I enjoy seeing my byline, it brings in money and it feeds my imagination.  A lot of time when I'm working on nonfiction articles, I'll get some of my best ideas for fiction.  It's as if I'm keeping those writing gears oiled all the time.