In the column to start writing

You have written many articles for websites, newsletters and now you also have conquered the territory of getting published in a magazine. What is the next step, you ask? How can the editor ask for my work weekly or monthly?

Enter: the column.

Before running to an office of the editor or send unsolicited mail asking to write regularly for a publication, learn everything you need to know.

A column is written weekly, monthly or bimonthly, and should focus on a particular topic. You have to be consistent in what you write, keep the same tone of voice, and stay focused on the question at hand. If you write a column for the parent of writing, not to elaborate on issues of parenting in general. Six readers will probably be the parents who write, and be more interested in learning how to find time for their writing, rather than how to take care of their children.

A column can last three to four months to ten or maybe twenty. I know one writer who wrote an article about a major newspaper for more than twenty years.

When you decide to write a column, make sure the theme is of interest to readers and will keep you coming back for more, week after week. If the subject is boring or uninteresting, chances are you will not have readers, and editors soon conclude the column with a short note of farewell.

Make sure you can keep the commitment. Writing a column takes more than a brilliant idea and good writing. It needs dedication, discipline and ability to meet deadlines. If you can not meet the deadlines, will soon be out of a job, and out-pub for good. A journalist must ensure that it provides an on-topic, interesting, current article each week (or month), interesting enough to make the reader to go read it.

If you decide to delve into the world of writing the column, the best solution would be to start with a regional daily or weekly. Not only is this easier market to break into, but will give you lots of exposure. The columns for cooking, astrology, inspiration and living in cities are very common in newspapers and are the best places to start. However, try to avoid topics that have been done to death. Put a ride to a unique and interesting topic and you are required to obtain the interest of the editor.

Even websites that are beginning to open up to columns. Just like their counterparts in print, websites, e-zines and even online versions of print magazines ask for original material on a weekly or monthly. The biggest advantage of writing online is accepting short-term and publication.

The best way to query a publisher to write a column by sending clips of your work and the topic column. If the query editor like you will be asked to send in an article, and will soon be on your way to publishing glory. Keep in mind though, that writing the column is not like writing an article, not your convenience * and * your * time constraints that count. The only thing the editor wants from you is an article of good quality every week, submitted on time. Do, and you have a regular income from at least one source.