Tag-Archive for ◊ magazines ◊

06 Jul 2009 A Byline by Any Other Name
Author: Mridu Khullar |  Category: Uncategorized  | Tags: , ,  | 4 Comments

Doesn’t it put a question mark on my credibility to be ghost-writing or writing under an anonymous name (since my present contract doesn’t allow me to write for other publications)? I’m thinking that editors aren’t exactly going to rejoice when I propose that I’ll write under a fake name because I’m already working full-time somewhere else. At least, that’s how it seems to me, which is why I didn’t pursue the thought. So I don’t know how to go about that, can you help?


First of all, I have to say this: if you’ve signed a contract with your company that forbids you from freelancing, then you can’t. Sorry. Contracts are legally binding, and in no way will I encourage that you break them. What you can do, is either quit your job and get a new one that allows you to freelance on the side, or jump into freelancing full-time. Which option you choose is obviously going to depend on your personal circumstances.

I would also really avoid pissing off your bosses at work, because most freelancers who’ve worked at magazines/newspapers usually start out by freelancing for their old bosses as they add other clients to their repertoire.

That said, there are many reasons freelancers write under pseudonyms, including but not limited to, a name change after marriage, to distinguish one kind of work from another, and to keep real life separate from literary life. While an editor will need to know your real name (unless you don’t want a check!), most don’t care a bit whether you’re writing under your name, your pet’s name, or your imaginary friend’s name. All they care is that you deliver good work. On time.

Like I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I used to write how-to articles under a pseudonym, because it brought in quick and easy money, and I didn’t want that work to turn up on the top results in Google when anyone searched for my name. I knew I wanted to give that work up as soon as possible, knew I wasn’t going to be using those clips, and didn’t really care if that work was associated with my name or not.

I know that doesn’t answer your question. I completely understand how frustrating your situation may be, having walked away from some great job offers at the beginning of my career for precisely that reason. I really would recommend talking to the editor at the publication where you work and asking if you can take on some extra articles in the subjects and areas that interest you, so that you can get some of those clips and experience.

I’m also hoping some readers can chime in with their thoughts, since I know a lot of people freelance part-time. How do you handle this problem?

13 Feb 2009 The Way Up
Author: Mridu Khullar |  Category: Uncategorized  | Tags: , , , ,  | One Comment

I never had a mentor, the way some writers do. I never had someone look me over, look my work over, or look my career over, and give me advice on what I should do.

I didn’t hold writing sacred then, the way I do now. I didn’t put so much pressure on myself that I blocked up even before I’d written a word. I just wrote. Maybe that’s the curse of my generation. Or the blessing. I didn’t have to look at magazines and newspapers, read those widely published writers and wonder if I could ever be good enough. No, I read the Internet. And knew for a fact that I was definitely good enough.

It wasn’t until much later that I started doubting myself. But I was already making a living at it by then.

I always wonder about the pressure writers face when they come to writing as a dream, as something they’ve always thought of doing. I worry about people who quit their jobs before they’ve written a single article or book. What if they find that they like having written, but not the actual process? What if they find that it was tougher than they imagined, harder than it looked from the outside? What if they find, on sitting down in front of the blank page, that they’re really no good at all?

My goals initially were simple. I had failed college and had a year of nothingness ahead of me. If I could make a bit of money on the side, I’d be happy. So I did. By the time the year was over, I was hooked, and my ambitions had grown. Now, I was looking at this as a full-time career. I knew that I could no longer become an engineer and writing seemed to be my only ticket out. By the time I graduated college, I was making a living with my words.

It’s because I had no mentor, no guidance, and no real ambitions initially, that I’ve learned everything step by step, and built my career by working for the online publications and the small publications. Anyone who’d publish me, really. And that they did, was enough. I didn’t aspire to write for Time or The New Yorker. I’d be happy if that small e-zine for writers would publish me.

Now, things have changed. And I look back at that writer I once was and am glad that there was no one telling her to aim for The New York Times. She might have gotten rejected. And she might have taken that as a sign that she wasn’t good enough.

01 Nov 2008 The European Market
Author: Mridu Khullar |  Category: Uncategorized  | Tags: , , , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

I’ve ventured into the European marketplace this year, completely by accident. I came across a magazine for Asian women in England around February, sent the editor an LOI, and received an assignment pretty quickly.

A few months later, my editor at Elle India let me know that one of their European editions wanted to reprint one of my pieces. Easy enough.

Several weeks ago, an editor of a magazine in France found my website and have me a ready-made assignment. He was fabulous to work with, the pay was good, and I enjoyed the whole experience.

Then, about a week ago, I received note that Glamour had optioned one of my pieces (meaning they wanted to reprint it). The check is already on its way.

I’ve worked with European publications before, but this year is the first time when I’ve looked at them as a viable market. I know several people who work with the European media, and adding up their experiences and my own, I’ve found the following major differences between American and European publications.

1. European publications, typically, will not send you five-page contracts asking for all rights (in every media that exists today and that may be discovered in future), expect you to sign a contract saying that you’ll pay your own legal fees should some psycho choose to file a lawsuit, and come to think of it, pay theirs as well, and if they’ve forgotten to get a signed contract, send you an all-rights contract after it’s been published or hold your money hostage. In fact, in many parts of Europe, like in many parts of Asia, work is often done without a contract. E-mail is typically proof enough of the terms agreed upon.

2. As is common with publishers though, publications in Europe (and Asia and Africa) too will stall on payment. Without a contract, you might feel a little nervous about missing payments. I’ve never had an invoice go unpaid, but you’ll have to see if that’s something you can work with. Or you can send the editor an informal contract of your own laying out the terms of the deal. Payment on publication is common, and is usually non-negotiable.

3. The good news, however, is that a lot of European magazines do not have huge six-month lead times that most American publications do. Editors typically work only one month in advance.

4. The money? It can be very good. While popular publications can and do get away with paying pittance, mid-size newspapers and magazines pay much better than their American counterparts.

5. There are, of course, differences in the way things are done from country to country (and publication to publication), but if you’re going to break into this market, you need to know that things work very differently from the way they do in American publications.

11 Oct 2008 Testing the Waters
Author: Mridu Khullar |  Category: Uncategorized  | Tags: , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

I sent out a couple of feelers about my controversial doctor story. I’m also going to ask one of my Professors for advice on how to execute it. It’ll require some amount of travel, and a lot of sitting around with medical experts trying to figure out the true nature of the treatments. I’d like to be paid well for volunteering to wade through all that jargon!

I’m also hoping to get the timing of it right. I have a lot going on right now, and I don’t want any of my projects to fall through the cracks. I have at least two editors who I know would take this story immediately. But I’m beginning to realize that as writers, we’re a greedy bunch. What wouldn’t I have given for one of these editors to accept an idea, any idea, three years ago? And now I’m sitting here thinking of them as backup.

I’m becoming one of those writers who beg and plead with the Universe. “Just one,” they’ll say. “If just that one agent could be interested in my work, I’d be so happy.” Two years later, their book has been published, they’re getting favorable reviews, and they’re still on their knees begging to the Universe. “Just one,” they’ll be saying. “Just one week on the New York Times bestseller list and I’ll be so happy.”

I’m trying to remain ambitious without losing sight of what’s important. I like having goals; they inspire me to be better and move forward. But I’m slowly learning to disassociate my happiness from my achievements. Maybe some big name will pick up this story and pay for the thorough research. But if not, I think I’m cool with either one of my two backups taking it as well.

11 Sep 2008 5 Quick Ways to Get Organized Immediately
Author: Mridu Khullar |  Category: Uncategorized  | Tags: , , ,  | Leave a Comment

1. Create a naming system for your files. Since I happen to know an organized person or two, I’ve stolen theirs. I now name my files first by date, and then by name. So if I write an article for Elle on Fashion Blunders on September 14, 2008, I’ll name it 080914 – Elle – Fashion Blunders.doc. Once you’ve figured out a system of your own, resist the urge to go back and change the names of the hundreds of files you already have on your system. Just get started on the new files. One of these days, you’ll have a deadline you need to procrastinate on, and that’s when you get to the rest of them.

2. I speak from experience (many, actually): You need a back-up system. You’ll need to find something that works for you, whether it’s something you can do daily, or whether you want to go in for the online automated systems, or even if you want to do it manually at the end of the each day. Figure out what works for you, and then do it. Every day.

3. Create a deadline calendar. You could get one to hang on your wall, you could print one out from your computer, or you could simply use one that’s available on your computer or online. (I use iCal on my Mac.) Take some time to fill in those deadlines that you have coming so that you have an idea of how your workload is distributed. It’s also a convenient way to know at a glance which days are going to turn out to be the busiest for you.

4. Make a list of things you need to do today. Get them done.

5. You know those magazines you keep buying but never get around to reading. Pick one, read it, and then toss it out.

10 Sep 2008 Forthcoming
Author: Mridu Khullar |  Category: Uncategorized  | Tags: ,  | Leave a Comment

I’m quite excited about articles I have in upcoming issues of Self, Ms., and Spirituality & Health. They’re all going to be out before the end of the year, and what’s making me walk around in impatience is that for the first time, I’m actually going to be able to buy an American magazine that I’ve written for.

I typically get editors to send me copies, and since I mostly write for foreign publications, I don’t often have the satisfaction of seeing magazines with my byline in them available for sale (except Elle India).

This changes soon.

I’ve seen those magazines—heck, they’re sold at the grocery store down the road. And soon enough, they’ll have my byline.

For some reason, even after several years of doing this, I feel giddy about seeing my name in print again.

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