Getting published in newspapers is generally difficult. Publications already have a full-time staff who are assigned stories to cover, and editors usually have a lot of freelancers also interested in writing for the market. However, with the job cuts in the newsrooms across the country, editors may be more interested in freelancers than ever before because they are easier to pay than assigning a full-time reporter to cover the story, especially if its a travel piece. Find out ways to get published in newspapers by following these steps.
Instructions
1. Find local newspapers. You have a higher change of being published if you look into smaller, community-based newspapers, especially if your story has a local angle and would be something of interest to the readers in the community.
2. Get a job as a reporter. If you can't beat it, join it. Getting a full-time job as a reporter will allow you to get published over and over again. If you're in for the adventure and love seeing your name in print, talk to the section editor of a newspaper you want to write for about possible job openings. Look for their contact info on the newspaper's website.
3. Query. If a full-time reporting position is not for you, you can pitch ideas and articles to publish as a freelance writer. A query letter is a formal letter written to editors to sell a topic that you want to write about. Look for the contact info of the editor you want to write to on the newspaper's website.
4. Write for the Opinions page or letters to the editor. Opinion pages are usually more open to submissions from locals, since it's a forum to share perspectives on current topics.
