With the Capital Event coming up in Washington, D.C. in August, I’m reminded of all I’ve learned in the last year by attending three ASJA-sponsored conferences. Particularly, in New York, I was surprised to hear several national magazine editors put out the welcome mat for fresh ideas and new writers. But there was more, too. Following are some trends I’ve noticed in New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
- If food gets your creative juices flowing, then think green. Consider food in the context of health and environment. Think organic. Think local. An editor from Eating Well, Lisa D’Agrosa with whom I met during Client Connections in New York, suggested that writers provide tips about how readers can take action to improve food sources. Ask broad questions in your queries, such as how environmental influences are affecting food and food growth.
- If D’Agrosa’s tips aren’t satisfying enough, participants on a food panel in New York offered more. Adam Dawson, deputy editor at Wine Enthusiast, is looking for trends that are changing culture. He likes ideas that show a changing landscape of food through the use of recipes. Age-old advice: Know the magazine. (By the way, he dislikes the word “pairings” so avoid that in a query or story.)
- Editors on panels mention getting creeped out if you are stalk them on Twitter and other social media.
- Think packaging when it comes to parenting publications. Take one current topic and break it down into segments for Scholastic or Family Circle. Both magazines are on the hunt for good ideas.
- In the shelter category, there are new players. Curbed.com is an online site looking for content. Query senior features Editor Sara Polsky (sara@curbed.com), who’s looking for profiles and features ranging in length from 1,500 to 5,000 words.
- It is possible to write three memoirs in one lifetime. New York keynoter and transgender author Jennifer Finney Boylan, who has transitioned to becoming female while still married to her wife with whom she has parented two sons, has already done so.
- If you’ve been writing for a while, pull out your favorite old topics, dust them off and polish them with a new spin. Think green, as in gardening. Think small, as in the small house movement. Think hip, as in anything related to Austin, Marin County and other hot regions of the country.
- New writers bring fresh perspectives. In New York, I met a new ASJA member from Arizona, Amanda Owen. She’s a social worker by career choice but wrote a fascinating book called The Power of Receiving. We had a delightful conversation and I’ll keep Amanda and her area of expertise in my lead file for future article topics.