Q&A: Past vs. present — breaking into magazines

As magazines continue to fold at an alarming rate, opportunities for new writers to find a stable job are becoming as slim as the remaining magazines themselves.

Online magazines were not the automatic answer to the industry’s woes either. As a result, everyone is searching for an edge, a way to stand out from the pack of other hungry writers. In searching for a way in, young journalists may find it useful to learn from veteran writers and editors.

Jennifer Owens, special projects editor at Working Mother magazine, is one such journalist. A writer and editor with more than a decade’s worth of experience, Owens knows what it takes to be successful. Here’s what she has to say about entering the magazine industry:

Q. When did you get your first job as a journalist?
A. I got my master’s degree from Medill [School of Journalism at Northwestern University] in 1990, during the recession, and my first job was at the Greenville News in South Carolina, my home state.

Q. How long did you work in newspapers?
A. I was there for about two years and worked at a few other places [The News-Herald and Women’s Wear Daily] before moving to Folio and then Adweek where I wrote for their Web sites.

Q. Did you find it difficult to adjust to writing online?
A. Not at all. To write for a Web site you need to be able to write quickly and concisely which I learned to do as a newspaper reporter.

Q. How did you get into the magazine industry?
A. When the dot-com companies started failing, I had to look for a new job. I became an editor at several trade publications – even one for knitting and crocheting. Eventually I moved to consumer magazines under Fairchild and Time Inc.

Q. What’s your specialty as a writer?
A. I like to explain things. I break down complicated topics and make them easier to understand.

Q. What would you say are some of the differences between entering the magazine industry now vs. the 1990s?
A. I’d say there were more big name magazines back then; that said, the start-ups keep coming! In the mid-90s, the dot-com boom meant there were a lot of jobs for a lot of people, and it was actually hard for employers to find enough candidates to fill openings. There also was a lot of jumping around from job to job as people quickly moved up. I’d say right now, everyone is staying put as long as they can.

Q. Has the way people find their first editorial/reporting jobs changed or is it still mainly by word of mouth?
A. I think it’s all about getting your foot in the door with an interview and then charming the socks off a potential employer. I didn’t get jobs by word of mouth until I was much farther along.

Q. As an editor, what do you look for in freelance writers? Is it helpful to have a blog?
A. It’s very hard to take a risk on a new writer. I want to know where you’ve been published. Are most of your clips from mom and pop publications or have you written for some major names? I’ll look at a blog to get a feel for the person’s writing ability. A lot of stories are heavily edited but on a blog, I can watch you as you write. How well can you turn a phrase? Can you accurately discuss a topic?

Q. Have you ever hired anyone who only had a blog?
A. No, but I did start following a Time reporter first through her blog and she might do a piece for us.

Q. Do you have a blog?
A. No, I don’t blog. I’m old fashioned that way. But I have been using Twitter for Working Mother.

Q. Do you have any final tips for new writers?
A. Develop a passion for something and write about it. That makes it much easier for editors to find you, say through a Google search, and decide if you’re someone who can contribute to their magazine.