This book is aimed at businesses, and contains lots of examples of a business or an individual employee doing a small thing that has made a big difference to customer or client. I don’t want to say too much about the book here, because I’ve written a review of it for another website. (If they publish it, I’ll link to it from here; if not, I’ll publish it myself.) However, I will say that reading the book made me reflect on the “tiny noticeable things” that a writer might do to make a magazine editor’s life easier. Here’s what I came up with:

• Research the magazine before pitching an idea. (That includes checking whether they pay!)

• If the magazine does seem to be one which publishes articles within your area of expertise, check a few back issues to see if “your” article has been in it recently.

• If all seems well, read the submission guidelines. And do what they say.

• Unless the guidelines say otherwise, I would suggest pitching three article ideas to the editor. It’s easier for someone to compare a couple of ideas than to say either yes or no to just one.

• If you get the go-ahead to submit an article, then you should:

  • Check that the deadline is doable for you. Don’t say “fine” and then let them down.

  • Look at the style guidelines and follow them. If none seems to be available, look at the style of similar articles to the one you’ve been asked to write. For example, I write book reviews, and every magazine I write them for publishes the details of the book in their own way. I always try to provide the details in the style they prefer, because it’s one less thing the editor has to do.

  • Spell check and proofread.

  • Spell check and proofread again.

  • Keep as close to the word count as possible.

What you’re aiming for is to submit perfect copy, because the less an editor has to do to make your work usable, the more likely they are to commission more work from you in the future. It’s not just professional pride, you see: it’s enlightened self-interest!