The Practical Artist: No Clips? No Problem

If you want to write for magazines, you’ve probably noticed that many of their guidelines refer to clips—as in “query with clips” or “send clips with proposal.” Clips are simply photocopies of your published work. Editors ask for them because they like to see samples of your writing and confirm you’ve been published before.

But what happens if you’re new to the game and don’t have clips yet? It can feel like a catch-22—editors want you to query them with clips, but you’re querying them to get clips! What do you do?

First, take heart—the fact that you don’t have clips may not be a reflection of your writing ability. That being said, you needn’t advertise your clipless status in your query. In other words, don’t say, “although I have never published anything yet…”. Or “although I’ve been writing for 20 years and have never been published before…” Yikes! That’s even worse.

So what do you do? You write around the fact you’re lacking in clips. Instead, you highlight your relevant writing experience and your unique qualifications in what I like to call the “I-am-so-great” paragraph. If you’re the mother of six and you’re pitching a parenting piece, say so. If you’ve worked in human resources and are querying an article about better hiring practices, mention that. Include a brief overview of your general writing background but remember that your most important writing sample is the query itself.

Admittedly if you have no clips, your chances of receiving a major feature assignment from a national magazine are slim. But there’s still hope. Consider pitching shorter pieces, or fillers, to the “front-of-the-book” sections most magazines have—these are often a good way to get your foot in the door. And don’t overlook smaller periodicals, regional publications and trade magazines. They’re not as inundated with queries and are more likely to give a relatively inexperienced writer a shot. In fact, many journalists start their magazine writing careers writing for trades to build their clips before moving on to consumer mags.

One last note—if you’re a new writer without clips, an editor may offer to look at your piece “on spec,” or speculation, instead of giving you an assignment. On spec means if you want to write it, the editor will consider the piece but won’t guarantee she’ll buy it. Most experienced writers won’t agree to this, but writing on spec can be a good way for a new writer to prove yourself to an editor.

As always, for more about the business side of writing, check out my “Bottom Line” column in The Writer magazine. Remember, my book Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create Your Own Writing Specialty and Make More Money (The Writer Books, 2003) will help you do the same.