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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h3>\nQ: What writing successes have you had since completing your course?<\/h3>\n
A:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ve had two articles published in\u00a0New Zealand Mountain Biker<\/i>\u00a0(NZMTB<\/i>) magazine and one in\u00a0The Climber<\/i>.<\/p>\n The first one I had published in\u00a0NZMTB<\/i>\u00a0was actually one of the ideas I came up with when completing the magazine journalism course. We had decided to pursue another topic for the course assignment. But I still liked the biking idea idea, so I completed it in tandem, taking what I was learning on the course and applying it to the article.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong>\u00a0Unsurprisingly, really great. It helps validate the choice I made at trying to build a writing career. It\u2019s easy to write something and put it on a blog or post it somewhere. But when someone wants to actually give you money in exchange for the words you\u2019ve written, it bumps your confidence up a notch.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong>\u00a0That sending enquiry emails into what seems like an all-consuming black hole is part of the business. Then there\u2019s dealing with rejection, when on the odd occasion you do get a reply.<\/p>\n Sometimes it can feel quite personal.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong>\u00a0Things take time. As an example, I pitched that first\u00a0NZMTB<\/i>\u00a0article to the editor in December. Completed it in January. It was published at the beginning of April and I got paid at the end of the same month.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also been caught out on the photography side of things. I like to write for outdoors magazines as that\u2019s what I\u2019m interested in. However, there has been more than one occasion where an editor has liked the writing, but the photography hasn\u2019t been good enough and it\u2019s been rejected. I now work with a photographer, and we split the payment between writing and photography. Although you take a hit financially, I thought it was more important to build a body of work at this stage. Plus you never know what the relationship will lead to.<\/p>\n Also, be nice to the people you work with.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong>\u00a0Magazine journalism is just one of the avenues I\u2019m looking at in an attempt to make a career from writing. At the moment I\u2019m just focusing on one article at a time, on a theme that interests me, as I try to improve my craft.<\/p>\n A:<\/strong>\u00a0Always choose a strong verb over a weak verb and adverb combination. It makes for punchier sentences.<\/p>\nQ: How did it feel to sell your first article?<\/h3>\n
Q: What have you learned from working in the industry (as opposed to the theory of it)?<\/h3>\n
Q: What tips would you give other aspirant journalists?<\/h3>\n
Q: Where to next for you?<\/h3>\n
Q: What was the best piece of advice you walked away with from your magazine journalism course?<\/h3>\n