Course Details

As a freelance writer, the query letter can make or break you: It's your personal introduction, writing sample, and article outline all in one. Write a solid one and you're on your way to a feature contract, or at least an ongoing relationship with the editor; write a lousy one and you'll disappear into the slush pile. It's a lot of pressure to put on a package of no more than 500 words.

Whether you're pitching a celebrity profile or an undercover investigation, there are some key techniques and strategies you need to know to come up with a killer query. This course will walk you through the most important ones, from researching your target publication to structuring the pitch to selling yourself as the perfect writer for the job.

Bring your story ideas along for hands-on workshopping.

In this seminar, you can expect to learn:

• how to develop an idea into a sellable story
• how to target the right editor at the right publication
• what editors look for in a query—and what turns them off
• the basic questions all queries must answer
• how, when, and how often to follow up
• how to package yourself as the ideal writer for your idea
• how to deal with—and benefit from—rejection
• how to re-sell your ideas for extra cash

Instructor Bio

Douglas Gantenbein's Courses

Douglas Gantenbein has more than 20 years experience writing for magazines. He's the Seattle correspondent for The Economist, the influential London-based newsweekly, and has contributed articles to Outside, Scientific American, Popular Science, Architectural Digest, Smithsonian Air & Space, Travel + Leisure, The Atlantic, Discover, and many other publications. In addition, Douglas writes a regular column for Outside's web site, where as the "Gear Guy" he answers readers' questions about outdoor equipment and safety.

Douglas also is a book author whose book A Season of Fire: Four Months on the Firelines in America's West, detailed the growing problem of wildfires in American's forests. Described by Publishers Weekly as "thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking," A Season of Fire not only took readers right up the fireline, it also offered an unsparing look at whether we're wasting time, money and lives fighting fires that often have wide ecological benefits.

An experienced writing instructor, Douglas has taught many classes in nonfiction journalism for the University of Washington's continuing education program, and several of his former students now are active freelancers. He's adept at giving students real nuts-and-bolts tools for solving common problems such as generating story ideas, conducting interviews that get results, and organizing short- and long-form articles.