WHEN Thursday, Aug. 24, 7-10 p.m. WHERE Richard Hugo House Alice Room 1634 11th Ave. Seattle, Wash. MORE INFO Email learnwest@mediabistro.com, or call (310) 659-5668. PRICE $65 ($50 for ) more info

Course Details

Don't believe journalism school graduates: You can write for consumer magazines, from Vibe to Us Weekly to Food & Wine, without having gone to grad school for it. In fact, some of today's most respected journalists taught themselves how to write. And here's the kicker (a journalism term, by the way): J-school doesn't even teach you how to write pitch letters, work with editors, or spot trends—three of the skills editors say they look for first in a freelancer. 

Get started and focused with this crash course in magazine writing. You'll learn the scope of opportunities—there's more out there than the New Yorker and Cosmo, you know—how to get the attention of an editor, and how to write to please. Learn how to identify the best sources, win their confidence, and get great quotes. And instead of just lobbing stories and queries, you'll find out how to study the magazine market, break into new publications, manage your time, and win an editor's heart. We'll take you beyond the usual magazine seminar and give you a seller's edge.

In this seminar, you'll learn:

• How to generate kick-butt story ideas
• How to craft a winning pitch
• How to connect with editors
• The different writing assignments: service stories, Q&As, essays, roundup stories, features, etc.
• How to negotiate for more money and what to look for in a contract
• How to conduct a fruitful interview
• How to make an editor happy with your work

Instructor Bio

Jessica Kowal's Courses

Jessica Kowal is a freelance writer who has contributed to The New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Salon.com, Cosmopolitan, Self, Parenting, GQ, and Glamour. From 1994 to 2003, she was a reporter for Newsday in New York and was on the Newsday team that won a 1997 Pulitzer Prize for stories about TWA Flight 800. Earlier, she worked at NBC News' online division, In Fashion magazine, and Aspen Magazine. Jessica attended Brown University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She lives in Seattle with her husband and their two young children.

Testimonials

Jessica Kowal brought reality into a medium heavy with hype. In just 3 hours, I learned enough about the genre to know whether I wanted to pursue magazine writing--and if so, how to go about it. Marilyn Gilbert, Freelancer

"I felt that I was getting the real deal from Jessica. She seems to embody the "to the point" methods of a reporter." Jonathan Rooke, Systems Admin

"How to Write for Magazines answered my questions about how to break into the freelance market in a way that was encouraging and realistic. I appreciate the way Jessica shared her pitching process: generating lucrative ideas, finding the right people to contact, and communicating with them in a way to builds relationships and lead to ongoing work. Following her suggestions, I expect that this course will pay for itself soon!" Rachel Gordon, freelance