How To Make A Living Writing About Dogs
If you love your pets and you enjoy writing, then you may be able to combine the two and form a career writing about dogs, as Mollie Porein shows us…
Everyone wants a job that they love, so if you are a big fan of dogs, wouldn’t it be great to write about them all day? There are a wide range of pet magazines and pet-related websites out there, so there are certainly ways to make a living. Writing about dogs may be one of the best things to do today, but how do you get the ball rolling? Throughout this article, will be looking at different publications to approach and how best to approach them. Ready? Let’s get going!
1. Dog Magazines
It is easy to find a magazine for every dog lover out there. You’ll be surprised how many there are on the market. The pay for national dog magazines vary substantially, so you could make anywhere between five and $0.50 a word. If your portfolio is strong, you shouldn’t be taking less then $0.10. Depending on the pay scale, you could make a lot of money writing about dogs.
So how can you impress an editor with an application? Whatever you do, do not send them an article about your own dog. These editors are completely inundated with personal stories about people’s dogs, so they don’t want to hear more about them. You need to make yourself stand out, not get blacklisted immediately. It could be a good idea to write an article that involves pet care, ways in which you can keep your pet healthy, something on animal behaviour or any other interesting point. Pick a topic that’s new and exciting.
Where Can I Find these Magazines?
If you’re not a dog magazine reader or are unfamiliar with the market, get reading. Carry out market research and surf online to see what kind of magazines are available for dogs. After taking some time to examine them, you can jot down any stories which you find appealing. In doing this you can determine if it would be a nice fit with your writing style. Looking around in any respectable book stores will give you a number of drug-related magazines. Browse through all of these and see which ones you like. Even small indie magazines have websites and post editorial guidelines online. You can find all of these and determine which ones you want to apply for. Don’t forget that this is a great way to see what kind of topics are being covered and what kind aren’t, so you can send in an appropriate piece to aid in your application process.
What Can I Send Them?
It is important to check the guidelines in order to see what you can send a prospective employer. Perhaps some magazines require a one-page query letter, whereas others will want you to email them ideas. Some will even want you to send in an entire article, so do check with the guidelines which can be usually found online. If you’re not able to find these guidelines, consider emailing the editor or anyone who works in the editorial department. You could also send a self-addressed envelope to the magazine with a request for their guidelines – people will be sure to help.
2. General Interest Magazines
Pet magazines would be an obvious choice to send submissions of your writing about dogs to, however, there are other areas in the market. Many general interest magazines have room for pet related articles, such as health magazines that may be interested in articles on keeping fit with your dog. Almost everyone is interested in pets, so just think about how the story would pique a person’s interest. National general interest magazines pay a lot more than pet-related magazines, making them harder to break into but worth a try. You could be earning up to 2 dollars per word, so for a thousand-word article, you take home $2000. Lucrative earnings for any writer!
Interest
National general interest magazines usually have quite a varied audience, so people will be reading about many other things than dogs. This makes it a little harder to apply because you need to come up with the compelling idea about dogs which will interest anybody. There is no room for a full article here, for instance how to travel with a dog. Better would be how to travel with your entire family plus the dog and still stay sane at the end of it! Engaging your audience is vital in this job.
Where Can These Magazines Be Found?
In order to approach the market, see what you have on your coffee table. If there’s nothing there, keep your eyes open for any articles that you find on pets in any publications you read and keep these for later use. It’s important to get a feel of what magazines require and how a dog-related peace would fit in. Just as with pet specific magazines, check your local library and all bookstores. Look for all the pet-related stories you can find and take note of them. A lot of general interest magazines might not publish stories on dogs, so you probably won’t want to bother applying for these. Be smart and narrow down a wide selection to a few that you think would work for you.
What Should I Send?
Looking for the guidelines online is a good idea, or looking through a writers guideline database can also help. You could look for the address of the magazine and where to send editorial requests quite simply because it is usually in the masthead of a lot of major magazines. It is likely that magazines will want query letters, however, guidelines may be more specific. It might take a little more work than with specific magazines because the audience is much larger for this type of publication.
3. Regional Publications
Becoming familiar with one’s regional magazines is a great practice to have if you are looking for dog-related writing work. Regional magazines are a great place to get gigs if you’re a new and upcoming freelance writer. Unlike enormous publications that have millions of readers, you’ll be more likely to get an opportunity with a regional magazine. Also, if you’re local to the area, this will please the editor because local editors love to hire people who live nearby.
It may only take one good article to receive requests for more work over and over again. The pay for regional magazines isn’t bad either – you could take home between 30 and $300 for one article.
What Do They Want?
First and foremost, regional publications will want to focus on local stories. It is more likely that you’ll catch the editors I was an article relating to your local dog park than a general piece on dog parks in the whole country. Are there trends in your area that you can consider? How about places where people like to take their pets? Get creative and think of a local story.
Where Do I Look?
Some of the best places to find regional publications are local grocery stores and bookshops. If you live in an area which is sparsely populated, don’t forget to look in some towns near to you. You may not live there, but you can certainly visit easily and find great stories.
What Should I Send?
It is unlikely that submission guidelines will be published online for small regional magazines. One of the best things you can do is to send a stamp addressed envelope to anyone working in the editorial department and if there is an address on the masthead, this is also a great place to send your request. Once you’ve established some correspondence with an editor, you can take your application from there.
4. Trade Publications
Some of the best places to write about dogs are trade magazines, plus they pay more frequently than regular publications. Find one of these trade magazines that cater specifically to the dog or pet market. If you know of any pet products, pay attention to different trends and you’ll have a lot to write about. It is also worth considering trade magazines for industries other than pets.
It may take a little longer to come up with some ideas for articles, but once you begin brainstorming you realise that there may be a surprising number of possible topics. As an example, a trucking industry publication could benefit from an article on how bringing a dog to work can increase their job satisfaction. The pay for trade publications can be pretty lucrative and can offer as much as two dollars per word. It is certainly a market to investigate when you’re looking for dog writing work.
What Would They Enjoy?
When you’re writing for the pet trade magazine, this is very different from writing for the general consumer. You’re not going to write to people who buy products, but the people who are selling them, so topics such as ways to expand a business, market trends and general business ideas are what editors are really looking for. You’re not going to be writing an article about the best dog food for a poodle – trade magazines would be looking for articles about the trends in food for poodles and why consumers are choosing specific products on the market.
When you’re writing for different kinds of trade magazines, i.e. not dog related, consider how different trends can apply to dogs and report these to relevant trade magazines. As an example, the beef trade publication could be interested in an article about the trends in organic meat in dog food. Just remember to think about who would be reading the magazine in order to cater to the prospective audience.
Where Are These Publications?
Honestly, there are so many trade magazines that you may find it difficult to narrow down their choice that works for you. Think about who your friends and family work with and consider any industries that appeal to you in general. Search online and see if any of these could be a good fit when you’re writing about dogs. Pet trade magazines are everywhere online. Such publications aren’t always limited to pet products – you can find trade magazines for pet shop owners, vets and even pet groomers. Have a look at some of these and see if they appeal to you.
What Can I Send Over?
As with all the other publications, it’s good to look online for any submissions guidelines. You can often find guidelines written in the mastheads of magazines and an address or email to try and contact the editor through. It is most likely that pets trade magazines will want introductory letters, clips and a resume to send over if you’re looking to write for one on a regular basis.
5. Book Publishers
Don’t forget that besides magazines, a lot of great books are being published about dogs. A lot of books are now being written on different breeds of dog, so if you’re familiar and have some knowledge, perhaps you could publish a book of your own? Dog training books are also very popular – millions of people needing to know how to train their four-legged friends.
If you take a look within your library, you’ll see how many different books there are on dogs – everything from dog care, cooking for your dog, animal therapy and much more. If you’ve got a great idea about something you could write a book on, check the websites of publishers that have put dog-related books out. You’ll usually find some sort of publishing information for people to contact. As a rule of thumb, you’ll probably be needing to send along a query letter about your subject which they will then respond to if they’re interested.
Writing about Dogs or other Pets?
As we’ve demonstrated, there are all sorts of ways that you can write about dogs. The world needs to know about these little creatures and there are certainly avenues that you can take to write in magazines or any other publications. Keep in mind that it does take time to build a reputation and a client base, so don’t feel discouraged if you don’t succeed straight away.
Do you write about pets? Do you have any tips on the subject? We would love to hear more from you. Please share your thoughts on writing about dogs with us below.
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About the author:
Mollie Porein discovered her love for pets in childhood. She and her dog Lessy live in a small house with a big backyard that she has developed into gardening space. With the help of chiefessays.net, she shares her knowledge with the people around her.
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