Esther Chilton

Well, it’s been a few weeks but we’re almost to the end of the ‘ABC’ of ideas for articles. This week, I have ideas for V, W and X. It’s now getting a little tricky – and Y and Z are still to come!

• V is for vintage, whether the vintage relates to records, clothes, transport, jewellery or furniture. Some of these subjects have whole magazines devoted to them while in the case of clothes, for example, fashion magazines, women’s magazines, newspaper supplements, general interest publications and so on, often cover articles on the clothes of yesteryear. If your interest is a hobby, related to work or you know someone who’s a bit of an expert and who you can interview, you may be able to make a sale.
• W is for writing. There are numerous writing magazines offering advice and the majority of them are open to contributions from freelancers.So if you can write a tips piece on beating writers’ block, or an article on the different ways writers cope with rejection, this area could be an option for you.
• X is for Xmas. In the lead up to Christmas, most magazines are packed full of articles about gift ideas, how to stay sane over the festive period, ways of recycling those unwanted Christmas gifts etc. A lot are written in-house but if you can offer the editor something a little different e.g. perhaps you didn’t buy a single Christmas present last year and made gifts for everyone, then the editor is likely to want to take a second look at it.

Though I’m not sure if anyone would appreciate this as a Christmas gift!: