Creating Sample Writing?!

Recently I emailed a local entertainment magazine to ask if I could volunteer to write some columns or articles, you know, so I could get some writing experience in a professional environment. Well, I was not expecting to get a reply saying 'sure you can!, just send us some of your sample material and tell us what you would like to write about'.

WHAT.

 

I mean, you  can tell from my blog that I'm writing something like every second day, but I guess that this is more of a hobby type of thing than a professional business move (Ha, I wish). But when this opportunity came up I had no idea what to send them, I've never done sample writing before! I looked around on a lot of comedy writing sites to see what I was supposed to send, since this magazine is very much comedy based (yet it's an entertainment guide). I knew a lot about sample packets for late night, but I really don't think that a magazine is going to care much for my comedy sketch scripts.

So I stayed up writing articles about super random things, and I don't think I stopped writing until about 11PM. Two hours of writing, and I came up with a short story and two articles that I probably should have worked harder on. But oh well, hopefully there will be more opportunities, and it was a learning thing. Next time I'll know what to do. In saying that, it's still only been 3 days since I sent my sample stuff so I guess I'll wait a bit longer to see if I get an answer.

If you have something you have to write for and you get asked to give sample pieces, here is a list of what to do so you don't panic like I did.

1. Make sure you know who you are writing for. Trust me, applying for a writing job on a comedy something or rather will always be different to applying to write for a science magazine (duh) Check out if thy have a website and see who the target audience is, I think that could help your chances.

2. If you are writing Late Night style stuff, check out @JoeToplyn on Twitter, he always has some really good tips. While your at it, check out the list that the Sandpaper Suit has on their blog. It is so helpful.

 

3. If you are applying for a local magazine or something similar (as I did) make sure your sample writing is something people in that area will find relatable. For example, if you're from Nebraska, are people living in New York or Los Angeles really going to like reading about corn? I mean, I like corn, but maybe not enough to read about it.

4. Make sure you actually have some writing samples, because you do not want to be staying up late rushing to write out four pages of stuff (Like me.. Oops) You will enjoy the feeling of having something pre-written. Trust me!

If all else fails, apply to a different writing job! Don't give up, you can do it!

Until Next Time...
Morgan ^^