Meet Carol Thomas - Writing Magazine Articles that Sell

Carol Thomas has written many feature articles for national magazines. She received the award for Best Magazine Article of the year 2000 from the San Diego Christian Writers Guild of which she has been a member since 1995. If you're interested in selling to national magazines, consider her course:

Writing Magazine Articles that Sell -
October 6 thru week of November 16

How did you get started writing?
Once upon a time I was riding my horse on a very remote trail. A rattlesnake slithered out of the brush right in front of my mare’s feet. We avoided contact but on the long ride home I wondered what I should have done had she had been bitten. Tie her up and hike out? Ride her back? Do horses die from rattlesnake bites? I was so curious that I called some vets and after finding the information decided other equestrians would probably be interested in my findings. I wrote it up and Western Horseman published it in 1992.

From that point on I was addicted. I could research things I was interested in and make money selling the article to magazines. I soon learned that I could meet all sorts of interesting people that I would never get to speak to otherwise. This appealed to the introvert in me. Since then I’ve interviewed hundreds of people from professional football players to actors – certainly something I would never have been able to do otherwise.

What is your writing schedule like?
LOL. I have a full time job and homeschool my three daughters. My writing schedule is “whenever and wherever”. When I wrote my first novel I sat on the floor for 15 minutes at a time while my three daughters (then 9 months, 3 years, and 7 years) crawled all over me. Someone in my critique group asked how I could write that way. It was either that or nothing, so I did it that way.

How long does it take you to start and finish an article?
The hardest part is making contact with my interview subjects and finding a quiet time to do the interview. I procrastinate making contact because I don’t like to intrude on people. Email has been a real help in that area. Once I’ve done the interview I think about what the most interesting thing I learned about the subject or person is. I usually lead with that.I try to let it sit for at least two days before looking at it again. It amazes me how something that made sense a few days ago can be totally incomprehensible!

Do you do much research?
Magazine article writing is almost all research. After I get as much background information via the web as I can then I do up-to-the-minute research using human sources. I don’t want to write a report anyone could go to the library and find. I want interesting insights from knowledgeable people.

What is your favorite type of article?
Profiles. Profiles on people or on their life’s passion. Their passion can be a ministry, a hobby or their vocation. Like I said, I’m an introvert and would never go up to someone and just ask them about themselves. But as a writer I feel more empowered and at ease.

My favorite articles that I’ve written are: one about the Budweiser Clydesdales (I got to play with the “babies” after the interview!), one about the new Benji movie (I got to hold Benji on my lap during the 2 hour interview at Joe Camp’s home), one about the first disabled person to compete in the Olympics (Kevin Scott is blind and competed in the Sydney Olympics in judo).

What’s the most difficult part of writing for you?
For professional writers the answer to this question should change over time as they identify areas of weakness and strive to improve that area. Then they should move on to the next area.

When I first started writing I noticed that I was very terse. I’d write a topic then bullet, bullet, bullet (a list of facts) and I’d be done. This came from my background documenting technical material (I’m a computer scientist). It took a while before I could write transitions between paragraphs. When I started writing profiles I struggled to write interesting quotes (vs. quoting everything the person told me) and weaving them into the story. When I wrote my first book my dialogue flowed like melted butter but I couldn’t write a descriptive paragraph to save my life. I’m working on that area now.

You’ve critiqued others and judged contests, what do you see as mistakes beginning writers make?
Mechanical mistakes such as point of view problems, writing in the passive voice, lack of conflict in their story, no focus or freshness in articles (wanders around or an article that could have been printed in an encyclopedia 10 years ago), poor leads/transitions/conclusions, and poor use of quotes.

Emotional mistakes such as taking personal offense to rejection/critique, sending unprofessional queries or generic articles (no slant, not appropriate for audience), failing to recognize the level of competition and not striving to produce a superior product.

What four things can people do to become better writers?

• Write. Writers write. There are thousands of people who “want to write a book” or “write for magazines.” Few of them do.
• Read. Good writers are voracious readers. Not just in the same area they write but broadly. Newspapers, novels, non-fiction. Study, learn and improve. Read good books on writing (ask successful writers for their suggestions.)
• Get involved with a writing writers critique group (not a mutual admiration society).
• Take classes. Attend conferences and seminars. Grow a thick skin. Take constructive suggestions to help improve your writing and learn from them instead of being wounded by them. Get over rejections.
  (Look at that! I’ve reverted back to bullet lists!)
  
  Who are some of your favorite authors and why?
  I’m a practical person and enjoy authors who can convey what they know in an organized way. My bookshelf sags from “How to” writing books such as Stein on Writing (Sol Stein), Story (Robert McKee), Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (Browne & King), How to Write Killer Fiction (Carolyn Wheat), and How to Write Irritable Queries (Cool). I also read tons of books on Biblical exegesis by authors such as Donald G. Barnhouse, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, John MacArthur, Rick Warren, and Henry Blackaby.
  
  I read lots of fiction too. I love Jack Cavanaugh, Randy Ingermanson, Bill Meyers, and Robert Ludlum (probably because I teethed on Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew series).
  
  Are you a member of any writers groups and why? I’m on the board of directors of the San Diego Christian Writers Guild (http://www.sandiegocwg.org/), the largest countywide Christian writer’s guild in the U.S. I faithfully attend monthly critique meetings to improve my writing, mentor new writers and get mentally refreshed and motivated to write. I also participate in their online critique group which we established to help those who, because of schedule or child care constraints, can’t attend a physical meeting each month because of their schedule or child care issues.
  

Spending time with fellow writers is the most motivating thing I do for myself whether it is at a conference or local critique group.

What do you want the students who take your magazine article course to learn?
That if an unpublished computer scientist can get an article published in a national magazine, so can they. People aren’t born knowing how to write and market magazine articles. It is a skill that can be learned by those who are committed.