The East County Historical Society is having an exhibition of World War II "Home Front" materials. They have borrowed some 50-60 of my WWII historical items for the display. Hours are limited - third Saturday of each month, from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. Admission is free, although contributions are gratefully accepted.

Sometimes editors say yes, sometimes they say no, and sometimes…

Dear Freelance Writers:

There are four kinds of responses that writers receive from magazine editors in response to a query:

1) Yes, please, send the article. This doesn’t happen every time we send a query, but often enough to keep us writing. I hope this happens to you a lot.

2)Nice turn-downs. I received a great turn-down letter from an editor at a history magazine a few days ago. He suggested some areas where I could improve my writing, commented that it could probably be sold as is, but primarily pointed out why my article wasn’t appropriate for his magazine. I hope that I am as thoughtful when I'm editor of a magazine. Somehow, his turn-down made my day. It was completely professional in every way.

3) We get ignored. This is perhaps the most common response to a query. It happens to me from time to time.

4) Mean turn-downs. This has never happened to me, but I’ve heard that some editors can be particularly cruel.

And that’s it. All replies from editors fall into one of these four categories.

Well, not exactly. I’ve learned that there is a fourth category: The bizarre.

Last week I sent a query to a magazine that I’d stumbled over. I reread my query, and it seems to be a clear, professional query letter, quite appropriate in the circumstance. I referenced several magazines that I’d written for in the same genre, and I proposed two specific articles that I would like to write for this magazine.

The editor apparently felt challenged that I would list magazines that I’d written for. He decided that he needed to show me up. I’ll hide all details about his identity and the magazine where he works, but this was his response:

====================

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the contact and you do have nice credentials. If I may - I was feature editor for xxxx magazine in the 19xx's when I was racing; was a sportscaster on the weekly TV show xxxxx; had a monthly column in xxxxxx News; had a monthly column in xxxx magazine; editor for xxxxx magazine, did a one year series for xxxxx magazine then another for xxxxx magazine when I was living aboard my boat in the islands; did feature articles for xxxx; am currently a features editor for xxxxxx; have xx books in print and selling well; am a monthly feature on xxxx radio and............I forget the rest.

===================

And he needed to share his credentials with me because why? Of course he didn't. He's the editor.

He finished by telling me that he’d consider my articles, but that he only takes articles that are given to him for free. His magazine never, ever, pays for anything.

=========================

A special thanks to all the fine editors who take a few moments to politely help us improve our writing craft.

Best Regards,

Bill

World War II Home Front Exhibit

The East County Historical Organization, a non-profit created to commemorate local history, has identified more than 30 items from my collection of World War II "Home Front" materials for inclusion in an exhibition beginning June 20 and running about six months. Items will include materials about WWII rationing, anti-Hitler and anti-Mussolini materials, Portland shipbuilding operations, civilian aircraft spotter training, the internment of Japanese-Americans, war bonds, Armed Servicemen book editions, and other materials. The exhibit will continue for about six months at the Heslin House, located on Main St. in Fairview. Much of this material either has been the source for a WWII history article that I have written, or will be the source of such an article in the future.

Willamette Writers Association: Spotlight on Bill Leslie

I was recently spotlighted in the Willamette Writers Association newsletter. I've been a member since 2007. With more than 1,600 members, Willamette Writers is the largest U.S. writer's association west of the Mississippi. It has branches in Portland, Eugene, Medford, Newport, Salem, Corvallis, and Central Point.

A Word to Freelance Writers: It Pays (Literally) to be Persistent.

More than two and a half years ago I emailed the editor of a newspaper that I wanted to write for. I received no response. About six months later, I emailed him again. No response. I asked a friend who knew the editor to drop my name, which she did. No response. Months later, I emailed the editor's assistant and she confirmed that he had received my query letters and that my name had been mentioned. Still no response. A couple of weeks ago, I reached out to the editor again, and this time I received an assignment for five articles.

It would have been easy to give up. More than two and a half years had passed since my first inquiry, but I just kept going back again, trying every angle that I could think of to get my name in front of him.

You can do the same. Be polite, and persistent, and use all the avenues you can think of to connect.

It won't always pay off, but it did for me.

Flaky, Flaky, Flaky

I have dealt with many fine publisher who have been a pleasure to work with. Why are there so many flakes? I sent two articles to a publisher. I never heard back, so I contacted him again. He said his computer crashed, could I please resubmit? I did so, and then waited six months. He never contacted me, so I reached out again. "Oh, I moved my office. Could you resubmit?" I did so, this time by both email and snail mail. No reply. I gave up on him, and sent it to another magazine, which took about fifteen minutes to accept both of them, and they appeared a few months later. It can be even worse. I sold an article (or so they told me) to a magazine in August, 2012. It never appeared, so I checked back with them again 20 months later. (I was being patient.) Me: "Were you still going to use that piece?" Them: "Oh, yes, it's going to appear. You just need to be patient, Mr. Leslie. These things take time." She was actually a little snippier than that sounds. This morning, they sent me an email: "Gee, we changed our mind." That's thirty months since they accepted it, and ten months since they reconfirmed the acceptance. Please, please, publishers please treat your writers with respect, as so many of you do. (You know who you are.) We pour so much of our heart into our writing. And writers, be respectful as well. Say thank you. A prompt no deserves a thank you just as a prompt yes. And be patient. But this latest was ridiculous.

I've not written in a long time... but finally good news. My two most recent articles, which appeared in Family Chronicle in the Jan-Feb issue are available on my website. "What's a Family Heirloom, and Where can I get One? "Black Sheep and Loose Nuts - Handling Sensitive Information" Visit my site to read them! http://wgleslie.com/writing/

Dear Friends, I've created a website to feature both my writing and my consulting. In the future, I'll announce new articles by blog post, but to read the actual articles you'll need to go to my website. Follow my writing on the site WGLESLIE.COM. Then, click on the link to Freelance Writing. Each of my articles will appear below, with the most recent articles first. They are organized by type of article - history, genealogy, business, etc. Check out one of the 25 pieces that I've had published.

The latest issue of Family Chronicle, a national (plus Canada) genealogy magazine is on the stands today. It includes two of my articles, What's an Heirloom, and Where Can I Get One? and Black Sheep, Loose Nuts, and Family Secrets This is the first time that I've had two articles in one issue. Following the three articles that I had published in November, this is encouraging. The magazine can most easily be picked up in the Portland Metro area at Rich's Cigar Store (any of several locations), Barnes & Noble, and Borders.