waiting for a reply......

Yo,

Just a quick question for the people that know, I have written to a few magazines in the past few days.
I am now waiting for a reply.
Magazines are busy places and receive alot of mail day in day out, how long should one have to wait for a reply?
And say after a week or two of no reply would it be rude to resend that letter?

Cheers

S.

Most don't reply privately to letters, responses are printed for everyones consumption. I believe most operate on a schedule that the results are three months delayed. As in, they are currently working on the issue dated 3 months from now. So I would say realistically if you get a response, it may not be for a few months.
But I may be wrong. And it may depend on the subject of your letter. If you entered a contest, submitted a freelance story or photos, it would be dependent on the publication and nature of the subject matter.
Can I get anymore vague?:p
A letter to Penthouse if published, might not be seen for months.

Thanks for the reply, I hope they don't wait three months as the event is in in May.
I think I have given enough time they could do the same..
And no it ain't for penthouse.

S.

Smithers,
It depends on what it's for.
Personally, if it's local, I don't contact any publication etc by email without having introduced myself to the person I want to contact by phone first.
That way, I know exactly who it needs to go to, what the content of the email/letter needs to be (because they told me) and also they know that written communication will be coming (because they asked me to send it) and it isn't seen as an unsolicited email/letter which will likely end up in the deleted file/bin.

PS...Where have you been hiding?

Cheers fill,
Sent you a p,m.
Just been hanging in the shadows that's all.

S.

I would keep sending in your letters. I assume that you are trying to get them to look at your photography. Photo editors (and designers who are responsible for photo selection) are a very busy bunch and see a lot of photos every day. To get noticed, your stuff has to be in front of them when they are thinking about that particular project. If the timing is not right, you slip through the cracks. In a perfect world the PE would remember every photographer and their styles and be able to recall them at will. Alas, this is rarely the case. Keep sending in your submissions and once a PE does use you, you will be on their mind more in the future.

Good luck.

Have you had any contact with these magazines before?

Do you have potential stories or events in mind that you could provide exclusive or advantageous access to? Or were you just blindly asking for them to throw you a bone and let you shoot something for them?

JacobPhoto wrote in post #13808527
Have you had any contact with these magazines before?

Do you have potential stories or events in mind that you could provide exclusive or advantageous access to? Or were you just blindly asking for them to throw you a bone and let you shoot something for them?

Nah I have not shot for them before, kinda asking to go blindly and cover a major event over in Europe. I'll be in Europe at the time and like the past years will be at his event again + future events. So I would like to cover the event and share the experience with people that can't attend this event.
I know my work is printable and my story telling could be polished up. I think I could make it a good read, also would like to get a foot in the door.

S.

Has this magazine covered said event before?

are you asking for them to pay for your expenses? Or just the normal freelance wage?

Have you ever been printed previously? Do you have references that the magazine has worked with before?

Were all these questions answered in said email?

JacobPhoto wrote in post #13808731
Has this magazine covered said event before?

are you asking for them to pay for your expenses? Or just the normal freelance wage?

Have you ever been printed previously? Do you have references that the magazine has worked with before?

Were all these questions answered in said email?

1. Not 100% sure as I haven't been in the country to find out. though they do have someting little in their mag at the mo.

2.not asking for expenses, a normal pay wage would be great. I'll be attending the event no matter what. I would like to step up my game and do more then just having the pics on a hard drive.

3.sadly no refrences for printed magazine material, only sold a few prints at local events.

The email that sent was just a quick pitch letter, stating that I was a freelance photographer going to cover this event and if they would like me to cover it for them.
along with the email, my website and contact details.
I didn't want to bore the editor with so many details at first and loose chances. I stated what I wanted to do and was waiting for a reply from them.

should I be doing more or less?

S.

As a former magazine editor, albeit in Australia, usually answering snail mail letters took on average about three weeks, legitimate emails two to three days...but that is only when they contain something of interest to the magazine.

However as more and more posts slowly reveal what your message contained, I would hazard a guess that it has long been disposed of with the thousand or more similar queries received each week, showing no previous experience, knowledge or ability which could be useful to the magazine. (this is not to say that you haven't gt these things...just that you haven't made them obvious in your message)

At best you will receive an answer saying more or less show us some pics when you return from your trip, and we may look at them (notice "may" look at them)...most of the thousands of potential s never even get around to doing that!

I wouldn't get your hopes up too much because of all the potential contributors to a magazine, probably one per year shows the right kinds of skills and the "stick at it and then keep doing it again and again " attitude that a magazine editor wants to nurture

stephenb49 wrote in post #13810538
As a former magazine editor, albeit in Australia, usually answering snail mail letters took on average about three weeks, legitimate emails two to three days...but that is only when they contain something of interest to the magazine.

However as more and more posts slowly reveal what your message contained, I would hazard a guess that it has long been disposed of with the thousand or more similar queries received each week, showing no previous experience, knowledge or ability which could be useful to the magazine. (this is not to say that you haven't gt these things...just that you haven't made them obvious in your message)

At best you will receive an answer saying more or less show us some pics when you return from your trip, and we may look at them (notice "may" look at them)...most of the thousands of potential s never even get around to doing that!

I wouldn't get your hopes up too much because of all the potential contributors to a magazine, probably one per year shows the right kinds of skills and the "stick at it and then keep doing it again and again " attitude that a magazine editor wants to nurture

Hi Stephen,
What line of magazine were you editing for?
In the O.P I didn't feel the need to give so much away, as you know this is a savy industry and I want to protect some thing.
As for the email sent, I did include a title stating this years event and the word photography. I'm sure there isn't many working media attending this event from Aus.

Should not having the "experience" with printed organisations mean that my letter wouldn't be looked at?
As an editor what do you look for in a letter or from someone wanting to break into this magazine world.

S.