Archive : Mridu Khullar Relph – 30 Days & 30 Queries

How to break into top publications with a marketing strategy that works

When I first started writing, I had a huge list of publications that I aspired to write for. These were the magazines and newspapers that inspired me when I felt down and defeated. I’d read through the pages, I’d sit with a cup of tea in my hand and spend hours looking through their websites. I’d come up with dozens of ideas and pitch, pitch, pitch the hell out of them. I wrote for some, not for others.

As I became more successful and, as a result, more and more busy with work, those magazine dreams just kind of faded away. I had credentials now, so I didn’t need to chase these publications like I had when I was new. And I was always so busy writing for my existing clients that pitching to new markets, especially hard-to-break-into ones like The New Yorker or National Geographic, just never made it on my list of things to do. Pitch The New Yorker and wait a year for the rejection or e-mail my editor at a trade magazine and get a quick assignment and nice paycheck within the month? I chose the latter option because hey, this is my profession and I’ve got to make money at it.

But it’s also my dream.

That’s how my personal 30 Days, 30 Queries challenge began last year and the results were spectacular.

I bagged, in total, four new clients of the 30 I’d pitched. Two of them were $1 a word markets that have become regulars and gave me $5,000+ of work in the last quarter of 2013 alone. Editors from six others, including publications like Wired, Parents, and O, the Oprah magazine, got back to me asking that I continue sending more ideas and now I have a running dialogue with them. And eight others sent me personal rejections (which I took as a sign that the door is open for me to send more pitches their way.)

Now I’m ready to help you achieve the same results and that’s why I’ve decided to launch the 30 Days, 30 Queries e-course.

Here’s what you get when you take the e-course:

1. 30 lessons, delivered to your e-mail daily, that will show you in a step by step fashion how to send 30 query letters in a month. I’ll also share tips with you on the best ways to write effective pitches that get more assignments and more money.

2. Lifetime access to the 30 Days, 30 Queries Facebook group that will consist of all participants—current and former—of this e-course. This will be the hub where you can interact with all the other writers who are taking this challenge to get support, cheer each other on, and share goals. I pop in occasionally as well to answer questions and help you navigate through the challenge.

3. Dozens of sample query letters, a list of high-paying markets, and links to resources that will make your marketing streamlined and simple.

Where most writers will fall down when it comes to pitching is this: They don’t pitch enough and they don’t pitch effectively. In this course, I’m going to teach you to do both and I’m going to provide you with the support, motivation, and kicks up the ass that force you to get up, take action, and work with the numbers that produce real results.

Class Curriculum

Day 1