Writing Fillers for the UK (and US) Markets
by Sara Wilson
Writing fillers is an excellent way for beginners to break into print with the minimum of outlay and equipment, and the market -- especially in women's magazines -- is buoyant. It is possible to make, if not a fortune, then good pin money selling letters, jokes, tips, anecdotes and recipes to magazines. Even established writers can boost their income by writing a (very) few extra words every week, and since many magazines these days accept fillers by email, there is no need to take a trip to the post box.
It is all too easy to scorn fillers for not being "proper" writing, but anyone who wants to either achieve a first sale or increase their earning power would be foolish to do so. After all, magazine editors have a healthy appetite for this type of writing and are willing to pay good money for it. Of the hundreds of magazines found on newsstands today the majority are happy to accept fillers, especially weekly women's magazines.
Letters to the Editor, household hints and tips, recipes, anecdotes, jokes and puzzles all have good income potential. Average payment for a letter or tip of less than 50 words is £10, which equates to £200 per 1000 words. Enough said.
Obviously the first step for a potential contributor is to identify which magazines pay for fillers. Sometimes editors prefer to offer valuable prizes instead of money and these should not be ignored. An unexpected parcel can be a wonderful boost to the spirits during otherwise fallow periods.
Editors are keen to encourage reader participation, hence the profusion of Letters Pages. These are useful for gauging audience reaction, encouraging participation and fostering a friendly "club" atmosphere, all of which nurture reader loyalty.
Bearing these facts in mind during your initial scrutiny will help you to tailor the content, length and style of your letter. Some editors prefer letters to refer to features in past issues, or ones that are likely to prompt responses from other readers. In these cases personal opinions matter and being provocative can pay dividends. Get your research spot on and you may hit the Star Letter jackpot, which often attracts an even greater reward.
Others are happy to print stand-alone anecdotes and jokes. Learning to use funny everyday experiences or overheard conversations as raw material is invaluable, since humor is nearly always welcome.
Nearly all UK women's weekly magazines, and some specialist publications, also print household tips. Think about your own lifestyle and jot down any time- or money-saving ideas you use -- the more quirky or offbeat the better. Then be discriminating about targeting them.
As with longer articles, an accurate assessment of the typical reader is necessary. No matter how innovative your tip about cleaning crystal chandeliers is, a magazine aimed at low-income families will not want it. On the other hand, your hint about removing felt tip pen marks from wallpaper would probably be just the ticket.
Never ignore the value of a good photo either. Admittedly it doesn't make financial sense to dedicate 24 or 36 exposures just to this market, but that spare few frames at the end of the roll could be used up snapping people, or objects, as illustrations for your letters and tips. That's Life is willing to pay £5 extra for photos accompanying letters and a huge £30 more for tips with a photo showing how it works. Cute pictures of children and pets, with comical captions, are also very saleable.
Most UK women's magazines also accept other types of fillers. Woman's Weekly Fiction Special now offers £10 for 60-word stories sent in by readers. These should be complete stories with a definite plot and a strong -- often twist -- conclusion.
Writers are usually prolific readers and this can also be capitalized on. Best usually prints a couple of very brief book reviews a week for which they pay £15. Once again remember the key principle and choose a novel with the magazine's readership in mind.
Of course there are more opportunities than can be listed here, but a quick flick through a recent issue of Take a Break, for example, highlights payment for letters, photos, tips, car boot sale stories, beauty hints, and horoscope anecdotes.
Obviously in an ever-changing market no advice can remain current forever. The usual writing rule of frequent reappraisal applies to ensure that your snippets will still be acceptable.
When it comes to presentation, forget everything you have been told about double spacing, cover sheets and return postage. None are necessary because magazines want letters and fillers from ordinary readers, not professional writers. This is the one instance when contributions can even be hand written, as long as they are legible.
One quick word of warning: Do not send the same filler to more than one market at the same time. Magazines usually request original, unpublished material. If, after at least eight months, your work has not been used feel free to send it elsewhere. This may sound like a long time but in fact I once received a £50 cheque a full eighteen months after posting an anecdote to Bella.
Established writers shouldn't turn their noses up at filler writing either. At the very least it provides a worthwhile exercise in tight writing. Ideas need to be expressed concisely and precisely -- every word must be made to count.
Even seasoned writers have days when their brains seem unwilling to grind into gear. Crafting a short piece, one with little time or emotional investment, can be a more effective kick-start than a large slug of caffeine.
It doesn't take a mathematician to work out that selling just two £10 fillers per month will generate an annual income of £240. Not bad for a few minutes extra work a day. Best of all, writing fillers can sometimes spark off ideas for longer articles too -- rather like this one.
UK Filler Markets:
AMATEUR GARDENING
Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1JG;
EMAIL: amateur_gardening@ipcmedia.com
Postbag letters: £5 garden gift token; Star letter: £20; Tip of
the Week: £10; Photo plus caption: £10
BELLA
24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT
EMAIL: bella.letters@bauer.co.uk
We've Got Mail: £25; Star Letter £50; Blush with Bella (max 150
words, embarrassing anecdotes): £50; Rat of the Week (max 150
words, nominations w/photo): £150
BEST
197 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SG
EMAIL: best@natmags.co.uk
Tips: £15; Lara's Letters (beauty questions): £15, plus goodie
bag; You Tell Us: £25; Letter of the Week: £50; Star Pic (photo &
caption): £50; Books (max 80 words, book reviews): £15
CHAT
King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LS
EMAIL: chat_magazine@ipcmedia.com
Blimey! That's Clever! (tips): £15, w/photo: £25; Star tip: £35;
Naughty Jokes: £15; Spooky Stories (max 250 words, "true" ghost
stories): £50; Short But Sweet (60-word fiction): £25; Chat To Us
letters: £20, letters w/photo: £25; The Letter We Loved: £50; The
Blokes Page (humorous photo & letter): £25
HERITAGE TODAY (magazine for English Heritage members)
Vinery Court, 50 Banner Street, London, EC1Y 8QE
EMAIL: Heritage.Today@citruspublishing.com
Star Letter: £150 fountain pen.
INSIDE SOAP
17-18 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LN
EMAIL: soapbox@insidesoap.co.uk
Soap Box (soap opera related letters): £10; Star Letter £30;
Snapped with a Star (celebrity photo w/letter): £20; Looky-Likey
(celebrity lookalike photo w/letter): £20
THE LADY
39-40 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ER
EMAIL: period.living@emap.com
Your Viewpoint (350-450 word opinion piece, no religion or
politics: £25
MY WEEKLY
185 Fleet Street, London, EC4 2HS
EMAIL: myweekly@dcthomson.co.uk
We Love Your Letters (100 words): £5; Star Letter (200-300
words): £25; Meet My Pet (pet photos): £5
PERIOD LIVING & TRADITIONAL HOMES
Endeavour House, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JG
EMAIL: period.living@emap.com
Star Letter: prize (e.g. three charger plates worth £225)
RADIO TIMES
80 Wood Lane, London, W12 0TT
EMAIL: radio.times@bbc.co.uk
Letter of the Week (max 150 words): prize (varies weekly)
READER'S DIGEST
11 Westferry Circus, London, E14 4HE
EMAIL: excerpts@readersdigest.co.uk
Life's Like That (max 100 words, humorous anecdotes about
everyday life): £200; All in a Day's Work (workplace humor):
£200; Just Kidding (max 100 words, humorous anecdotes involving
children): £200; Laughter, the Best Medicine (jokes): £125
THE REAL HOMES MAGAZINE
374 Euston Road, London, NW1 3BL
EMAIL: real.homes@cabalcomm.com
Over To You Star Letter: prize (e.g. a rose and jasmine planter
worth £35)
RUNNER'S WORLD
7-10 Chandos Street, London, W1G 9AD
EMAIL: rwletters@rodale.co.uk
Star Letter: prize (e.g. trainers worth £79.99)
TAKE A BREAK
24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT
Take a Break St. (short life stories & photos): £50 min;
Brainwaves (tips, preferably w/photo, the wackier the better):
£50, without photo: £20; Boot Sale Tales (bargain finds & other
stories, preferably with photo): £30; Biz with Liz (beauty
questions, w/photo of you looking your best, or worst): £20, plus
£20 for photos; Dena's Life Stars (letter w/photo describing how
Dena's predictions came true for you): £30; Letters Sensible &
Barmy: £20; Letter of the Week: £50, plus £25/photos; On the
Throne/In the Stocks (nominations w/photo for friends/family to
go on the throne/in the stocks): £75
THAT'S LIFE
24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT
EMAIL: thatslife.readers@bauer.co.uk
Look Who's Talking (photos of children, w/caption): £25; Aren't
Men Daft (humorous photos & letters about men): £25; Soft Lad of
the Week: £50; That's Your Life letter: £20; Star Letter: £50,
plus £5/photo; Tightwad Tips: £20, tip plus photo: £50; Rude
Jokes of the Week: £15
TRAIL
Emap Active Ltd, Bretton Court, Bretton, Peterborough, PE3 8DZ
EMAIL: trail@emap.com
Trail Mail Best Letter: valuable prize, all other letters
receive small prize; I've Climbed It (mountain stories w/photo,
check current issue to discover which mountains feature next):
prize worth £140, runner-up prize worth £75
WOMAN
King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London, SE99 0BB
You Tell Us letters: £15; Star letter: £25
WOMAN'S OWN
IPC Media, King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LS
EMAIL: Letters_own@ipcmedia.com
Your Letters: £20; Star Letter: £50; Picture of the Week (photo
w/caption): £25
WOMAN'S WEEKLY
IPC Connect Ltd, King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London,
SE1 9LS
Lovely to Hear From You letter: £10; Letter of the Week: £25;
Your Top Tip: £10; Snapped (humorous photo w/caption): £15;
Celebrations (good news stories w/photo): £10
YOURS
Bushfield House, Orton Centre, Peterborough, PE2 5UW
Meeting Place letters: £3; Star Letter: £10; Garden Tips: £20
seed voucher; Titbits: £3; Readers' Tips: £3; Readers' Poems
(traditional, though not necessarily rhyming): £10; Leaving You
Smiling (max 100 words, humorous anecdotes): £3; The Things Kids
Say: £3
Sara Wilson is a freelance writer based in the UK.
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