Paula Squires, managing editor, Virginia Business
Paula Squires | Managing Editor | Virginia Business
Maya Payne Smart, freelance business journalist and founder of WritingCoach.com talks with Paula Squires, managing editor of Virginia Business, Virginia’s only statewide business news magazine.
PODCAST: Smart asks Squires more about Virginia Business.
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Maya Smart: Can you tell us a little about Virginia Business magazine?
Paula Squires: Virginia Business is the only statewide business news monthly in Virginia. We’re excited to celebrate our 25th year. We are a closed circulation publication. We don’t appear on newsstands. Basically, people get on our circulation list because they are in the upper tier of business decision leaders in Virginia. We target our magazine as the place to go for business intelligence and we target the business leaders in the state.
Smart: What originally attracted you to business journalism and magazine business journalism?
Paula Squires, Virginia Business
Squires: I’ve been with the magazine for nearly 11 years. I started off as a news reporter for metropolitan daily newspapers. I’ve always loved the news, but the hours can get kind of crazy. Once I started a family, business journalism seemed like one of the departments where there were a lot of opportunities for women. There weren’t that many women in business journalism at that time and also the hours could be a little more predictable.
Smart: As the managing editor for the magazine, you plan and shape a lot of the coverage of the business news that appears in the magazine. How frequently do you work freelance writers to get those stories out?
Squires: We work with freelance writers every month. In fact, most of our stories are written by freelancers. We are very fortunate that some of our writers have been with us for ten years. Some not that long but we’re always looking for new talent.
Smart: And what are some of things that you look for in that new talent?
Squires: First of all I look for someone who does have some experience in business journalism because it is a little bit of a different style of reporting. I look for someone who is passionate about what they do. I like a freelancer who is going to give me a good idea but really back it up with a good query letter. We also look for people with expertise in different niches.
Smart: You mentioned the idea of a strong query letter. Is that how you are introduced to most freelancers, them actually pitching a story idea to you, or are there some steps before they get to that point?
Squires: Usually someone will email me and very briefly set out their credentials. It’s helpful if they will also send a resume attached with that and perhaps some samples of their work. Sometimes that’s the initial introduction and there is no query letter. But if we decide that their credentials meet our needs, we will get back in touch with them and say yes we are interested.
Or at that time someone might say I’ve got a great idea that I think would be a fit for Virginia Business and they’ll pitch us the story in the form of a query. A query to me really needs to be detailed. You need to tell me up front what do you think the main point of this story is going to be, how are you going to support it and who do you think some of the key sources for the story will be.
Smart: What are some of the common mistakes that people make or pitfalls that they fall into when they aren’t successful in capturing your attention and winning an assignment?
Squires: If we see that someone is sloppy, if they’ve just dashed something off and there are errors and misspellings, that’s probably not a great way to introduce yourself to an editor. I’m going to think, if you didn’t take time with this initial introduction, why are you going to take care with your story?
Smart: You mentioned that some of your freelancers have been with you for many years. What allows them to win repeat assignments over the course of years? How do they maintain that strong relationship?
Squires: Number one, they do a good job. A freelancer that files on time and files their copy in a manner that’s well done. Someone that is open to instruction because a lot of times the first time you file a story with a publication it is a learning process about our style and your style. Someone who continually gets better and listens to direction, that’s someone that an editor enjoys working with.
Smart: Is there anything important to mention about the publication or freelancing?
Squires: I have a lot of admiration for freelancers. I myself at one time did the freelancing thing. I think you have to be a self-starter and you have to be creative. It can be very exciting because you create your own schedule and hopefully get to a point where you can take the assignments you really want to do but then it’s up to you to really produce so you’re kind of always competing with yourself. The downside for freelancers sometimes is that you might miss the environment of being with other journalists. It’s important for freelancers to join professional groups to mix and mingle and just not become isolated at home by themselves.
This interview was part of a four-day Webinar, “Sales Strategies for Freelance Business Journalists,”</strong that took place in August 2011.
