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I apologize ahead of time if you wanted to see the next article on book proposals. Next month we resume with the Market Analysis. I encourage you to continue reading. This article can help you gain writing credits and earn extra Christmas money.

I often break from writing my novel or devotional books and submit articles to magazines. When I first started, I didn’t know the jargon and thought writing for a magazine was a dangerous occupation with terms like kill fee, clip, and kicker. I needed to learn the vocabulary before I got myself in trouble. May these definitions help you grow as a writer and keep you out of writer’s jail.

Advertorial: a newspaper or magazine advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term is a blend of the words “advertisement” and “editorial.”

Byline: a printed line of text accompanying a news story, article, or the like, giving the author’s name.

Charticle: A graphic image that includes information.

Clip: Examples of your work.  Place them in your portfolio.

Copywriting: Writing business and promotional copy for clients.

Creative brief: A short document that provides the creative team with an overview and important points to consider in the development of an advertising campaign.

Custom publication: This is created specifically for a company.

Consumer publication: These are the magazines and newspapers sold to the public.

Dek: The second half of a headline, which often runs in italics just below the headline in newspapers.

Deliverable: This is the final project you will be providing.

Dummy copy: A representation of the final copy in which a different text is substituted for the final text.  The different text is called Lorem ipsum and is there just for layout purposes.

FOB: Front of the book pieces. These short articles and blurbs usually appear in the front of a magazine.

FPO: For position only. This abbreviation is used when artwork or other materials are inserted as placeholders in an article or brochure to give all stakeholders a general idea of how the final piece will lay.

Op-Ed: An opinion or editorial piece, in which the writer states their point of view on an issue. Letters to the editor are a prime example.

Hed: An abbreviation for the headline.

Infographic: Information graphics is a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information.

Kill fee: A negotiated payment the writer gets if the assigned article is canceled.

Kicker: The conclusion of an article designed to leave the reader with something to think on.

Lede: The lede, or lead, is an abbreviation for the opening sentences of your article.

Letter of introduction (LOI): This is a pitch letter or email to a potential client informing them of your talents.

Native ads: These are the online version of advertorials.

Nut graf: The paragraph that goes from the lede into the body of the article. The nut graf summarizes the article to entice readers to keep reading. You may also see “graf” used as an abbreviation for a paragraph.

Query: An article pitch.

Red ink: A term used for the editor’s changes to your article.

Sidebar: A related short addition to an article.

Subhed: A journalistic abbreviation for a subheading.

Tagline: Author information that appears at the end of an article.

TK: An abbreviation for “to come.” You’ll see this used for photos, captions, sidebars — anything that is expected but hasn’t arrived yet

Trade publication: These regional or national publications target people in a specific field.

Work for hire: It means that you are giving the client or publication all of the rights to the piece you are writing.

Now that you know the terms, find what magazine you want to write for, read a few of their editions, review the submission guidelines, and start sending query letters. Don’t fret—our very own Edie Melson has an informative article on query letters https://bit.ly/32fI5tR.

Please let us know if you get your article in a magazine. We love to rejoice with other writers.

Do you have a term to add to the list? What experience do you have sending query letters? Join the conversation.

Cherrilynn Bisbano is the founder of The Write Proposal book proposal services.

As managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest.

Cherrilynn is a speaker with Women Speakers. Her topics include leadership, book proposals, and the Bible. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. You can find her published in Southern Writers, More to Life (MTL), Christian Rep, Christian Voice, Refresh and other online magazines. Cherrilynn is a contributor to Selah-nominated Breaking the Chains, Heart Reno, and Chicken Soup for the Soul-Miracles books.