Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Where are Those Damn Editors?

I'm having trouble finding the email addresses of the editors I want to reach. The mags' website offers only a generic email address and there's nothing in the masthead either. Writer's Market also doesn't have any specific editor info. Do you have any suggestions on how to go about this?

Indeed, I have a few:

The first: if you're willing to shell out a few bucks, check out mastheads.org. The site contains up-to-date info on who is who and who is where at a ton of magazines.

The next: surf the mag's website. Almost always - usually within the advertising/PR or sales sections - you can turn up the email format of that specific publisher. Just insert the name of the editor you want to reach, and voila. Example: jane_doe@condenast.com will work for any editor at Conde.

The next: Call!!! Too many writers are scared to pick up the phone and get answers to easy question. Call up the mag and ask which ed is right for your query and his/her email.

Finally: ask me. Somewhere on the archives, I've posted general formulas for most of the bigger publishing houses. I'll do it again here:

Conde: jane_doe@condenast.com

Hearst:
jdoe@hearst.com

Rodale:
jane.doe@rodale.com

Meredith:
jane.doe@meredith.com

TimeInc:
jane_doe@timeinc.com

I think that should cover it. Anyone have other great ideas to track down email addys?