education writers market

education writers market

Exploring the Education Writers Market: Opportunities and Strategies for Success

1. Introduction to the Education Writers Market

Off-campus, the Education Writers Market (henceforth EWM) encompasses the class of beat reporters and editorial staff who canvas institutions, schools, students, and parents in pursuit of stories spanning the nuts and bolts of administrative policy to satirical live blogs of student symphony concerts. To be a part of the EWM generally means that one is hard-pressed to escape the confines of the university simply by crossing the Bechtel prairie. Strictly in terms of our news sources, this is a market of relative opportunity paired with a more difficult challenge. On the one hand, as journalist-enthusiast or journalist-student stories, the Cornell College Report is quite often a source of stories in the Chronicle of Higher Education. As a result, EWR NBs and Cornell students are aware of EWR articles in publications that they are already tracking. Additionally, many of our administrators check in with the Chronicle regularly. By ramping up our relationship with the institution at large, it is a reasonable project to expand and deepen coverage in the Chronicle.

Whether in debates over reopening schools or more pedestrian policy rumblings about tuition or grant aid, education has been in the news. In this market essay, we explore an education beat essential to any liberal arts college town: the Education Writers Market. We identify key market sources, write-ups of the recent National Association of College Linguistics Geeks meeting, and offer strategies for further penetration. The essay anticipates potential opportunities and challenges in this market, reflecting on what sort of reader might find it appealing, who might not, and why.

2. Understanding the Landscape: Key Players and Trends

Currently, according to a range of reports from market research, philanthropy, government, and the periodicals themselves, the following trends shape much of the scene for the markets we write about, the texts we write, and the careers we build. A full report is linked in a freely accessible Google document below these last few bulleted points, and an introduction to education writing is also available for free. Now, let us provide some examples of the specific insights emerging from the gradation of the text provided in the market report. For example, there will be a space at the end of this report in which we list the top reads from the market report that drive the transformations redux, and to the extent that we are able include some examples of the kinds of interplay evident across different careers.

In order to successfully navigate the Education Writers Market, a writer must first have a strong understanding of the key players that write and publish education-related content. These players include individual experts and scholars in the neutral-information sector, journalists, education institutions, professional or industry publications, educational publishers market, educational book trade, education nonprofit market, and education advocacy and media sectors. These sectors overlap and intersect across the market in particular ways. For instance, educational institutions may be the site of some research and practitioner-oriented publications, but they also answer to the forces of philanthropy, the government, and the open market – all formidable forces in the shaping of the other fields.

3. Navigating the Market: Tips for Aspiring Education Writers

Networking is a valuable tool in the news community. Try reaching out to other writers in the education industry. They may have opportunities to share. Informational interviews are another inexpensive way to network your way into the job field. Start developing those most wanted education writing skills by perusing our career path. Some difficulties writers are up against include the off-the-deep-end edits and brief due dates. Choose either a commercial or non-profit gig and find a good vibe when drawing up contracts.

Education writers depend largely on their resume to find work. As the industry can be challenging to break into, do some volunteer or remote work to quickly build your qualifications. Start close to home. Journal for a local or student newspaper or online publication. Offer to write columns or articles for university newsletters, as above, or reach out to the university to inquire about new projects or magazines. Universities and colleges cater to hundreds of different fields. Most would love to host a small column or article on their blog. It might even become a regular feature. Once you have some clips under your belt, you can begin applying for school district and state education department newsletters, as well as attractive websites and education magazines such as those listed in the section of this guide.

Exploring the world, it will quickly become apparent that education is an immensely varied and competitive field. Those seeking to break into the industry must learn to navigate market pitfalls, which is the first step on the path to success as an education writer.

4. Pitching and Publishing: Strategies for Success

Understanding the editorial process of a given education-focused publication enables writers to develop and pitch strong, targeted projects. Brainstorms—even conversations with publication editors—can save valuable time by preventing a writer from drafting pieces that are not likely to be published by a particular editor or within a given publication. Editors are responsible for meeting publication content objectives, so they avoid publishing pieces that do not fit reader interests or expectations for depth, style, knowledge level, or problem solution. By working alongside publication editors, a writer can pitch an idea through a query letter, receive a green light to write a specific article or column for a specific deadline, and accept and negotiate payment per word, per article, or as a flat fee. Educational leadership editors, like those of other publications with freelancers who contribute a regular space, often enter into contracts to publish a specific number of pieces (e.g., four to twenty-five articles over a year) with the same fees and submission schedules over a twelve-month period. Smart, successful querying and submission writers query the wise editor, share some ideas or titles for future pieces, and negotiate and sign a contract with detailed article content, author fees, deadlines, and submission procedures. DDwC editors also may query writers when the publication has a special issue or designated focus, stimulating in-house or freelance writers to submit checks on idea/article supplies.

The process of getting published is all about developing long-term relationships, writer/editor collaboration, and perseverance, keeping focused on publication titles, data, and resistance. Every publication focuses on different target markets and needs different angles, research, and explanations about why an editor’s readers want your content. Additionally, fabrication of articulate, persuasive pitches depends on research, relationships, strategy, and writing skill. Editors will turn to strong writers with a deep understanding of their readers’ situations and a willingness to ask for targeted clarifications about publication needs.

5. Conclusion and Future Outlook

Many publications that are necessary to the calcified economy of the sprawling education industrial complex will shut down, but our market report was designed to highlight potential opportunities on the blurrier fringes of the education beat. We conceive of a potential reader of this report as a sub-field expert, an ed illuminati of sorts who can tease out the connections between these silos. As education becomes an increasingly fertile market for freelance writers, we anticipate that educators among others will be able to parlay their expertise into culture making, explaining the nuances of their sub-field to every new cohort of educators who have just discovered the cheap, readily available, high-speed internet that can find those incredible opportunities.

As education writing becomes more and more mainstream, there are more opportunities than ever to engage young readers, educators, parents with fringe pedagogy and ed tech, and online learners with thoughtfully-curated reading material. The Education Writers Market is still in its nascent period, but the work and strategic partnerships being done now could hopefully still be paying dividends into the range of years, and especially twenty twenty. As students return to their classrooms, or engage in Socratic conversation from their living rooms, education is becoming a bit more top-of-mind. This will invariably bring a lot more eyeballs—and potential contributing authors—into the space.

Conclusion