SiteWhat to Do with Your Clips
If you’ve been getting published, you probably have a stack of magazines with your articles in them. My husband Eric and I learned the hard way, when we moved, that boxes of magazines are extremely heavy. So we set aside a couple of days to go through the mags and, using an Xacto knife and a ruler, cut out all our articles plus the magazines’ covers. We then clipped the covers to the articles and filed them in hanging folders in a filing cabinet.
At first I had a different hanging folder for each magazine, with a “miscellaneous” folder for those clips I didn’t think I would use much, or those that came from magazines I wrote for only once. Since I’ve written for more than 120 magazines, that was a heck of a lot of folders. Later, I condensed them by creating hanging folders labeled A through Z instead.
I also use a pretty green box I got as part of a birthday present to store magazines with my articles as they come in. When the box gets full, Eric and I go through them and cut out the clips.
Since I query only via e-mail these days, those nicely cut and filed clips rarely get used, but it’s nice to have them. To bring my clips out of the stone age for querying purposes, I hired a virtual assistant to turn my best clips into PDF files; these are what I use when an editor requests clips via e-mail.
Some writers file their clips in plastic sleeves in a binder, and still others scan their clips and post them online, and then do away with the paper for good. Whichever method you choose, when an editor asks for clips you’ll be able to find them quickly and copy/send them easily. And when you move, you won’t hurt your back lugging hugs boxes of magazines.
How do you store your clips? Post your tips in the Comments section! [lf]
8 Responses to “What to Do with Your Clips”
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julia ward
Said this on August 21st, 2007 at 10:32am:Hi Linda,
I’d love to see what one of your clips actually looks like.
Do you have the article positioned on top of the cover of the magazine? Or do you just see the article?
Inquiring minds want to know!
blessings,
julia
http://juliaward.typepad.com/a_blinding_heart/
tips, links, and resources for writers
LindaFormichelli
Said this on August 21st, 2007 at 11:35am:Julia, when I send hard copy clips (which is rare), I copy the cover in color and the article in black/white, and staple them together. I have a color copier that I got at Staples for under $100 just for this purpose. For my PDF clips, the virtual assistant scans the cover and the article and combines them into one document.
Elaine Grant
Said this on August 21st, 2007 at 12:01pm:Anybody else have some very old clips that they still want/need, but perhaps can’t find
hard copies of any more? I did. I wrote features for some magazines ten years ago, before
taking a staff job, that I still want to use, although rarely. The problem is that I had
moved and lost some of those clips, and can’t get access to the hard copy magazines any
more. Google was no help. However, using a Nexis account, I tried a search on my name the
other day and actually turned up a few of these long-missing pieces, complete with
date, word count, etc. (Of course no graphics, but you can’t have everything.) Very useful!
Linda R. Moore
Said this on August 21st, 2007 at 4:41pm:I have exactly one clip. I’m very proud of it.
As I’m not just moving, but downsizing, I’m thinking of storing it in one of those display books you can get from the office stores: the one with the clear sleeves in a book. That should cover the first 50 or so articles.
Susan Weiner
Said this on August 21st, 2007 at 4:54pm:Linda,
In addition to using your methods, I keep a selection of clips in an artist’s portfolio. It’s a big black zippered binder with plastic inserts. I use this when I meet with corporate clients.
I also post clips on my website. This saves me from sending them via email or U.S. mail.
LindaFormichelli
Said this on August 22nd, 2007 at 12:32pm:Elaine, great tip! You can also try FindArticles.com.
Linda, a clip IS something to be proud of! Not many people can boast a byline.
Susan, a portfolio is a good tip for those people who visit potsntial clients and want to show off their clips. I used to have (like Linda) a three-ring binder with plastic page-protectors for this purpose.
becky
Said this on August 23rd, 2007 at 4:26pm:I like the idea of scanning them in so you can put them on your site or attach them to an email.
What do you think of just pasting in the text of your article as it ran - do editors accept that if you don’t have a tear sheet or something? Not sure if that will work when it doesn’t show that it was actually published.
becky
http://misspriss.org
LindaFormichelli
Said this on August 24th, 2007 at 3:58pm:Becky, I do that if I don’t have the clip available online or in PDF format. I think it’s just fine!