Trying to understand the lingo used in the publishing industry can be
confusing at first, and trying to get those clips and queries just right can be
downright overwhelming. For beginners, clips are copies of your published
article. A tear sheet is an article torn from a magazine or newspaper. You
don't have to send the actual article, just a copy is fine. Never send
attachments to an editor unless they specifically ask for it. If you send any
attachments with your query, it will likely be deleted without being read. With
viruses floating around it's too risky to open an attachment.
What If?
If your published articles are on websites, simply type the link in the
email query below your signature. If they are clips from a print publication
just paste into the bottom of the email. If the clips are from a website that
is currently down or no longer exists, hopefully you have already taken a
precaution by pasting them into word documents. Then you can paste them into
the bottom of the email. At the bottom of the article it should state when and
where it was published.
Sending Clips
Always keep clips to 2 or 3 at the most. Send your best work in relation to
the publication's theme. If you don't have anything that relates to the
publication's theme, you can either write up a sample or send the closest thing
you have. I would go with writing a sample. Even though it's not technically a
clip because it's unpublished, it will show your interest and ability.
Always read the guidelines carefully, and follow them. You
could avoid having your query deleted. Keep sending those queries!