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Friday, December 2, 1988/University Daily Kansan
Laura Husari/KANSAN
Mark Walters, Lawrence graduate student and teaching assistant in the English department, does freelance writing for National Lampoon magazine.
National Lampoon publishes short story by grad student
By James Farquhar Kansan staff writer
On a whim, Mark Walters last year sent a short story he wrote to the editors of National Lampoon.
They liked what they received enough to print the story in their magazine.
"I had written pieces for smaller publications like Wichita State's literary journal and the like," the Lawrence graduate student said. "But it was a long shot that I not published in a national magazine."
This year Walters, who teaches two lower-level English classes at the University of Kansas, has submitted five short stories to National Lampoon and has contributed several smaller works.
Making a living at free-lance writing can require enormous amounts of time. Most people who free-lance, such as Walters, don't earn their living doing it.
Often they just have a special interest or knowledge about a topic and are willing to put it on paper, said Sharon Bass, associate professor of journalism and instructor of a magazine article writing class.
In fact, she said, many people are more capable of free-lance writing than they might think.
"There is this myth about free-lance articles," Bass said. "Like you must be a professional writer and devote your life to writing free-lance articles or something.
"In reality, if you know your topic well and you know the magazine for which you want to write equally well, you can write a magazine article even with a moderate amount of writing talent."
Note at 411-279-5000 If National Lampoon's editors are credible judges, Walter's talent is better than moderate. The magazine has accepted every short story he submitted.
"I don't aim to use my short stories for social comment, but a lot of times my writing reflects that, I think." Walters said. "I think such topics are well suited for National Lampoon's audience."
Finding the right audience is the key to being published. he said.
James Gunn, professor of English, said a writer must sell his idea and sell himself as a qualified author to publishers who typically can choose between many candidates.
Gum has penned more than 75 magazine and journal articles and 25 science fiction books. He also has written for The Writer's Market, a handbook for non-fiction freelance writers that provides information about periodicals across the country.
Because magazines aim at a specific audience, Gunn said, a free-lance writer must narrow his article idea to tightly fit the interests of that readership.
THE KU BOOKSTORES PRESENT:
The Fred Terry Macintosh Seminar
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Fred Terry is a contributing editor to MACazine, and wrote a graphics column for the magazine. He has written for MacUser, MacWorld, MacWEEK, Computer Shopper, and Personal Computing. He is a contributor to The Macintosh Bible, 2nd ed.
"Using Microsoft Excel"
- The Basics
- Setting up a Spreadsheet
- Pasting Functions
- Constructing a simple Database
- Linking
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