I got a a very nice email the other day from an editor of a magazine I had written for once, and wanted to write for again after a long break.  I'd sent him a query e-mail the day before, listing three story ideas.

He agreed to commission all three. His email mentioned my ideas coming at just the right time; he was working on his editorial schedule as we speak.

Was that just luck on my part? Yes and no.

One of the first things a freelancer, especially a beginner, needs to do is think in terms of story ideas, not of full stories. Through queries, you sell an idea for an article, sometimes long before you get down to researching and writing it. A query takes a lot less time than the full article. You need to research just enough to know what angle you'll give to the story, and how you can get access to the sources you'll need. Then you make the sale.

Here's basically how I went from idea to sale:

* I read some issues of the magazine. I was familiar with it because I'd written for it years ago, but I made sure it still was what it used to be.

* Reading an issue sparked ideas for what I could write. I made a keyword list in my notebook.

* The magazine's website listed all of its past articles in an archive. I copied the past five years and pasted it into my own Word doc. Then I could comfortably keyword search to be sure my story ideas hadn't been done recently.

*I checked the editor's contact information and how he liked to receive queries (for instance, he prefers e-mails with multiple ideas). I got this information from Writers Market.com. I could've also called his office or emailed based on the website contact information.

* Once I knew the editor liked queries with several ideas at once, I narrowed my list down to the three strongest story ideas. I did some basic research so I could write a 2-paragraph summary of each article. I also made sure I knew what length the magazine preferred for each type of story.

* I wrote the query in a clear, straightforward way. No fancy-schmancy stuff. Just who I am, and my story summaries in a clear list. I signed off with a link to my website, and how I looked forward to hearing from the editor.

* I cut and pasted the query into my email program. Because there were bulleted points that might mess up the format, I emailed the query to myself twice - at two different email programs - to test how it looked, and would possibly look to the editor. I did some formatting adjustments.

* I pressed SEND.

That was it. A lot of work, actually. But the articles themselves were far from being researched or written. It's unusual to get a sale so fast after a query. But if you don't get the query out there, you won't know if yours is an idea that hits the editor's desk at just the right moment.

Beginners especially have an extra plus when they sell the idea before they research. They can approach a source with the authority of the magazine behind them. "I'm a freelance writer..." is usually enough, but "I'm a freelancer writing an article for XYZ Magazine" is even better.