How to publish student writing

Whether you're majoring in journalism, minoring in writing or just taking a few night classes in feature writing, the thought of seeing your name in print may be exciting. As rewarding as a great paper on assignment can be, many students dream of seeing their article hit the big time. Every year, thousands of students publish articles. Here's how.

Hit up the campus press Drop by your campus paper and ask if they take student submissions. College newspapers are usually run by volunteers and eager for extra help.

Look for student pages The Ottawa Citizen, a major newspaper, published the first article I ever submitted. I originally sent it to their student writing section, but the editor liked it so much that he elevated it to the Op/Ed spread. As a result, I got paid for my 800-word article. But, for me, nothing beat the satisfaction of seeing my name at the top of a column. Check your local paper to see if they publish articles by students -- it may be a good way to catch the eye of an editor.

Write letters to the editor A good letter shows you have a command of writing, research skills, persuasive argument techniques, and gumption. It might not be the same as a published article, but a letter to the editor helps keep your name in front of editors. In fact, I know a magazine editor who still writes letters to the editor, just to keep his writing skills fresh.

Start a blog on a hot topic By writing a blog, you can show expertise in a subject area -- and maybe make some money from ads. By focusing on a key subject area -- as opposed to your roommate's latest foible or the life of your cat -- you can build a following. Later, you can include your blog in your portfolio, as evidence of your ability to write for real audiences, optimize for search engines and keep on top of a subject.

Query editors Grab a copy of Writer's Market and write up some query letters. Send your queries and writing samples to small publications, especially those that don't pay. Struggling publications with limited budgets are hungrier for good writing. Once you've established a track record, you can query bigger publications.

Turn your papers into ebooks Publish your articles as ebooks and sell them through websites. Some ebook publishers even allow you to publish printed copies and sell on demand via the publishers' websites.

Student journalism and writing programs offer you opportunities to refine and reflect your writing. But getting your articles published is the icing on the cake. Try the above tricks and look forward to seeing your name on the byline.