Focus On ... Stephen Regenold

Stephen Regenold, an ASJA member for one-and-a-half years, self-syndicates his column, "The Gear Junkie," which reaches 13 newspapers each week, making his total weekly circulation 2 million+. He also syndicates travel stories to several newspapers and his new weekly column, "UltraFit," runs in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and is syndicated to various newspapers, though not weekly. More at www.thegearjunkie.com

Talk about "The Gear Junkie."

"The Gear Junkie" is a weekly column on outdoors gear and equipment that's syndicated to about a dozen newspapers around the country, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Albuquerque Journal, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Greensboro News-Record and others. It grew in six years from a 200-word, bi-weekly blurb in one paper, now to a 500-word piece with photos that runs around the country each week. I manage the writing, the photography and the business side, distributing the column, billing papers, etc. About a year ago, I launched www.thegearjunkie.com with two partners. It is a site that includes my column, a blog, videos, an e-newsletter and feature stories.

When did you launch the column, and why?

It debuted in 2002 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune after I queried a sports editor about the possibility of including gear reviews to accompany the outdoors page. As a lifelong adventurer, I was testing new gear in sports like mountaineering, skiing, cycling, kayaking, and trail running. The Gear Junkie would serve to introduce high-end outdoors gear and gadgets to a general newspaper readership.

Any challenges getting "The Gear Junkie" going?

Newspapers have notoriously small budgets. Most editors I approach like the column. Getting them to pay a fair amount has always been the biggest hurdle.

So, once they like it, how do you get them to pay? What's a fair price for a column?

I usually just start by asking what their budget can afford. Let them make an offer. Once an editor said he could pay $5 a week, and I almost choked. If they want a ballpark, I say $50 per column is average and let them offer from there. It's a small amount of money, but essentially all I need to do is add a name to an e-mail blast list to get them on board.

Did you approach them with samples? What's your first contact composed of?

E-mail is the first approach. I send a query note of sorts with links to my column on thegearjunkie.com as examples. A phone call follow-up comes after an editor hints at an initial interest.

How does the column generate an income for you, and is it worth it, or well worth it?

The column pays for most of my mortgage now and gives me that base income each month. To make the rest of my living, I freelance for other publications.

You have carved out a niche for yourself. Was this by design?

Most of my cohorts—outdoors/adventure writers—focus on the magazine world. By sticking with newspapers, I have found a niche.

What are things our members should look out for, if they're considering syndicating a column?

The low pay. You need at least five newspapers to make it worth your while. Getting going requires a leap of faith and some effort that may not pay off. No. 2: Make sure you keep the rights to reprint your material whenever and wherever you can. That's key to the syndication formula. You need to also be a business self-starter. Syndicating your own work requires distributing text (and sometimes photos) each week; invoicing the papers each month; marketing the column to new editors/newspapers; and solid copy editing of your own work.

You have a unique niche. Do you think syndication can work for what might be considered more common topics?

You need a hook. A general topic might work, but with a new twist of some sort. And you need to be an expert. I live and breathe outdoors and adventure, and thus am qualified to give an opinion on the gear used by enthusiasts.

What happens with your columns after they run?

About a month after they are distributed to my newspapers, I put the columns online. On the Web, my content lives on as an archive of work. People can search my database of reviews (www.thegearjunkie.com/archive) for info on gear they are considering for an adventure.

Anything else?

Newspapers do not pay as much as magazines per word, but they pay fast and are easy to work with if you provide solid copy. I make 90 percent of my living now from newspapers. Selling one-time use rights to my work has been a huge advantage, as I resell the same column to a dozen places. Write one story, and get 12 paychecks each month!

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—Interviewed by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett