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Q. I spent about 20 years as a freelancer and stringer for various magazines and newspapers. More recently I worked part-time for one publication at a time for about 10 years.

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I'm teaching part-time now, which I love, but I miss the writing. I want to go back to freelance writing, especially for magazines, but I've lost all my old contacts. In the past, editors passed my name along to one another, so I've had little experience with query letters.

How do I protect my story ideas while sending out query letters? And, can I use magazine clips that are nearly 10 years old and not online, or should I stick with smaller, more recent online and newsletter features?

Thanks,

Fran

A. A well-written proposal should be enough to get you the assignment. So put your effort into that, not into running copy machines.

Joe Grimm

As for trusting editors with your story ideas, I just think you have to. What are you going to do, ask them to promise they won't steal? Reputable editors won't steal, but they might get offended by a request that they behave ethically.

The small number of actions initiated over idea theft, in contrast to the number of stories pitched, suggests this doesn't happen as often as you might fear. The more specific your pitches are, the more likely they are to work and to be unique enough to be original.

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Coming Wednesday: She is about to get out of grad school and has two opportunities, though neither is quite what she had hoped for.

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