When writing for magazines in countries that one has never lived in, how is the approach different?
Good question, but I don’t have an equally good answer. The truth is, it’s difficult. It’s easier for us in countries in Asia and Africa to write for Western publications because through Hollywood and mass media and the English TV shows that making it into our living rooms each day, we have a fair idea of what life is like in the West.
But just as Bollywood isn’t completely representative or accurate on India, neither is Hollywood. So unless you’ve had experience with a country, understanding its audience can be a bit of a challenge.
But that’s not to say that you can’t do it. I was selling in the U.S. market way before I’d ever stepped foot in the country and there’s no reason why you can’t, too.
Just be careful– there’s not only the cultural variation to keep in mind, but slang, products that exist in one country and not another, and just simple things that we take for granted that might be big news to an American reader or vice versa.
When writing for or pitching to a publication in a different country, keep the following things in mind:
1. Read the publication carefully and make note of how its written. Style is an important factor for each publication, so make sure you’re reaching close to the one you want to hit.
2. Read writers and authors from that country. What do they take for granted? What surprises them? What interests them?
3. Familiarize yourself with the culture of the country. If you’re writing for a publication in Bahrain, for instance, it would be different from if you were writing for a publication in Wales. Know the difference.
4. Write according to what readers of that country know, not what you do. For instance, when I write for American publications, I have to keep in mind that they don’t understand the intricacies of the Indian culture the way I do, so I’ll have to do a lot more explaining in my pieces than I do when I’m writing for an Indian publication. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve had to explain the difference between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage.
5. For your first few pieces, join a critique group or ask a friend from that country to read through your work and see where they trip up. I found it immensely helpful when I was writing my women-only series to ask my American friends for critiques, because they were able to tell me exactly what concepts they didn’t understand or why something that was obvious to me wasn’t to them. Maybe in return, you can do the same for them.