It's harder and harder to place articles in magazines, newspapers, and other publications. The recession is up, the amount of advertising is down, and there are fewer articles being bought by fewer magazines and newspapers.

So to see print you need to make the very topics you suggest or write indispensable to the editors when queried or submitted. The ideas have to so commend themselves that they move to the top of the buy list.

There's a way (or a dozen ways) to do that. Gordon Burgett has had 1,700+ freelance articles in print (and 40 books, including Writer's Digest's Sell and Resell Your Magazine Articles). He had The Query Book published in five reincarnations, and his best seller is How to Sell 75% of Your Freelance Writing. So here, in 28 fast pages, Gordon shares how he made his submissions indispensable—and how the reader can too.

You have to open the query door with your ideas and words. Read the door-openers he suggests.