Which comes first, the publication or the idea?

In my case, it depends. If it is October or November and I have just purchased my Writer’s Market, the publication comes first. I think it is exciting when I buy my yearly book of all of the publications, how they do business and what types of articles they buy. I have been known to spend hours poring over this book looking for markets and coming up with ideas for these markets.

Then there are the dry times when it seems as if my corporate clients are sleeping. When the regular jobs are not coming in for a while, I will read the news, do some Googling, and then start pitching the great ideas I have developed out of desperation. It’s kind of a continuous job hunt only I have to create the job.

Which comes first for you? Do you get the idea and then pitch, or look for publications before developing the idea?

Happy writing!
Rosemary