From Kate’s Writing Crate…
Last week
I wrote about writing advice I gave to an intern. This week, I’m giving advice
to more experienced writers.
I have edited
three local monthly magazines as well as a state-wide monthly magazine at the
same time. The common challenge is filling all the space between the ads on all
the pages.
To accomplish this, every
month I have to come up with six to ten topics for articles for each magazine,
depending on page counts, a month or two before deadline. Then I assign them to
writers who will interview people, write comprehensive and well-organized
pieces that meet the word count on deadline. I also have five columnists on
staff covering sports, gardening, family life, books, and observations on life.
Two columnists also write articles.
Finding good writers is
essential which means there are writing opportunities out there. Experienced
writers with tear sheets (previously published articles from other publications)
are good to work with as they know what to do—although it may turn out these
writers have been edited heavily. However, new writers are excited and willing
to learn. Their energy is infectious and fun.
As long as new writers are
serious about completing assignments, they should ask for assigned articles
submitting writing samples when requested. I often assign new writers articles
I need in two months to see if they can meet a two or three week deadline. This
gives me time to recover if they fail.
Short
Inquiries:
To get published in a
magazine, a serious writer should send editors short inquiries about article
ideas he or she would like to write (or have already written) that fit a publication’s
style. Be familiar with the publication. Make sure your ideas will be
compatible. As I mentioned, editors have to generate a lot of story ideas every
month so having good ones suggested by writers is helpful.
Put Article Inquiry in the
subject line.
These inquiries should be
short and sent to the editor by his or her name. If you cannot be bothered to
find the editor’s name, you are making a bad impression and, worse yet, you are
unfamiliar with the publication.
It’s best to pitch ideas for
the future as issues are planned a month or two in advance. (Example: pitch
December topics in September. National magazines may have even longer lead
times.)
Introduce and discuss your
article idea—what it is, why readers will enjoy it, and why you are interested
in writing it. Then summarize your expertise and writing experience. If a new
writer, offer to submit writing samples. Then end with: Thank you for your
time. I look forward to hearing from you. Include your contact information,
phone and email address.
Do not expect an immediate
response. Give an editor two or three weeks to respond. If no response, send the
inquiry again. Editors receive emails from dozens to hundreds of readers,
advertisers, the production department, the printer, press releases, compliments,
complaints, and established writers so it might take a week or two for the
editor to get to inquiries, longer if your email arrives during deadline week.
Once contacted, be prompt in
answering an editor’s questions in response to your inquiry.
Assignments:
Once the editor gives you
the assignment, a style sheet, word count, and deadline, deliver what you
promised—an engaging and professionally written article about the idea you
pitched that includes quotes from at least one person.
Interview
Tips:
Do not procrastinate. Set up
interviews immediately as there are always scheduling conflicts. Also, if
interview has to be rescheduled, you have time to do so.
Make sure you spell each
person’s name, title, and organization correctly.
Have at least 10-12 questions
prepared before interview. Ask follow up
questions where appropriate.
Make sure some require short
or numerical answers to break up all the longer quotes for other questions.
Two questions I always ask:
What do you like best about your job or the event?
(Personality shines through in answers.)
And
end of interview ask: Is there anything else you would like the public to know?
(This gives the person a
chance to discuss things you might not know about so follow up questions might
be needed.)
I write all the questions in
the margin of my notepad if it’s an in-person interview.
If emailing questions,
double check for spelling errors before sending.
When emailing questions, put
the deadline date for answers in the subject line and again before the
questions.
Always thank people for
their time before the interview or before the written questions in an email.
Listen to answers or read
them carefully.
Ask follow up questions as
needed.
If handwritten, type up your
notes as soon as possible after the interview.
If you can’t read some of
your notes or an answer isn’t clear when you are writing your article, contact
the person again to get the right answers.
Drafts:
In your first draft, organize
your thoughts then include every quote, fact, and point you want to make
regardless of word count.
Use the strongest and
clearest interview statements as quotes in your article. The rest of what the
person said become facts in the text. Weave these facts in with any other
researched facts along with the quotes which breathe life into your articles.
Know the correct punctuation
for quotes. Also, some publications use said, some use says. Use right style.
Once first draft is written,
reread it. Read it aloud. Often you will find you buried your lead (best start
to your article) in paragraph two, three, or even six. Reorganize paragraphs as
needed.
Then rewrite and polish your
article repeatedly until it is the best work you can produce and within the
word count.
Look for better choices of
words—i.e., one word that can replace a wordy description. (Every writer in my
opinion should have and use the Oxford
American Writer’s Thesaurus. Read the Introduction “In Search of the Exact
Word” by Richard Goodman, pp. xi-xvii, to see exactly what I mean. )
Check spelling, punctuation,
and grammar.
For reference: I spend less
than 40% of my time writing and over 60% rewriting my articles for publication.
Deadlines:
Submit assignments before or on deadline date. No excuses.
I advise that new writers
especially submit their articles well before deadline. Editors will remember
you for doing it. This means you can be counted on and will receive future
assignments provided you also wrote a good or, better yet, a great article.
What
constitutes a great article?
In
every article emailed to me, I want to see:
a pertinent,
even clever, title,
a byline,
an
article with paragraphs,
only
one space between sentences,
line
spacing of 1.15 or 1.5,
do
not start any article with a quote,
people
need to be introduced to readers before being quoted,
organized
thoughts,
smooth
transitions,
quotes
woven seamlessly into the text,
an
attention-grabbing intro paragraph ,
and an
ending paragraph that ties up the article well.
In between
the first and last paragraphs, I look for:
proper
punctuation especially for quotes,
good
grammar,
correct
spellings of words, names, and titles,
attention
paid to details like dates, times, places, etc.,
true
facts, statistics, etc.,
word
count (within 100 words under to exact number),
and that
the magazine’s style sheet was followed.
Q&A
articles begin with an intro paragraph or two.
If
submitting a photo, write a caption that includes (left to right) people’s
names.
Writers
can recommend pull quotes, but editor has final say.
Overall,
I look for:
a
strong writer’s voice and style,
creativity,
Is
lead paragraph enticing?
Is
article fun to read and informative?
Are
the facts clear?
Are
quotes distributed throughout the article?
Is anything
jarring? (bad transitions, out-of-order facts, person quoted without being
introduced)
Are the
contact phone number, email address, & web site listed if readers want more
information?
Editing:
Corrections
are made following rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
The
rest of changes are made to fit magazine’s style or the editor’s sense of words
and style.
Most
articles have excess words so editors tighten up the text by cutting these
words or replacing them with more exact words.
Magazine
editors do not usually discuss changes with writers unless want total rewrites
Writers
may ask about changes, but not during deadline week. If you want feedback, ask
the editor beforehand to see if it’s possible. Then turn article in early in
case has editor has time before publication. Feedback takes a lot of time so
the editor may say no. If that is the case, compare what you turned in to what
was published. Changes should result in clearer or tighter writing.
If a
lot of text is missing, space may have been tight on the page so change may
have nothing to do with your writing. (I’ve had ads come in very late. They
always go in, so text must be cut. It’s a tough business.)
If
you see a pattern in the edits, work on that area of your writing.
Once
an editor knows you are a professional writer who turns in great work within
word count on deadline, you will get more assignments. More assignments lead to
tear sheets to use when inquiring about assignments for other magazines which
is the start of a writing career.
