If you are thinking about pitches for magazines you need to be several months ahead of the curve. I know the last thing anyone wants to think about right now is snow, cold weather and roasting chestnuts, but thinking ahead is a great way to get your pitch approved. When everyone else is thinking about decking the halls, editors are looking to spring fashions and top summer vacation spots. Thinking and working on magazine editors’ schedules will help in getting your work to the top of the heap. When thinking ahead, writers need to balance general with specific. Editors take [Read more…]
Finishing Strong – How to wrap up an article
April 23, 2009. 8 Comments
Every writer knows creating a great lead (lede) is key to a great article. It piques an audience’s interest and pulls them in for you to deliver the goods. What some writers fail to realize is a good ending or conclusion is just as important. We’ve all been there – one minute you’re reading a piece, zooming right along and then it just trails off… An article is not a novel, it shouldn’t have a cliffhanger. When writing a newspaper article, there are a few set standards for finishing up a conclusion, such as a final quote. Features have more [Read more…]
How to Lose Control of an Interview
April 7, 2009. 12 Comments
The concept of a media interview is simple. One person asks the questions, the other person answers them. In today’s media, with handlers, PR people and media savvy (and weary) interview subjects, interviews can get a bit more difficult to manage and if you’re not careful it can get away from you. Who’s asking the questions here? If you find yourself talking more than listening – you are in trouble. It’s okay for an interviewee to be interested in your background or publication, but honestly your life story is not that interesting. It’s a distraction to the reason why you’re [Read more…]
The Art of a Yes/No Question in Interviews
April 3, 2009. 7 Comments
Most of the time when you’re interviewing a source you don’t want to ask yes or no questions. Nothing kills a interview faster than a transcript full of ‘Yes,’ ‘No,’ and ‘I don’t know’s.’ There are times, however, when a yes/no question is both useful and necessary. The key is the follow up. Often a good interview subject will answer the question and then elaborate on why they feel that way. If they don’t it’s up to you to ask them to give more detail. How you do it is important. For example, say you’re interviewing a politician who has [Read more…]
Writing Through Distractions
March 6, 2009. 15 Comments
Busy kids, demanding dogs, grocery runs, alluring refrigerators, visitors, Twitter, the call of the sun through your window – all worthy adversaries in the battle for your concentration and productivity. As writers, we must guard against the constant intrusions that threaten to turn an hour-long project into a 3 hour-long project. There are some distractions you can work through if you just can zero in on your focus. Parents become Jedi’s at ignoring the door-knocking, whining or ordinary play noises of kids and it is that selective hearing that will help you get through other distractions. Even if you’re not [Read more…]
Going Off Track…And Getting Back On Again
February 24, 2009. 5 Comments
By Terreece M. Clarke I love to write. I start or work out article kinks in my head while I lie in bed waiting to fall asleep. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to write, when I’m going to write and where my writing is going to be published. But there is a problem, I write and think about writing and work the business of writing too much. Writers are always told they need to write all the time and immerse themselves in their craft, and that’s true. But we advice-givers also need to stress [Read more…]
Freelance Writing Jobs for Monday February 9, 2009
February 9, 2009. 18 Comments
by Deborah Ng ‘Morning friends. I know the majority of our visitors come for the leads, but I hope you’re also checking out the entire blog network from time to time, including the original Freelance Writing Jobs blog. Some great leads this morning. I want to thank everyone who takes the time to give me a shout on Twitter to let me know you found something on FWJ. Keep your success stories coming!! Enough with the small talk, Leads… Freelance Staff Writer – Telecommute – $10 to .05 per word. Freelance Writer/Speech Writer – Brooklyn Article Writer – $25 – [Read more…]
Pull your next article ideas from today's inauguration
January 20, 2009. 2 Comments
By Terreece M. Clarke The world’s eyes are on the United States today as we swear in our first African-American President. As I watched history and prayed morning sickness wouldn’t strike in the middle of it, I found myself thinking several things. One of which was: “That would make a good article.” What can I say, I’m a writer and I find inspiration where I can! Let’s look at some of the themes and occurrences of today and shape them into article ideas using popular categories that you can further break down to fit your niche: Responsibility This was a [Read more…]
8 Things to Do Before Submitting an Article
January 15, 2009. 4 Comments
By Terreece M. Clarke You’ve got it down to a science. Research, interview, write, spell check, submit. Assignments come in, articles go out – but are they everything they could be? Make sure you check these 8 things off your list before you submit: Check all names for correct spelling. Is it Allyson or Allison? Don’t count on the copy editor to catch your mistakes. Spelled write but used wrong. Spell check and even you’re grammar cheque may not pick up on these simple mistakes. Double check direct quotes. Nothing is more embarrassing than an editor calling you because a [Read more…]
New Year, New Freelance Writing Opportunities
January 2, 2009. Leave a Comment
By Terreece M. Clarke Happy New Year FWJ Crew! This is a going to be a great year. Think about what you accomplished last year and now think about which areas you can work to become stronger. Start off this year of your writing career with questions: How’s your source list? When is the last time you checked for new local publications or new publications in your niche? What’s the latest news and events for your industry? Who’s the new it girl or guy in your field and what are they doing that you’re not? Are you a grammar goof? [Read more…]
Query Challenge – Dear Random Editor:
December 16, 2008. 9 Comments
by Terreece M. Clarke “Dear Editor: This is a fantastic query. It’s a hot topic and perfect for your biggest issue of the year. It’s well-researched and has a fantastic expert on board for an interview. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the time to find out which editor I should send it to. Sure I could have sent a quick email or picked up the phone to be sure that the person on the masthead is still there and in the department, but I decided to go generic. Just any random editor at the publication. So now my query is stuck [Read more…]
Thoughtful Thursday: How's that Working For You?
December 4, 2008. 3 Comments
By Terreece M. Clarke Tuesday in “Date Your Publication” we talked about getting to know the publications you want to query and got some great feedback, specifically from Mary who commented on how frustrating her first year writing was because she hadn’t tailored her queries to specific publications. Once she started however, her success rate climbed. Mary is an excellent example of a great writer stopping to take stock in their career to see where things could be improved. This time of year is a great time to take stock in your career and goals as Deb wrote in her [Read more…]
You Missed a Deadline – Now what?
November 6, 2008. 28 Comments
By Terreece M. Clarke Writers miss deadlines. Gasp! Shock! Horror! Plenty of writers will swear it has never happened, while others will attest, though usually secretively, that they have missed or come close to missing a deadline. It’s the “No, No” of “No, No’s” and you’ve just missed one or are close. So what do you do now? Breathe There is usually a strong amount of panic when a writer discovers they’ve blown a deadline. Sweaty palms, jerky movements, loud swearing and personal, repetitive self-admonishments are par for the course, but it’s hard to make a rational move while kicking [Read more…]
Bullets Make the Point
September 23, 2008. 6 Comments
I love bullet points. When executed well, a group of bullet points can: bring clarity to a complex idea catch the eye of skimmers provide simplified information break up dense paragraphs When done incorrectly, bullet points can confuse your audience and bog down an article. So how do you know if you’re doing it right? It Looks Pretty Your bullet points should be pleasing to the eye. Especially for web writing, long dense paragraphs make the average online user’s eyes glaze over. Bullet points should add white space to the page. It’s Simple Bullet points should make things easy on [Read more…]
Spin? What Spin? The Latest in Writing News
September 9, 2008. 8 Comments
In this highly charged, high-stakes election year, charges of media bias have been leveled at every media outlet. Bloggers, TV newscasters and newspapers have received the brunt of the charges, but there may be a solution on the horizon. The buzz this week surrounds a new Web site that claims it has software that can spot the spin in an article. In a BusinessWeek.Com article out this week, SpinSpotter.Com is highlighted as a possible solution to the embattled news media by either revealing bias to the point where outlets would be forced to conduct themselves according to writing ethics or [Read more…]
