It’s no secret missed deadlines are a great way to end a professional relationship with a publication. They are a nightmare for both the writer and the editor. The editor is left holding the bag with thousands of dollars on the line waiting on a late article and the writer is off somewhere sweating bullets trying to pull a rabbit out of a badly squished hat. And, while the entire FWJ blogging crew can take turns yelling out into the world wide web that writers should NEVER miss a deadline, it is going to happen. The best we can do [Read more…]
The Power of ” ”
What Quotations Mean & Using Brackets
September 30, 2010. 3 Comments
“I didn’t say that.” “My words were taken out of context.” Two phrases no writer, nor their editor, want to hear. Quoting sources is not as easy as people make it out to be. There are rules to quotes and too often those rules are ignored. ” ” Means Exactly Said First big point. When you put a person’s words in ” ” you are telling the reader that the words within the quotation marks are written exactly the way the person said them. Word for word. No fudging. If you miss words or add words you are then changing [Read more…]
Will Casual Blogging Conversation Be the Death of Formal Article Writing?
May 6, 2010. 7 Comments
A couple of days ago I wondered if it’s OK for freelance writing bloggers to talk like they speak. After all, blogging is a much more casual form of writing than what most of us are used to. While some purists don’t always appreciate a conversational tone when reading the news or learning about vitamin supplements, the truth is, that’s where we’re headed. The Internet has turned writers into bloggers and everything is all so ultra-cas now. Writing for Short Attention Spans Look around at your favorite news, medical and even government sites and what do you see? News sites [Read more…]
Maybe you're not getting jobs because you just can't write
July 22, 2009. 14 Comments
In a post a good long while ago, Do you need to be a good writer to be a good blogger, Deb points out that yes, it helps a great deal to know how to write if you’re a blogger. I agree. Knowing how to write is important. However, I know plenty of excellent writers who don’t get blogging and web writing gigs – writers who are likely better than me. I can write sure, but I’m not one of those genius born to write or die type writers, yet I still get plenty of work. So, how do I [Read more…]
Press Release Writing Intro
October 28, 2008. 24 Comments
By Terreece M. Clarke Press releases make up a nice little chunk of web writing and is good steady work if you are interested. Why? Because on any given day there are thousands of companies trying to catch the eye of the media and potential customers. Many of these companies don’t have a public relations team. Many freelance writers are curious about press releases, but are intimidated by the process. There’s nothing to fear, content is content, it is the approach that is different. What’s the point? Press releases are designed to get the media interested enough in a company, [Read more…]
