Self employed people work for many bosses. When you work as a
freelance writer you may think you are your own boss, but in reality your boss
is whichever editor buys work from you, hopefully that is several.
Learning to keep each editor happy can be a challenge
especially when they seem to have different tastes and rules. I’ve had editors
who want me to wrote and edit my own work so that all they have to do is sign
off on it – and I’ve had editors who want to rewrite every piece they receive
so you can barely recognize it as your own writing. There are some general
rules they all follow though.
No one likes purple prose – purple prose is the use of too
many ornate and flowery words that break into the natural pattern of writing
(and reading) with overdone imagery and unlikely descriptions. It is often so riddled with excessive wording that it can
actually remove a reader from the setting and story. Learn to use only enough imagery to set the
stage, so to speak, but not to have it dripping with unnecessary metaphors –
her smile glistened like the crescent moon over the still waters of the bayou
(ugh!).
If you are writing an article and quoting “experts”, make
sure you really have a quotable source to work from. Identify your source by
name, title and expertise if possible, and don’t make up fictitious experts.
Also, if you are quoting from someone, make sure the quote is firsthand and not
merely copied from someone else’s article; you can quote from a press release
if it contains a specific statement attributed to a company expert.
Know the difference between editorial, advertorial, ad copy
and hard news: editorial is an opinion piece; advertorial is positive press about
the client but dressed as editorial; ad copy is flat out selling points; and
hard news is just facts. In advertorial be careful about posting claims such as
“The best dealership in ABC County” – if that is the store’s motto, specify
that instead of making it sound like a proven fact.
Human interest pieces are among the most sought after
articles for many consumer magazines. The key word is interest – it needs to be
something interesting and specific. Don’t be vague such as she decided to be a
work at home writer and was happy with her choice. Give examples of what
choices she did make, what kind of writing she did/does, talk about her
failures as well as her successes. What would she do differently if she had it
to do all over again? Where does she (hope to) go from here?
A human interest piece is personal and very
often inspiring and encouraging. Another
popular article to write is an informative and helpful service pieces. Include how-to
examples. Focus on an industry, a trend, or a method, answer questions, quote
experts. If you are writing a profile or
interview, focus on an aspect of the person’s life or career. An interview can
be written as a simple question and answer, allow the subject a little leeway
in answering but don’t get too far off topic.
As always, the best way to prepare to write for a specific
magazine is to familiarize yourself with published copies, study the style and
note who the magazine is geared towards. Note also the topics covered and how
often similar topics are used so you can submit a query that will gain the
attention of an editor.
Writing Exercise: Take a current news article from a recent
newspaper and make it into a fiction story – invent characters who deal with
the situation and don’t forget to add “What If?” and let the story continue
from there.
Writing Prompt: Pick up any nearby book, open it to a random
page and pick a word (without thinking about it) – What does this word make you
think of? Does it evoke any special memories? Is there any emotion connected to
the word? Write a few sentences about how this word makes you feel. Do this a
few times with different words.
