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Writing and Editing for Publication
I got hooked on getting published when I was in high school and had a photo and article published by the local newspaper. The newspaper didn't pay me anything, but seeing my name in print identifying my work was a thrill unlike any other I've experienced. I've now been writing and editing professionally for more than 25 years, so I thought I'd share what I've experienced with other "wannabe" writers out there to help them get the same thrill. -- You may not realize this, but you have special knowledge, passions, and experience that could become interesting reading for others--if you got it captured on paper (or on your computer screen, if you prefer). So, the first thing to do is to "capture it". -- Okay, maybe writing may not be your "cup of tea" --but you want to get your voice out there. So, study up a little (really, it's not that painful) by reading Strunk & White's great little book: "Elements of Style" If you have further questions about how to write, you can also read William Zinnsers' book "On Writing Well" and Rudolf Flesch's book, "The Art of Readable Writing". When I started as a writer, I stumbled over these books in my high-school library and spent a lot of time figuring out what the books were pointing to (I later bought copies for myself--and I keep them handy for frequent use in my own library!). -- In addition to learning how to write, if you want to be published in your local newspapers and magazines, you should learn a bit about the business techniques of professional writers. This would include: -- How to properly format your manuscript (if you submit by paper) or your email (if you submit electronically). -- Expected ways to approach the appropriate editors of the publications in which you'd like your work to appear. -- Markets that may want to see your work (you might not think of all of them--and you could be pleasantly surprised). For this information, a good reference is the annual "Writer's Market" -- a large compendium of English language markets for the US (you can get a hardcopy of this book at a bookseller such as Barnes & Nobel or Borders or Amazon or you can get an "online" version at www.writersmarket.com/). -- It helps if you become friendly and known to your local newspaper editor--particularly those who are features editors. I got my second article published when I was a sophomore in college--and one of my classmates was an "editorial assistant" at the local newspaper. She noticed some of my photos and asked about them--when I told her about them, she asked if I'd like to write an article about the topic of the photos (you can see some of the information and the photos that got her attention here: www.squidoo.com/varanus_indicus). Of course, since I had already gathered the information for a biology class research project, it was pretty easy to "modify" the writing(reducing the biological/technical gobbledegook and shortening the sentences a bit to make it more "readable") to fit the newspaper format. The editor was great--not only did he publish my work, but he also sent back my manuscript with his edits on it (I could learn from those edits), and the best part was that he sent an accompanying check--enough to pay my dormitory rent for 4 months!). A few months later, I sent him another manuscript with photos--and again got the edited manuscript, a tear sheet (copy of the published form of my article), and a CHECK! I repeated this after another two months, and soon was writing an article every month for the paper. After each submission, I was able to learn more about how to get stuff published. I also became good friends with the editor--to the point that he would ask me to provide articles. This friendliness allowed me to collect a "portfolio" of my published work--which helps in getting other writing work from other publications. You can do the same! So... this being said, remember... you have your EXPERTISE, your PASSION, your HOBBY, your EDUCATION -- what you KNOW... get it on paper or into the computer. FOLLOW the submission guidelines you can find in Writer's Digest. And then send your article/feature in. One more tip... don't wait for getting a response back from the editor. Just get another article/feature manuscript together and get it written and sent to another editor. Repeat this process over and over... and soon, you'll be a published writer. If you can submit decent photos with your articles as well, you'll have the attention of a lot of editors who'll want to buy your writing--and you'll get the thrill of seeing your name in print! ------------- If you would like more help with getting your writing started, you can view additional tips (and metrics at the following website (yeah, it's mine): www.squidoo.com/WorkingWords And, if you'd like professional editing to either prepare your work for public view (is it to be a novel, memoir, or non-fiction book?)--I can help you with the editing--contact me through the Squidoo site listed. |
If you write - edit it to increase effectiveness
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