JR notes: In the early 90s, I was a founding member of the editorial team at an upstart paper called the Valley Optimist, a bi-weekly “arts and entertainment magazine” that printed just about whatever we could dig up for each issue. We had ambition to spare, but not much by way of experience. We reinvented the wheel much more than we needed to, but one thing we were always good at was getting writers published for the first time. Eventually we did grow up, and at one point we were publishing three different papers with three different audiences at the same time. After all, what’s the point of trying to make one publication profitable when you can just start another? Over the years, with valuable input from Paul Bissex and Lou Cove, I developed and honed this writing guide for budding journalists, and we passed it out to all of our new writers. It’s written from the perspective of a helpful but a bit hard-assed non-fiction editor.
The best thing about this guide is that it was a real “working document,” always accountable to the input of the writers and editors who relied upon it. Over time, we did learn a thing or two, and I did my best to capture those lessons here. It’s probably obvious, but this writing guide would not serve you as well if you were embarking on a fictional project. If you were writing for a daily paper, there would also be different considerations. We always had the benefit of the time and hindsight to hone an article and make sure it had context as well as facts. I haven’t made any changes for posterity, so this reads just as if you were an aspiring writer in the Pionneer Valley in 1993.
If You Want Blood, You've Got It
What I Think About When I Edit Your Piece
An Informal Writing Guide by Jon Reed
I come by editing through "hands-on" experience, not formal training. What I've learned is that much of what we think of as editing is simply common sense, honed by dedicated hours in front of the computer screen. Through my own trials and tribulations, I have come up with a reference guide that I hope will help you to write better pieces with a minimum of confusion about what we’re looking for. This guide does not address grammar or syntax. For that type of information, consult our essential, newly-revised Optimist Style Guide. As you improve your writing, not only do you make yourself proud, but you make your editor's job easier, and I thank you.
I. After You Get Your Assignment - Things You’ll Need to Know If You Want Your Piece to Shine
What Makes an Article Truly Great?
When I'm done editing a piece, I want it to flow. I want it to be coherent, clear, and dynamic, expressing the author’s perspective in the most exciting and accurate way. I don't want the reader to be jolted by repetitious paragraphs, bulky sentences full of unnecessary words, or excessive sermonizing. Imagine an anonymous reader on the bus skimming your article. I want them to be so absorbed that they miss their stop. I don't care if you challenge them, but don't annoy them with clichés, improper word choices, and poor organization.
Finding Your Angle - No Assignment is Too Dry or Too Stupid
Before I came to the Optimist, I had never written an article for publication. When I started, I basically took on any assignment that was thrown to me. Although I had no art background, I interviewed a different artist every issue. I interviewed the Dino World owner without a dinosaur background. I interviewed a clown, two barbers, and many others whose area of expertise was quite foreign to me. Much to my shock, I enjoyed all of these assignments, even the ones I initially resented. You can always find your angle. And if you can discover passion for your topic, so can your reader. You may not be a painter, but perhaps as a writer you sympathize with the financial struggle of the artist. Start there. It’s also important to develop a well-balanced, informative article, and to ensure this it’s a good idea to speak to your editor to make sure you’re covering the necessary aspects your readers will expect. But while being well-balanced is necessary, your piece will disappoint if you can’t connect it to an angle that moves you.
II. On to the Writing - How to Transform the Interview and Research Into a An Editor-Friendly Piece
(for more info on interviewing, talk to your editor and/or ask for the interviewing tips handout)
Graphics, Titles, and Subtitles - Eye Catching Essentials That Every Article Must Have, or, Rest Assured, The Rest of Your Piece Will Go Unnoticed
If you want to obtain a reader, you’ve got to do it quick. If you don’t nab your reader in their first few tentative glances, then all your hard work is for naught. Most readers will encounter your piece as they skim through the deluge of free publications that assaults them in every business and public place. In this uphill battle, nothing is more important the graphics, the title, and the subtitle. It may shock your literary tendencies, but for the 90s reader, the title, subtitle, and graphics will usually determine whether or not they go on to the rest of your piece. As good as your writing is, without a good graphic it usually won’t fly. Think about your graphics needs early on, as you conceptualize your piece. Remember to communicate your photo assignments to your editor in as specific a manner as possible, so that our top notch graphics people can make it happen for you. As you compose your title and subtitle, remember that your challenge is to be catchy and clever, but not cute and cliché - and make sure that your compelling title also accurately reflects the content of the piece without exaggeration or misrepresentation. If you haven’t read the information on titles and subtitles in our style guide, please do so at your earliest opportunity.
Without a Good Lead, Your Reader Won’t Follow
No piece is too boring, or, for that matter, too inherently thrilling to be exempt from the need for a well-written lead. You don't have to be flashy. Just write in the style that suits you - only, in the introduction - really use your imagination. Be original. Your readers have probably read about this subject before, and so have I. So what's special about your piece? Get me hooked.
And Don’t Leave Them Hanging At the End Either
Next to the introduction, the conclusion is what matters the most. The body of the piece is important, but the reader needs closure. Leave the reader with the satisfaction of a burning question answered. Sometimes a poignant quote, a summarizing statement or a clever turn of the phrase will do the trick.
The Power of Subtlety - How to Channel Your Passion Into Fair and Professional Prose
When I get your piece, the first thing I think about is your audience. It matters whether I enjoy it, but what's more important is: what will the readership think of it? I may agree that racism is on the rise, but what about the reader? The reader doesn't need to be told what to think, but the reader needs information. The reader doesn't want a sermon. The reader DOES love personalities. Find the local people who are passionately engaged in the issue at hand, and tell the reader their story. Better yet, let the locals tell the story. Get me key quotes. Lots of 'em. Are you a writer with an agenda? Be subtle. Let your choice of excellent subject matter do the work for you. Let your thorough research back you up with solid supporting facts. that you need. Then, if you're mad as hell about, say, the racism you're documenting in Holyoke housing, you won't just have to take a wild, bitter punch, moaning about the state of the world. Give us your quotes, the latest statistics. You may or may not have an agenda or a bias when you write an article. But research differing perspectives. Claim your position as an authoritative source. Try to imagine and express all sides of an issue. A noble stab at objectivity only makes your argument stronger. There is a power in subtlety that most beginning writers don’t tend to grasp. Don't paraphrase, quote! Fight the urge to step in every paragraph and tell the reader what you think. Choose your moments. And when you do hit with what you think, hit hard. Hit with new ideas of your own. New ways of looking at the problem. Fresh solutions. Untried approaches. For the most part, step back, organize the piece, and tie the loose ends together.
Kick in Those Quotes
As a general rule, we won’t run a piece if it doesn’t have quotes. There are obvious notable exceptions, such as record reviews, but in general, THINK QUOTES. Lots of them. Good quotes are frank and fresh. If you have only one quote from an important source, IT BETTER BE GOOD. Otherwise the editor is in a tough position: (a) run the shitty quote as a desperate attempt to keep an authoritative source in the piece, (b) paraphrase the quote and run a less interesting, less professional story, (c) try to reach you by phone at the last minute very late at night to see if you have a better quote, (d) call the source back the next business day, delay submission of the piece, and type it in at the last minute. (e) worst case scenario: postpone or toss the piece. The way out of this hassle: Kick in Those Quotes.
A Note Of Caution from E.I.C. Lou Cove: You are a writer. We expect you (as a writer) to properly use and not abuse quotes. In other words, you also need to write. If you aren’t able to synthesize all the weak quotes and the strong quotes in your own words, then you haven’t done your job. I enjoy strong writing - that’s why I read. Find the proper balance and you’ve found the way to the reader’s heart.
Every Sentence Counts
Make those sentences strong. You can't hide your weak sentences in the middle of a long paragraph. I'll find them. Keep the sentences either short or very well organized. If you are one of those writers who isn't satisfied unless every sentence has at least one comma, "em dash” and semicolon, it's time to break the habit. It's distracting and it doesn't work. Rediscover the period. If you like your sentences long, be extra clear. In general, try to keep a rhythm going, interspersing shorter and longer sentences. Especially in the intro and conclusion, experiment with the joy of shorter sentences.
The All-Important Active Verb
If you are willing to learn better grammar to write better, start with the difference between active and passive verbs. A well-chosen verb carries your sentence along with gusto. No other word has more power to make or break your sentence than the often-overlooked verb. Too often, people focus on adjectives, and their sentences slouch along, straining from the weight of too many descriptive words and glowing, dopey-eyed adjectives. The two italicized words in the previous sentence are examples of better-than-average verbs. Other potentially strong verbs: grope, undermine, shirk, saunter. Be imaginative!
Bulk Up to Slim Down - Generating a Working Draft
My own writing style usually involves generating lots of material and then cutting down. If I have to write 1000 words, I start breathing easier once I hit 1500 (Which brings up an important aside - make sure you know how many words your editor expects before you start. You’ll sound very experienced when you ask her “What’s my word count?”). Usually it's a first draft and I know a bunch of it will have to go, but at least I have something I can work with - something to bring to my helpful, supportive editor if I get stuck. Many writers, struggling to express a very important idea, will say it three or four times over. That's fine for the first draft. But then you need to pare down. Say it once and say it well - maybe once more in the conclusion if it's really important. Cut down on the excess wordage. One well-chosen adjective is often better than two or three fancy ones. Keep a high standard throughout. I will always try to maintain a high quality of research and writing throughout a piece I edit. There are no sacred editing cows. If you have a wishy-washy quote, it goes. If you don't know the full name of the store owner that you interviewed, we might have to drop that part from the piece if we can't reach you.
Last But Absolutely Not Least: The Glorious Mundanity of Fact-Checking
The vast majority of complaints we receive on our articles relate to careless factual mistakes and other basic errors of faulty research. As the wise editor Paul Bissex once put it, “If you write a great piece and misspell your subject’s name, they’ll think it’s a shitty piece. If you write a shitty piece and spell their name right, they’ll think it’s a great piece.” It’s a bitter truth, and hardly a fair attitude on the part of your vain subject (the reader, after all, could care less about how “so and so” spells their name, and they’ll frequent his/her business or gallery opening either way), but vanity is a journalistic reality. No matter how much free publicity and additional business your great article brings to your subject, a factual error or misspelling ruins everything, as all of us pride-wounded veterans can tell you. Always double check spellings of names and the accuracy of phone numbers. Don’t hesitate to go over this kind of information with your interview subjects after your first conversation. Virtually everyone I’ve ever interviewed has been more than willing - even grateful - to go over a complicated history or to double check name spellings and phone numbers.
Remember: Maintain your integrity and you’ll keep your readers. Maintain your accuracy and you’ll hang on to those businesses as well. Those are the businesses that pay for the pages upon which your writing will hopefully appear. Don’t bite the hand… etc.
III. You’re Also An Editor - What You Should Do To Revise Your Piece Before You Turn it In
Even Hemingway Did It - Why You Should Revise and Self-Edit Your Work
There are very few writers who can go from first draft to published work without an edit, and I seriously doubt you're one of them. I know I’m not. Most of the greats edited profusely - so should you. Your goal is to become so good at self-editing that it will only take an editor like me about fifteen minutes to edit your piece. It may sound like a lofty goal, but you can get there. The key is time. Plan your time. On a tight journalistic schedule, you're going to be tempted to write your piece the night before, right after your last-minute interview. You can do better. Plan on getting your rough draft written out a few days ahead. Then, sleep on it, with all its defects. No need to agonize over every word and phrase, because the deadline is still a couple days off. The next day, do a careful edit of your piece, preferably on a printed copy. Nothing will help your own editing more than the fresh perspective that only rest can bring. With my own pieces, I usually do this twice before I even give it to another editor. On really long pieces, I sometimes self-edit as many as five times before I let anybody else see it. As you learn more about your own writing, from editors, books, etc., the more you will enjoy self-editing. You WILL see an improvement on your writing. If you really don't have the time to sleep on a piece and edit it yourself, improvise. Take a break for a half hour. Take a walk. Grab a slice. Then come back and give it one good edit before you turn it in.
Cut Deep, But Don't Lose a Vital Organ - Wrapping Up the Revision Process
Go to town editing your piece. Once you've gotten that rest, or hormonal charge, or whatever gives you perspective, come back to that piece and rework it. Rearrange, reorganize. Add bits of research, helpful sidebars, classy quotes, but, most of all - cut cut cut. Take out the sermons, the eulogies to world peace within our lifetime, the endless, gushing praises, the redundant word choices. But as you cut and rearrange, don't lose something vital. Make sure the piece is still coherent. Make sure you didn't cut something the reader needs to know. If you cut a whole paragraph on “why such and such business is at the center of world progress,” but in the middle of that paragraph is an announcement of an upcoming event, cut the paragraph, but don't lose the event. Stick it in somewhere. When you move text, reread it.
If You Love Your Piece, Set it Free and Get it To Me - What to do When You Get Stuck
After slaving away for hours on your latest masterpiece, you will often reach a point where there is nothing more you can do without some trusted feedback. You know the point I'm talking about. It’s that time when you catch yourself staring at a blank page, obsessing about getting a word just right. Meanwhile, deep in the inner workings of your mind, you sense that your whole argument is a bit off, that you really might need a new introduction or a last-minute fact check or interview with an important source. But you don't want to face up to it. It's too painful. You've done so much work already. Can't the damn piece just be finished? It was never really that good in the first place. Hold up! When you're caught in this kind of thinking, stop. Cut your losses. Turn the piece in, while there's still time for the most feedback and/or editing! There's only so much you can do on your own without going crazy, and your imperfect effort is usually much better than you think. Trust your editor. Stuck? Call your editor.
IV. Closing Words of Inspiration
The Contradiction of Great Journalism - Why You Should Be Daring and Very Conservative at the Same Time
Have fun experimenting in your writing. Be daring - do what you want. But remember the basics of grammar and punctuation. There are lots of good reference books out there designed with you in mind, many of which are stocked in our office. There are also some very specific guidelines the we use consistently, so please acquaint yourself with those. Ask for a copy of the Optimist Style Guide from the editorial staff.
Hit The Road and Come Back with New Leads - How to Add Spice to Your Future Assignments
The more interesting the subject, the better the article. Find the latest news, the intrigue. Uncover a new lead. If you discover something new or different, your excitement will infect the reader. At the Optimist, we are always looking for new story ideas. And nothing will make you happier than to be able to write about your good friend or a noble cause that you have always wanted someone to cover.
What if You Don’t Like Your Edit?
As editors, our mission is to bring out the best in your writing. Often we will spot errors and confusing problems in your articles that you didn’t notice, and you’ll be thankful. We’re simply trying to help you make your point in the most accurate, readable fashion. But, amazingly enough, even the best editors are human, and sometimes our changes won’t strike you the right way. We do our best to nip that in the bud by involving you in the editing process, as long as your piece is submitted on time. But many times, due to the stressful nature of publication deadlines, this cooperative process just isn’t possible. In that case, the discussion over your edit often happens after the issue is out. At the Optimist, we are committed to working closely with you to help you hone your writing. But don’t hesitate to let us know if you are in any way dissatisfied with how your article appears. We are more than willing to hear your comments and develop an editorial process that benefits all parties.
Return the Favor
Seeing as how I went to the trouble to type all this out for you, do me the favor of giving me verbal and written feedback about this guide so that I can improve not only the guide, but (as my ulterior motive now becomes clear) my own writing as well.
