Hello,
One of our subscribers, Veronica Ryder, contacted us to say, "I would just like to thank Linda Acaster for her extremely useful
article 'Bursting through the block' in the July issue. I have spent a
month working through her suggested first lines – and I have found a
wealth of new ideas, as well as looking forward to getting out of bed in
the morning and WRITING instead of thinking about writing!"
I am pleased to hear that the article was a source of inspiration and I'm sure that this month's article will be equally thought-provoking for you all – as well as providing a very useful income source that you might not have previously considered.
We also have a great Top Tips section that tells you how to quadruple your chances of having an article published whilst doubling the amount you could be paid at the same time!
So, enjoy the newsletter – and feel free to contact me to let me know how E-zee Writer has helped you with your writing.
Have a great month,
Teresa
PS. Remember, you can still save £60 on our Freelance Journalism course if you enrol before 30th September. For full details go to: www.wbjournalism.com/ezj/
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THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES
"I am a student of The Writers Bureau. I have only completed one assignment but have been published already. A market I found in the Freelance Market News magazine accepted my application to write a tourist guide for them on the Ivory Coast, which I did with a thorough foundation from my first 5 modules. It was highly appreciated by the editor and was published on the 25th of June, 2007. I will be paid £300 – just assignment number one and I've gotten back my course fees! The organisation is Fishers Travel and their site is: www.fisherstravelsos.com (see the itinerary for country guides ready for sale and select Ivory Coast or Cote D'Ivoire)."
Kingsley Ohwoevwrukobo, Ivory Coast.
"My short article, 'Karin Blixen Museum' has won Kenya's Travel News Mag 'Letter of the Month' prize (two nights accommodation at Island Camp – Lake Baringo, Kenya – worth $700 US). Also, my fishing article 'Gamefish Galore off the Kenyan Coast' has been published on the web: www.40plustravelandleisure.com Payment: £45.
May I take this opportunity of thanking you for your patience and sound advice."
Vic Gerbhardt, UK.
Kingsley and Vic are both studying on our Comprehensive course. If you would like a prospectus for this course, then email us here with your full name and postal address.
Or, why not share your success stories with others. Just send an email to ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'Success Story' in the subject line.
FREELANCE MARKET NEWS
an essential guide for freelance writers
For up-to-date market information, Freelance Market News is invaluable.
Issued 11 times a year it's packed with information on markets in Britain and around the globe, plus you get all the latest news and views on the publishing world.
Every subscription comes with FREE membership of The Association of Freelance Writers. Your membership also entitles you to discounts on books and competitions, a free appraisal worth over £30 and a Membership Card which confirms your status as a Freelance Writer.
FREE sample markets are available to view at the website, along with more details about the magazine and how you can subscribe.
www.freelancemarketnews.com
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF FMN:
AVOIDING THE AARGH TO ZZZZZ OF WRITING!
Writing For The Business Market
by Vanessa Couchman
Writing for the business market can be an interesting and profitable way of making a living or supplementing income from other types of writing. Companies and organisations produce an ever-increasing flow of words that offers a wealth of opportunities to the freelance writer.
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS MARKET?
This is not really one market but many. Organisations in all sectors need to communicate. Their audiences include staff, existing and potential customers, other businesses and key players such as government departments. They produce a wide range of material, including leaflets and brochures, annual reports, speeches and presentations, management reports, newsletters, articles, instruction manuals, bid and tender documents and websites.
Organisations often seek external help to produce this literature because they don’t have time to do it themselves or they lack the skills in-house. They are usually seeking to express complex ideas in layman’s terms so it’s not necessary to be an expert in their field unless it is a specialised area, such as healthcare. The main skills you need are the ability to ask the right questions and make sense out of often muddled information.
GETTING WORK
In my experience, business writing projects come mainly through personal contacts and referrals. Everyone has contacts – they are surprisingly numerous if you make a list of them. It is simply a case of making the most of them. Many people find networking difficult or distasteful, but it really is the best way to get this type of work, especially at the start.
Useful sources are people you have been at school or university with, former work colleagues, contacts in professional organisations, alumni associations, clubs you belong to and so on. Websites such as www.friendsreunited.com are a useful way of finding out what former friends and colleagues are doing now.
Satisfied clients are also a good way of finding new business. Don’t be afraid to ask if they know someone else who might be able to use your services.
Other ways of getting work include:
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Mailshots targeted to specific markets, such as public relations firms or financial services companies. You need to show that you understand what they do and set out clearly what you can offer. Include a sample of previous, relevant work if it is short. This is labour-intensive because you need to find out whom to contact and follow-up by phone. A success rate of one or two per 100 is probably good going.
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Online agencies. There has been a huge increase in online agencies, such as www.freelancewriting.com and www.elance.com, which can be a source of work. You pay a subscription for listing your CV and/or for access to advertised projects for which you put in a bid. The downside is that clients often award the work to the lowest bidder, which drives down the market rate. And beware of scams and false opportunities.
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Setting up a website. This is a useful showcase to tempt potential customers once you have samples of work and testimonials, but it must look professional.
MANAGING ASSIGNMENTS
Once you have made a hot contact for a business writing project, there are several golden rules to follow:
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Discuss the project with the client at their workplace. They might have a vague idea of what they want but it is only in talking about it that the idea crystallizes. You can also get a feel for how they work and any internal politics.
- Write a detailed project brief that sets out your understanding of the task, how you will approach it, what the client’s role is, what the agreed timescale is for delivery and the cost. This should be appended to any contract that you enter into for doing the work.
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Keep in touch with the client throughout the project. Send them sample pages from time to time to get their opinion. This can save time on re-drafting later on.
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Be prepared, nonetheless, to do a lot of re-drafting and allow for this in your project brief. Most organisations are sensitive about how they present themselves. You can therefore expect your prose to be crawled over several times by a lot of people. This can be irritating, but they have to own the finished product.
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Always deliver on time. If you get a reputation for reliability you will get more work. If it is impossible to deliver on time, for example because the client has not provided crucial information, tell them as far in advance as possible and be clear about why.
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU CHARGE?
This will depend on the type of client you are writing for and the nature of the work. The private sector usually pays more than the public sector. Big companies pay more than small ones. There are no hard and fast rules, but some tips are:
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Charge a daily rate rather than a total price for the job. This is more flexible if the client later wants you to do more than originally specified.
- Don’t under-value your time. Business clients are used to paying a lot of money for management consultants so charging too little can reduce your credibility. Decide the minimum rate you will accept for the job and add a generous margin for negotiation.
WRITING STYLE
You will find that you have to adapt the writing style according to the kind of piece it is. However, you can’t go far wrong if you:
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Follow the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid!) principle. Use short sentences and simple words.
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Use a clear and logical structure. Whether the piece is selling, informing or persuading there should be a clear message running through it.
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Keep it as short as possible. Break up chunks of text with bullet points.
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Avoid jargon. If acronyms are essential, spell them out on first use and use the acronym thereafter.
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If using graphs or tables make sure they clearly illustrate points made in the text and are easy to decipher.
- Avoid clichés, such as 'at this moment in time', and foreign phrases or Latin tags, such as 'carpe diem'.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
A useful source of information is www.author-network.com, which has links to websites aimed specifically at freelance business writers as well as articles and writers’ resources. www.xchangeteam.com is an online agency that charges the client rather than the freelancer. They specialise in assignments in communications and marketing.
AUTHOR'S BIO
Vanessa Couchman is a freelance writer who specialises in writing for the business market. She has written a wide range of corporate literature for public and private sector clients.
TOP TIPS...for submitting photos
Remember the belief supposedly engraved on every picture editor's heart...a good picture is worth a thousand words? It's certainly true, and here's something else that's true...article writers quadruple their chances of acceptance and double their fees by submitting photographs with their work. So, here are our 10 tips on how to do it!
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You don't have to be a photographic genius. With today's digital cameras and a little knowledge of image manipulation (which you can easily learn) you can take photos good enough to illustrate your articles – and they'll be unique.
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If you really can't take the pictures yourself, try to come to a fair agreement with a good amateur photographer or a friend who is confident with a camera. Do a project together and then split the proceeds – a win-win agreement for both of you!
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Many places of interest – museums, stately homes, theme parks etc. – will give you permission to use the PR photos that they have in their brochures or on their website for free. They usually expect you to credit the pictures to them but this shouldn't create a problem. But you must gain permission as the copyright will be theirs or belong to the photographer who took the shot.
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Remember that if you are writing a biography or a feature and the subject provides you with a photo that was taken in a studio, then the copyright still belongs to that studio or the professional photographer working for them.
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Also, you can't just reproduce images that appear on the Internet – you have to get permission to use them – and if you can't get this from the site on which they appear then forget it!
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Many amateur photographers love taking 'artistic' shots of sunsets, clouds, landscapes etc. These may be beautiful but what most editors are looking for are clear pictures that contain a person – especially if they are doing something visually interesting. They want photos that are well-composed and actually get the reader involved with the subject on some level – whether it is a person or an inanimate object such as a building.
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Always supply pictures in the format that the editor specifies. So do your research thoroughly. Many will accept digital images, clear prints or transparencies. But if you are sending digital images make sure you know whether they prefer them on a disc or as attachments in the preferred format.
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However you send your photos, make sure that they are properly labelled with clear, descriptive captions.
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Always ensure that you make it clear that you are giving permission for single use only. If an editor wants to use the picture more than once he/she should be prepared to pay you again.
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Above all, be creative and don't be afraid to experiment. Have confidence in your own ideas – digital imaging sets amateurs free to produce pictures that rival those produced by the professionals.
This is a great site for accessing quick, relevant, up-to-date information from reliable sources on millions of different topics: www.answers.com
Bloomsbury publishers have a Guide For Unpublished Writers on their site which includes advice from an editor and a literary agent along with details of submission guidelines to Bloomsbury: www.bloomsbury.com/WritersArea/Get_Published.asp
This has to be the most in-depth glossary of poetic terms available on the net (though I'd be happy to hear from anyone who wanted to prove me wrong!) The site also includes lots of examples to illustrate the terms further: www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html
This site contains a variety of free articles covering both the act of writing and the business of getting published: www.spacejock.com.au/Articles.html
That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month, Elizabeth Ashworth offers advice on how to write for young readers.
As usual, if you've any suggestions or would like to comment on content then please contact Teresa at:
ezeewriter@writersbureau.com
And don't forget – if you've enjoyed this issue of E-zee Writer and found it useful, tell your friends about it so that they can subscribe too!
www.writersbureau.com/resources/ezewriter.htm
THE WRITERS BUREAU, SEVENDALE HOUSE, 7 DALE STREET,
MANCHESTER, M1 1JB, ENGLAND.
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