THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES
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"When I enrolled on The Writers Bureau course in February 2007 I had two goals. Firstly, I was keen to receive some constructive criticism on my fiction and find out how to improve my writing before trying to find a market for my work. Secondly, I wanted to break into writing non-fiction and earn money from what had so far been a hobby.
Initially I knew very little about freelance writing. As well as giving me a good understanding of the importance of market research, the course showed me how to target magazines and pitch ideas.
Working on my fourth assignment, which focussed on identifying filler slots and writing short articles, led to my first successful pitch. The piece was published in the Guardian Family section in June. Around the same time I was contacted by The Green Parent magazine expressing interest in two articles which I'd written as part of my second and third assignments.
In September, my first full-length article was published in the Daily Express and I have just written my first feature for Practical Parenting magazine.
Including payment for a few published letters I was able to invoice for £1015 before the end of the year. I've recently set up a website (www.shelleyflanagan.com) and had business cards printed.
This time last year I couldn't imagine being where I am now. The only problem is that I've had little time to focus on the assignments since September as I've been concentrating on contacting editors and pitching ideas, so I've still to finish Assignment Six!
Besides getting me started as a freelance writer, The Writers Bureau course has helped to boost my confidence as a writer. I've received double my course fees within eight months of submitting my first assignment and it's great to be able to tell my family that I'm now earning from what was previously no more than a passion."
Shelley Flanagan |
If you would like a prospectus for the Comprehensive course that Shelley is studying, then email us here with your full name and postal address.
Or, to 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:
THE SECRETS OF SUCCESS
The Complete Angler!
by Heather Cooke
Back in the 17th century, Isaak Walton penned a book that became part of literary history and the stuff of quiz questions: The Compleat (sic!) Angler. Unlike its namesake, my article is not about fishing, although its title is decidedly fishy. Can an article be a "complete" guide to anything? You'd be rightly suspicious of any article here that was called The Complete Writer.
Books can certainly aim to cover a subject in depth, but in an article we need to tighten the focus, decide on an appropriate angle. In that sense, a successful freelance writer does need to be an angler. Why? Two reasons! One, because editors are looking for something original, rather than a list of facts about well-worn subjects. Two, because the tighter the focus each time, the more articles you can write from the same research. More articles, more cheques. Clever, eh?
If we're to become complete anglers when it comes to writing, we need to ask ourselves three very important questions:
What is an angle?
First things first, then! What do writers mean by "angle"? Basically, it's a combination of two factors: theme and approach.
The theme of an article is its principal message for the reader. Rather than simply record everything you know about the subject, or everything you remember about a place or an event, ask yourself the question: "What do I want to say about this subject?" Sometimes it helps if you just complete the single sentence: "This article shows that... (or how... or why...)" If you can't sum it up in one sentence, then you aren't yet clear about your theme. For example, this article shows how "angling" can help us write successful articles.
The second important element to the angle is the approach, which includes both style and viewpoint. Are you writing a personal article, for example, or a factual one, a humorous account or a how-to piece? In a dramatic account of something that happened to you, the use of "I" would obviously be ideal. However, on many occasions using "I" isn't appropriate. If the article isn't about you, it's probably best to stay out of it! Indeed, many editors ban "I" except in designated slots for personal opinion or experience.
Since E-zee Writer is a friendly forum for writers to swap trade secrets, using "I" can be justified here – as long as it's kept to a minimum. Reading an article with too much "I" in it is like trying to have a conversation with someone who won't shut up. Because we do share interests, I'm addressing "you" directly and lining up alongside you in "we"! Naturally, this wouldn't always be appropriate either.
Sometimes the angle can include the use of sustained imagery, such as my fishy examples and puns...
How do I get the right angle?
We're not talking ninety degrees here! The right angle to a writer is the one that will sell the article. This is where those useful little questions come in, the ones Kipling described as the honest serving men, so ask yourself:
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How do I find the right angle?
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Who am I writing for?
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What do they want to read about?
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Why will they be reading this?
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When will the article be published?
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Where will it be published and/or circulated?
The most important question of all is "who?" – unless we know the target readership, there's little chance of producing a marketable article. Having identified a potential target publication, the more we can find out about its readers, the better: their age, gender, interests, jobs, whether they have children, how much money they have to spend, how educated they are. Ads, problem pages and readers' letters (and the published articles and stories, of course) can all tell us who the readers are, as well as what they want to read and why.
Experienced anglers of the piscatorial variety won't need an introduction to the joys of fishing – they're already convinced. Mums with young children would take a lot of persuading that a riverbank pursuit was a safe family hobby!
Many editors will let you have their writers' guidelines, if you send them a stamped, addressed envelope; some put their guidelines on their websites. I've often downloaded information intended for advertisers, too, full of useful detail. Keep abreast of new requirements by reading specialist writers' magazines. If you're reading this, you're probably already familiar with Freelance Market News - if not, you'll find details at: www.freelancemarketnews.com
Timing is crucial when angling an article, too. Would it benefit from a seasonal angle? Could it be linked to a forthcoming anniversary? An earlier issue of E-zee Writer might help here:
www.writersbureau.com/resources/pastissues/December2006.htm
Location is important, not only for establishing a suitable angle (will British readers want something that only uses American research, or vice versa?) but also for narrowing down the rights you offer in the article! The more specific the rights, the more times you can sell it.
How do I stick to it?
Throughout the writing and editing stages, keep checking relevance. Be like an angler on the riverbank – patient, single-minded. Ask yourself, "Am I sticking to the point?" and be brutal in your editing! Identify anything that doesn't illustrate the theme in some way. Can you make it do so? If not, cut it out. Depending on the market (as ever!) there may be a use for some material you remove. I've sometimes used it in sidebars, to accompany the main article.
It's all too easy to forget that an article should have a beginning, a middle and an end! The beginning needs to hook your readers, get their attention, establish the approach and introduce the theme. The middle then gradually reels them in, making a series of points to illustrate or develop that theme, each fact angled to show its relevance to that message. The ending sums up what has gone before, highlights the theme, and leaves the reader with a sense of resolution, a feeling of closure or conclusion. The fish is well and truly landed!
Be a complete angler, and don't let your next article be the one that got away...
AUTHOR'S BIO
Heather Cooke has had hundreds of articles, stories, puzzles and quizzes published in markets ranging from Chat to the Church Times, as well as three novels. None of them on fishing! She is a Writers Bureau tutor, teaching both fiction and non-fiction.
TOP TIPS...
on writing the perfect poem
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Make sure that what you have to say is original – unless, of course, you are writing entirely for therapeutic reasons. The birth of a baby, your favourite pet, war and famine, the beauty of nature, unrequited/lost love are all themes that people write about...again and again and again. So, try to think of something different – or at least look for an original approach.
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Use all the tools at your disposal: a wide vocabulary, similes, metaphors and alliteration – but try to make your imagery fresh and unusual. Avoid clichéd expressions such as 'white as snow', 'green with envy', 'hands as cold as ice', 'a heart of stone' and the many others that you must be familiar with.
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If you are using a rhyming scheme (abab or aabb) make sure that the words you use actually do rhyme. For example the words 'box' and 'flocks' rhyme but if you used 'box' and 'flock' you lose this.
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Don't torture the natural word order to get a rhyme. The following has a very odd feel to it:
You wanted some new books, and so
you said, 'Now to the library go'.
Instead you could re-write it more naturally as:
You wanted some new books, and said
'Go to the library'. Off I sped
If your poem is supposed to be in a particular form (ie a limerick or a sonnet) make sure that you not only use the correct rhyming scheme but that you also use the correct metre. In simplified terms this is the number of 'beats' in each line. For example, a limerick has 5 lines and has the following rhyming scheme: aabba
Lines 1, 2 and 5 have 3 beats each while lines 3 and 4 have two beats each. If you tap out the metre with your hand you'll soon see what we mean:
A lady who hoped to find fame
Made poetry writing her aim.
She wrote day after day
Till they took her away –
But nobody's heard of her name
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Always give your poem a title – it focuses your reader's attention.
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Make sure you punctuate your poems. Some free verse poems make a point of not using punctuation but the majority of both rhyming works and free verse need punctuation. And your punctuation should do exactly the same job as in a piece of prose – it should help your reader with the meaning and show when a pause is necessary.
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Avoid archaic or overtly 'poetic' language. Use 'you' not 'thee', 'over' not 'o'er' and stay clear of 'sylvan glades' or 'hosts of golden daffodils'!
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Make sure your free verse is just that – not a slab of prose broken into shorter lines. Even if your work does not rhyme, it must still have rhythm and metre.
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Once the initial outpouring has finished, put your work to one side and let it stand for a few days. Then go back to it and read it again in the cold light of day. Alter any words that don't sound right, check your punctuation, the rhythm and the rhyme (if it is not free verse). Also stand back and see if it still gives you the same pleasure that it did when you were writing it. Finally, read it aloud to yourself – that's the best way of telling if it really works as a poem.
Remember, you're writing for yourself but it should be a matter of pride to make every poem you compose original and worthwhile so that, hopefully, it will give others as much pleasure when they read it as you got from writing it.
Do you have a passion for Poetry? Would you like to work one-to-one, on topics of your choice, with course author Alison Chisholm – one of the UK's leading poets? If so, visit our website now for details of this fun and informative course.
www.poetrywriting.co.uk
The more tech-friendly of you might like to check out this site which has over 3,500 books available for you to download free onto your PDA, iPod, or eBook reader. http://manybooks.net
This is a fabulous site, packed full of useful information on a variety of writing-related topics. You can also sign up to have tips sent directly to you via RSS or email. www.dailywritingtips.com
You may well have a dictionary and a theasaurus but here's a niche site to bookmark for future reference – just in case one of your characters should ever develop a fear of clowns...or bicycles...or clouds! www.phobiaguide.com
...and just for fun, the following link takes you to a Shakespeare insult generator. Perfect for letting off steam if a rejection letter falls onto the doormat! www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html
That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month, Lorraine Mace has some advice on how to secure your own column for a regular writing income.
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
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