THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES
 |
"If success is measured by rapid financial gain, then I'm a failure. At least I was until I received a contract in November 2006 entitling me to US$25,000 plus from Shannon Productions in Hollywood.
I started The Writers Bureau course in 2003 and for two years sporadically crafted what I thought were perfectly pitched articles. A few were published but many more were rejected and for good reason – I ignored my tutor's instructions to approach my writing systematically and professionally.
Still, I've since earned back the cost of the course with commissions and have been published in SubSea Diving, News4, Go Red Sea Egypt, Islamic Tourism, Swimming Times UK and Alighted magazines. Modest success indeed.
During this period I also worked full-time, married, gave birth and relocated to Egypt with my Arabian husband only to realise 'till death do us part' wasn't going to happen. Secretly departing Egypt with just the clothes on my back and my baby in a sling I returned to Ireland to face penury.
Fortunately pens and paper are affordable means of escaping reality and I began scribbling every day for six months until I was ready to edit the notebooks piled up around me.
With advice from my tutor I completed a book proposal based on these scribblings, which I sent to literary agents TriadUS who signed me up on condition I re-wrote the proposal into a situation comedy for television. Using examples set out in the modules I managed to put together a TV treatment illustrating my concept.
Eureka! The pilot for my TV series is scheduled for production in 2007 and the original book proposal is currently being considered by Random House.
In the meantime I plan to continue writing daily for markets I've carefully researched and resume submitting completed assignments in the voice I never listened to until life, The Writers Bureau and my agent taught me how.
Elizabeth Hutcheson, Ireland. |
It's easy 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 £18 and a Membership Card which confirms your status as a Freelance Writer. For full details and to subscribe visit the website at: www.freelancemarketnews.com
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF FMN:
WHERE TO SELL YOUR GHOSTLY TALES
Local Papers Are Good News
For Writers
by Phyllis Ring
Some years back, a friend who freelanced for a local newspaper gave me a very lucky break.
She was desperate – her article deadline was just three days away – and the flu had rendered her unable to keep an interview appointment with her source, the owner of a local beverage company. She’d convinced her editor to let me give the story a try, and promised back-up assistance if I needed it.
I’d been writing for about three years, publishing things only very occasionally in places no one had ever heard of for unremarkable sums of money. And because I’d been writing first and marketing later, a three-day deadline seemed very intimidating.
My first lesson in what would become a newspaper-writing career: be well-prepared to work as efficiently as possible on tight deadlines. It will make you a better writer, because nothing forces you to organize – and prioritise – like a do-or-die deadline.
I brought my friend some sickbed reading and gathered up every bit of background she had about her source and studied it closely before the interview. I knew nothing about the soft-drink bottling business, but the owner was more than happy to educate me about the company his family has kept alive for three generations.
I realized quickly what would make newspaper writing different from my earlier freelance efforts: writing about what you know is good, but being a person with writing skills means you can also be the eyes and ears that help readers learn. You simply have to approach the work with those eyes and ears open – and the right questions.
The interview subject gave me great quotes and was a wonderful storyteller. Still, when it came time to write the story, I held to rules that have never failed me: keep the writing succinct (in this case, absolutely nothing over the 800-word maximum); make it clear and accurate and keep the tone conversational, even friendly.
After the interview, conscious of how little time I had, I did something that has served me well ever since. I came home and drafted out whatever I could remember from the interview, looking for places where things linked naturally and transitions were obvious.
In the hundreds of articles I’ve since written for magazines and newspapers, I’ve seldom included much more than what I capture in these “first thoughts”, even when faced with multiple tapes of complex interviews. It is within this process that I usually “discover” the lead, if I haven’t already heard it during the interview, and often intuit how the story will wrap, as well.
After I submitted that first story, the editor called two days later to alert me to the lucrative prospects of freelancing for newspapers: show you can do the job, make yourself available, and there may be a nearly inexhaustible supply of story ideas for you to take on assignment. The editor offered me three in this first call. Eventually, the stories I wrote were developed from ideas of my own.
I quickly learned that ideas are currency in this business, and a lifeline to future work. Although I was a features writer, I watched the success reporters had making friends on their beats and cultivated similar friendships in the community. One assignment has led consistently to another, and the pace of this kind of writing also keeps me well-stocked with ideas, many of which find their way into successful magazine queries. Almost as many have also found homes as resales both in print magazine and on the internet. In fact, newspapers’ demand for tighter writing and subheads makes the manuscripts I create even more marketable to electronic publications.
Today, there are often more opportunities than ever to publish with newspapers for a couple of reasons. One is their huge, ongoing need for content, which they also require more regularly and frequently than do most magazines. Another is their tendency toward running more general material, which makes them a great place to sell human-interest features. In addition, many newspapers are having to cut back on staffing and are eager to use freelancers’ work in order to keep expenses down.
While newspaper writing may not always pay as well as other markets, those paycheques usually arrive like clockwork within a week or so of publication. I’ve never had to chase anyone for payment. In addition, because I’ve worked for a company that produces several publications, other editors frequently contact me with assignments based on their editorial needs after they see a piece I’ve completed for one of their co-workers.
I now know a good bit more about life on their side of the desk, because freelancing eventually led me to a stint as a newspaper editor and staff writer. I moved (quickly) from in-house staff writer to copy editor to features editor – the same desk to which I had delivered my soft-drink story.
Maybe the universe sent me that distress call from my friend to get me moving on what I could have done myself without waiting for an invitation. The features section of that newspaper had an enormous need for stories. Equipped with the clips I already had, I could easily have approached that editor (in appropriate fashion, by query or phone call to set up an appointment) to let her know that I was available to take freelance assignments. Even without clips, a carefully crafted manuscript sample or two, along with at least one compelling story idea that showed I read the paper and knew my community, would have gotten me in the door.
AUTHOR'S BIO
Phyllis Ring worked for eight years as features editor for a newspaper group in New Hampshire before returning to full-time freelancing. She has published several hundred articles in a variety of publications that include American Profile, Bay Area Parent, Delicious Living, Family Business, Freelance Market News, Ms., The World & I, and Writer’s Digest. She has also tutored for The Writers Bureau.
TOP TIPS
As The Writers Bureau Short Story & Poetry Writing Competition is now open for entries, we give you 10 top tips on how to improve your success rate when you enter a poetry competition:
-
Wherever you are and whatever the time of day, always keep a notebook handy. You never know when the inspiration for a new poem will come to you. It’s so easy to forget your ideas when you’ve lots of other things on your mind – and you might just be losing a winner.
-
Avoid hackneyed themes. You might have just had a painful love affair and want to write about it – but so will many other poets. Unless you can bring something new and original to your theme the judges will pass it by. The same goes for natural disasters, wars and abuse. They tug at your heart strings, but they also inspire others. In the wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami there were lots of entries on that theme – all of them valid, but none of them winners.
-
Most competitions are open – so they will accept both free verse or rhyming work. But don’t mistake free verse for a slab of prose. There is a distinct difference between the two and poetry must have structure and rhythm. It must also be properly punctuated. Punctuation in poetry can be more fluid and imaginative but it must still do its intended job – to indicate pauses and breathing spaces.
-
If you do chose to use a specific form – such as a sonnet or a limerick – make sure that you follow the necessary metre and rhyming scheme. And don’t invert phrases unnaturally to get appropriate rhymes at the end of lines – this is a real ‘no-no’ for judges.
-
Never use ‘antique’ phrases such ‘thus’, ‘poesy’ and ‘doest’. Also, check your similes and metaphors carefully to make sure that they are fresh and original.
-
Always follow the rules – so watch your line limit. If the organisers say 40 lines you’ll be throwing away your money if your poem runs to 45.
-
Don’t get unhealthily attached to a particular poem. If it’s not been placed in a couple of competitions try to look at it objectively. You might be able to use the same theme but how about starting again and re-working it?
-
Polish, polish and polish again. Make sure your work is perfect. When competition is fierce only the best will win.
-
When entering a competition give yourself plenty of time. We all know that you can dash off a poem and then send it by email the day before the deadline. But, you need to be able to put your work aside after you have written it and then come back to it with a fresh mind so that you can spot any flaws. And don’t forget Tip 8, above.
-
Finally, and probably most importantly, write with integrity. Make every entry your best, irrespective of how large or how small the prize money .
Inspired by the Top Tips above? Simply bookmark the following site to make sure you approach entering poetry competitions is an organised and professional manner. Good luck! www.poetrykit.org/comps.htm
Editors are increasingly willing to accept an article if it's accompanied by a quality image so have a look at iStockphoto. It is free to register and you then buy credits to use against royalty-free pictures of your choice. The range is excellent, with a vast library of images that is easy to search. This site offers a genuinely cost-effective option for writers who want to help their articles stand out from the crowd: www.istockphoto.com
This site scans the Internet for the very best sites and rates them for readability, ease of navigation etc. Simply type in your topic of interest for a list of quality related sites: www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk
This month's featured tutor is Janie Jackson. As you will see from her website, she is a Fleet Street veteran, a consumate professional and a workaholic t'boot! On top of her writing and tutoring she also offers consultancy services and produces a newsletter for other writers: www.flair4words.co.uk
That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month, Lorraine Mace shows you how to Rewrite, Recycle and Rejoice!
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.
|