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Write
Articles for Profit
Articles
represent one of the easiest ways to become a well-paid published
writer and, despite what some people say, it’s by no means difficult
to write an article and be paid hundreds of pounds for just a few
thousand words.
Articles
take many forms, including:
Informative
How-To-Do-It
Self-Help
Controversial
Art of Living
Personality Profile
Personal Experience
Nostalgia
Humour
This
summary is not however, conclusive. A great deal of overlap can
occur between the different types. A personality profile can
be serious or humorous, and a nostalgia piece can often come
entirely from the personal experiences of its author.
The
various basic article forms are discussed in great detail in the
best book I ever read on the subject of article writing. In
'Article Techniques That Sell', Louise Boggess analyses each
type, and presents her findings in an easy to read manner. She
writes with great authority.
She
also offers the best advice I have ever come by on how to develop
one's article, in a manner that will maintain the reader's interest
from beginning to end. It's a brilliant book, so full of information
that at first it left me hopelessly confused, and completely
disheartened.
So I
read it again, and found it made a little more sense. On the third
reading everything fell completely into place. I have read
many other books and articles since, but nothing compares with
Boggess on the techniques of article writing. A MUST for the
aspiring article writer.
Considering the many types of article on magazine and newspaper
stands, it is perhaps stating the obvious to suggest that your
market study must be at least as thorough as the research you put
into gathering the facts for your article itself. Try the wrong
market with an otherwise brilliant, well structured article,
containing newly unearthed details, and you'll unfortunately get
what you deserve. Yes. A rejection slip!
Before
we go any further with the actual writing of an article, we must
consider what market research is all about, and decide for ourselves
just why such importance attaches to it.
Gordon
Wells is, for me, the foremost authority on market research. With a
fine toothcomb he unpicks the articles in his target publication to
such a degree, that at first I thought he was mad. My first
few rejection slips convinced me otherwise of the reasons for his
almost terrier-like tearing apart of an article, as he discovers for
himself what sentence and paragraph lengths a market prefers, what
style of writing predominates, what subjects they choose, and on
what level the writer generally relates to the reader. His book
'The Craft of Writing Articles' is another essential tool for
those less experienced than Mr. Wells.
For
advice on gathering facts and information, and deciding upon the
appropriateness of such of your prospective article, John Hines is
the man to read. In 'The Way to Write Magazine Articles' he
lets us in on a method of collecting and recording data which he
calls 'Non-Linear Thought Patterns'. He and his wife,
another successful writer of articles, use this diagrammatical
method, which enables them to see their collected information at a
glance, usually on one page, and allows them to decide which are the
most salient points, and whether in fact they have sufficient data
for further articles. Highly recommended!
Because
space is so limited, I have pulled together those pieces of advice I
consider of most use to the writer in the early stages of his
development. Nothing will beat reading the many excellent books
available, as you undergo the vitally important challenge of
improving and refining your article writing abilities, essential for
your entry into the higher paying markets.
When
considering how an article is put together, there are many who would
suggest it has three components only: a beginning, a middle, and an
end. This in itself is an adequate breakdown, but I would venture to
suggest that it can be expanded upon. I say this purely as a result
of the Boggess' book to which I am so heavily indebted. So I
make no apologies for now going into a little extra detail of the
shape of an article as seen through Boggess' eyes.
For
Boggess the article is broken down into:
THE
HOOK.
This is a device employed at the beginning of the article, intended
to draw in the reader and make him want to keep on reading. Boggess
outlines many types of hook, each with its own particular
characteristics and advantages. The most startling or interesting
fact to emerge from your research is usually the one to use here.
THE
CAPSULE SENTENCE.
Here we sum up as briefly as possible what it is we are going to
tell or show the reader in the paragraphs that follow. It is that
part in which you convince the reader what follows will be of such
interest that setting aside the article is the very last thing he
must do.
DEVELOPMENT.
This is the main body of the article, in which you assemble, in a
logical way, the points you wish to make. Boggess, as do most
authorities, suggests counting the number of development points in
published articles in your target market. Five strong points, she
says, work better than ten weak ones, so there's no advantage to be
gained by throwing in all the facts at your disposal. Weaker facts,
she suggests, should be eliminated, restated, or combined, until you
have a number appropriate to that preferred by your target market.
She also gives advice on the order in which to present your points.
Development points must not be presented as a mere catalogue of
facts. They must make interesting reading, or else even the most
startling of information can become boring to the reader and you
will soon lose his interest, that is, if your manuscript ever gets
past the critical eye of the editor.
Boggess
goes into an elaborate discussion of other techniques by which to
hold the reader's interest from beginning to end. She covers what
are termed Transitions, Expansion Devices, methods of Overlapping
the Breaks, and Erasing the Paragraphs. Sounds confusing, and at
first reading it is just that; on second and third reading it
becomes unbelievably simple and extremely useful.
CONCLUSION.
the writer sums up what has gone before as briefly and informatively
as possible.
THE
TWIST.
This is a short statement or anecdote that emphasises the purpose of
the article. Boggess suggests it encourages the reader:
To
Think
To Act
To
Chuckle
To Sob
The
title you give your article can play an extremely significant part
in its chances of acceptance. A good title can attract the eye of a
busy editor, and encourage him to read on, when the reverse might
have been true had you presented even an excellent article with a
mundane title. The title you choose might not appear on the
published article, but it can still be the one that gets it to be
considered for publication in the first place. Look at the titles in
your target publication and fashion yours to suit. Does the editor
seem to favour wacky titles such as those resulting from a neat play
on words, or do they instead go for straight-to-the-point titles?
Words,
being your prime tool, must be chosen with care, but you should
always write in as plain a fashion as possible. Seek to impress the
reader with a brilliant display of vocabulary that sends him running
for his dictionary, and you may find you've lost him. He wants
to know what you have to say, not be bombarded with complicated
words that rarely enter his everyday vocabulary. But your choice of
these everyday words is of paramount importance and you should seek
the exact word to convey your message. A great book on the topic of
word selection is Gary Provost's 'Make Every Word Count'.
It is equally useful for fiction writers, and a book I heartily
recommend you have on your bookshelf.
In
appropriate cases the inclusion of photos to illustrate your article
can make all the difference between rejection and publication. You
don't have to be a brilliant photographer, you don't even need to
take the photos yourself, since many photographic libraries can
provide the illustrations you require though usually at a price.
To save expense it is worthwhile learning how to take the
photographs yourself, and I would point you towards the John Hines'
book mentioned earlier, which includes an excellent chapter on
photography.
A
distinction must be made between unsolicited and solicited writing.
Basically unsolicited writing is that which is sent to a target
market without that market's prior knowledge, and because you are
not likely to be fully aware of the requirements of the editor
concerned, you risk a rejection, not because your work is unsound,
but simply because it doesn't fit into the editor's overall plan for
future publications. With solicited writing however, you query
the editor in advance, telling him what you have in mind for a
particular article, and asking him to let you know if he wants to
see your work.
Solicited writing allows the editor to make comments he feels
appropriate to the article you propose. The problem here for
the beginning article writer, is lack of a track record to convince
the editor of his ability to produce the article in a professional
manner, and one appropriate to the publication concerned. So what
you lack in previous acceptances, you must make up for in the
professionalism you put into your work.
You
must always give your work your best, but never more so than when
you are starting out. First impressions count, and once you have
made a successful sale, that editor will be more inclined to accept
work from you, whether solicited or otherwise. Working to
commission, that is solicited writing, will always have the
advantage of saving you time in preparing work, which though
extremely good, is not what your editor currently requires.
Wherever you can approach an editor in advance.
Remember the market for articles is vast and editors are forever on
the lookout for new contributors. Read as many books on the subject
as you can. Don't seek to hit the big time in the early days;
there's plenty of time for that when you have established a track
record with which to impress the editors of those slick magazines
and much-revered Fleet Street newspapers.
Strive
for professionalism in everything you write, and success will come
sooner than you think.
-----------------------------------------
Quote
'Use
killer leads (Hooks). They're hard to come up with but they'll
set you apart from most of the slush that editors see.’ John
Wood, Editor.
-----------------------------------------
About
The Author
Avril
Harper (http://www.fillerfactory.com)
is the author of 'How
to Be a Five Minute Writer' and spends a great deal of her
own full-time writing day creating short pieces for regular, high
ticket rewards.
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