E-zee Writer
Top Tips For Writers

Index

Student Stories

Feature Article

Your Feedback

The Writing Clinic

Useful Sites for Writers

End Note

The Writers Bureau
Sevendale House,
7 Dale Street
Manchester,
M1 1JB,
England

ezeewriter@writersbureau.com

Tel: +44 161 228 2362
Fax: +44 161 236 9440

WRITERS BUREAU STUDENT STORIES

"The New Year (2005) was welcomed by the publication of a local history article of mine in a bilingual (Greek-English) magazine. I was commissioned to do two more articles (one about Benaki Museum, which is one of the oldest museums in Athens, and another one about the life and works of sisters Brontë); both of them have already been submitted and are about to be printed in forthcoming issues. I also signed a contract with this magazine and I'll be writing articles for them.

Many thanks to the Writers Bureau and especially to my tutor Lyndsey Jones for her constructive comments and advice. Now I am about to start the fiction part of the Comprehensive Creative Writing Course and I feel as if a door to magic has been opened for me!"

Smaragdi Mitropoulou, Greece.

"Having struggled through the Writers Bureau course for almost a year now with no publishing success and the development of a severe writer's complex, I have finally achieved the boost I needed. Recently I won a monetary prize for a reader's letter I submitted to a national newspaper. The amount is insignificant but the experience inspired me and I hope to ride on this wave for as long as it takes to see myself in print again!"

Melissa Fagan, London.

Well done and good luck to both Smaragdi and Melissa as they continue to pursue writing success. We all need the boost of published, printed and paid work to keep us going along the way so congratulations on your achievements and keep up the good work!

If you are a student of The Writers Bureau, undertaking any of our courses, and would like to share your writing successes with other E-zee Writer readers then 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: www.writersbureau.com/fmn/

Most editors today expect freelancers to boost an article’s credibility with quoted material from one or more expert sources. To find and incorporate these perspectives successfully, we need a repertoire of effective and professional interview techniques.

Essentially, the interviewee does the writer a favour, helping us to write accurately about what we don't know and make it understandable and interesting to the reader. At best, they also become a point of reference for other contacts and resources and have even provided me with future story ideas.

As more things compete for our time and attention, prospective interviewees, especially experts, can be hard to reach. Contact a potential source as far ahead of your deadline as possible because even in our instant-communication age, people go on sabbaticals or get buried under an avalanche of correspondence. You may need to contact several sources to acquire enough information so compile a list of prospects in case some refuse or don't respond. You can always include several sources, or save some of the input you receive for a future story or resale.

Show consideration for a source's time by demonstrating that you've done your homework and will conduct the interview in a professional way. Before making initial contact, equip yourself with basic information about the topic and, when possible, the interviewee. Internet search engines make this easier than ever. One pre-interview search revealed that my potential source had written a book about raising sons in addition to the one on adoption I'd already seen. This helped shape the questions I asked her, as well as the focus and outline of my article.

Knowing more about your source and topic helps you build rapport, recognize and understand the topic's terminology, and frame open-ended questions that will be interesting for your source to answer. For experts, especially, it's troubling to be asked repeatedly to supply the most basic information by interviewers who haven't bothered to educate themselves first.

Gathering some information ahead of time has another advantage. On first contact, many sources want to know what you're going to ask about. More than one busy expert has also told me, “I can give you a few minutes right now.” If I hadn't done some homework first, I'd have missed a window of opportunity with someone I might not easily reach again.

Whether you telephone, write, or email, state your interview request clearly and specifically: “I've been assigned by Magazine X to write an article about how women with diabetes can prepare for healthy pregnancy. Are you willing to answer questions for this story?” If you don't have an assignment from a publication, simply state what you intend to write and request the interview. If the person asks where a story will be published, name the publication(s) you plan to query about it (information you'll need to research and have on hand).

Specify the deadline by which you'll need information and provide an estimate of how much time you'll need for a face-to-face or telephone interview. Decide together what the best type of interview format will be for your mutual convenience. Email interviews have made the whole process more accessible – and faster – but even if this isn't possible, you can still email, fax, or mail questions for your source to see ahead of time. All contact should be made at your expense although occasionally sources may prefer to call you back for personal convenience.

If you make your interview request by mail, email, or voicemail, plan to follow up by phone or email at least once if you don't receive a reply within 5-7 business days. State in your initial request that you will follow up, and when, according to the needs of your deadline.

What if your source asks, “You'll send me a copy of the article for review before it's published, right?”

Allowing sources to see a manuscript and have control over its content will usually compromise its integrity and blur the distinction between unbiased reporting and promotional material. As a writer, your obligation to the interviewee and to the publication for which you're writing is to be fair, accurate, and unbiased in the way you use the material disclosed in the interview. Obviously, this means that you’ve got a big job to do in getting all of the facts right and conveying them in as balanced a way as you can but unless the sources themselves are contracting your services to write the piece, you owe them nothing more than that.

My usual response is to say politely and without apology that the publication I'm writing for doesn't allow this, as indeed most do not. If interviewees are insistent on seeing what I write before it's published, I offer them the option of seeing the quoted material I plan to use, but nothing more.

There are times when writers may CHOOSE to accommodate this request in a modified way. For instance, I've sometimes made an exception when the topic was a very complex one. I once interviewed a wild-plant specialist who offered to review the confounding Latin plant names the story would inevitably include. It was an unobtrusive offer of assistance I accepted gladly – even though I majored in plant sciences in college – because I wanted the subject, the magazine, and myself to all look professional.

Professionalism – and courtesy – are two of the most important things the writer brings to the interview process. Doing our homework and preparing ourselves thoroughly even before we talk with sources maximizes their time and effectiveness – and our own. This helps us glean the kind of information and input that put our manuscript a cut above, and may even gain us a contact we can turn to for future article ideas, too.

AUTHOR'S BIO

Phyllis Ring is a US-based writer who has previously published pieces in E-zee Writer and Freelance Market News. She has also published articles in such publications as American Profile, Bay Area Parent, Christian Science Monitor, Hope, Ms., Writer’s Digest Forum, and Writers Weekly.

THE WRITING CLINIC

If you have a question you want answering then send it to: ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'The Writing Clinic' in the subject line. We only answer your questions in this section of the e-zine and not individually.

"There are so many publishers in the careers / self-help field. My confident-moment question is: How do I decide who to publish my book with? My timid-moment question is: Should I go with the publisher who has already published my work and asked for more? The messages in the book can change the way that people think about their careers, so I want to do it justice, with as wide a circulation as possible. What criteria should I be using when looking at publishers and how do I get the information to weigh them up?"

Lorenza Clifford.

THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER

Dear Lorenza,

Let’s look first at how you can get the information to decide on the publisher of your next book. If you live in the UK we suggest you get hold of a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. There is a section – over 60 pages long – giving the names and addresses of publishers in the UK and Ireland. Most provide their web addresses so that you can find out even more about them. There is a shorter section providing a selection of publishers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, S. Africa and the USA. The equivalent American publication – Writer’s Market – gives a wider selection of publishers in the USA.

Many entries provide a website that you can visit to find out more about the publisher such as their current titles, backlist and authors’ guidelines.

Also make sure you browse the shelves of a large book store, noting which publishers specialise in careers/self-help books. Again, check-out their websites.

Now let’s get down to the criteria you should be using: How prestigious is the publisher? Are they well known and well respected in their field? Do they make a professional job of producing books? If they do show an interest in your book, how much of an advance are they prepared to pay? What royalties do they offer? How much effort will they put into marketing your book once it has been published?

You need to consider all these things before making a decision. And a word of warning here: electronic publishers often offer higher royalties than traditional ones but their marketing efforts – and the visibility of your book – sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

Finally, you’ve heard the proverb “A bird in the hand…” If you have found your current publisher reliable and fair – and you are happy with the quality of their production – then it may be best to work with them again. But that doesn’t stop you looking round for a better deal while you’re working on your next title!

* * *

"I have written a manuscript that is 95% completed, I am in the process of editing and spell-checking it, plus finishing the last chapter. The book itself is non-fiction concerning my life in 1990s South Africa, and I would like to include some images in it, I am an ex-firefighter and a lot of the book and images revolve around that.

My problem is that I have no idea how to find a publisher who may be interested in publishing it, or the pros and cons of using a literary agent. I have only done a little writing in the past, a few articles and letters published here and in SA and I never kept a portfolio.

A couple of people have looked at the book and enjoyed it, but of course they are friends and ex-colleagues, so I wondered if you could help out with some advice?"

David Harrison.

THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER

Dear David,

We think that you’ll find the advice given to Lorenza helpful as regards finding a publisher. When you have chosen a few that you feel might be interested in the kind of book you have produced go ahead and contact them.

You should send a brief covering letter explaining why you feel the book fits their list; why you are the best person to write such a book (ie your experiences as a firefighter); who it would appeal to and what images are available. Also include a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the book. This should be brief but detailed enough to give a clear indication of the contents. You also need to send two or three sample chapters. And don’t forget to include a large, strong envelope with sufficient postage in case they are not interested in your manuscript.

As regards a literary agent, it can be very difficult to interest one in your work if you have no previous track record. So, at this stage, we suggest you concentrate on approaching publishers. When you have your first sale, you can then start seeking out an agent to represent you. They will be far more interested in taking you on once they can see the commercial potential of your work.

You’re probably thinking ‘Why do I need an agent if I’ve already sold some work’ – but agents do earn their commission by negotiating future sales, sorting out the increasingly complex issue of ‘rights’ and chasing up royalty payments.

So, good luck with finding a publisher and we hope you’ll let us know how you go on.

* * *

Finally, here’s a general point:

For all of you who haven’t submitted an assignment for some time, there’s no need to write or email and apologise to your tutor. All our courses are open ended, so when you’re ready to get started again don’t feel embarrassed by the delay. Just send in your next assignment and we’ll get you back into the course as smoothly as possible.

And remember, if you do have any queries or problems that you feel are preventing you from progressing with the course you can contact: studentservices@writersbureau.com.

There is always someone to answer your question, provide advice and give encouragement if you are feeling that your studies are getting you down.

Don’t just suffer in silence – contact our friendly student services team and let them help you to get your studies back on track.

Here are some of the Forums that other Writers Bureau students are currently using:

"I belong to www.writethismoment.com developed by one of your excellent tutors, Carol Anne Strange. I find them immensely invaluable for all sorts of reasons including:

• support – to see that others are struggling with matching their writing time to other life commitments
• information – markets to submit work to
• warnings – to learn about bad payers, rogue publishers etc
• advice – from more experienced members on best ways to submit, query etc.

I don't always find the 'ramblings' or 'letting off steam' very helpful but this can be controlled by having a separate area on the forum for this."

Sandy Mather.

"I use the forum at: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/

It has various categories and anyone can join because it's free. Jenna Glatzer hosts the site. She is an experienced, professional writer and the ghost writer for the upcoming autobiography for Celine Dion.

I have never had any unpleasant experiences here and participate on a regular basis. Its a great place to share guidelines, insider tips, present needs, editors' names, writer-related problems, news and seek advice."

Nadia Ali.

"I am a member of the Wordpool writers' forum and I have found it enormously enjoyable, encouraging and informative. The experienced and successful writers are always very generous with advice and I have learnt a great deal. I would really like there to be a WB forum, though, as it would be lovely to hear from more inexperienced writers who are going through the same learning curve."

Rosemary Mcewan.

"I would like to tell you about www.slingink.co.uk. Here you can find a genuinely supportive and friendly welcome whatever your experience or style of writing. There are writers of all levels of ability. If you ask for feedback on anything you have written it is provided with clarity, in a courteous, positive and constructive manner.

They have just published an excellent anthology of 140-word stories and are holding a summer short story competition to be judged by Booker prize nominee Claire Morrall. They have a list of competitions and other opportunities for writing, and resources for writers.

I am a member of this site, but I am not involved in its running in any way. I just wanted to bring to other writers' attention a truly welcoming, positive and inspirational on-line community at which all are made extremely welcome."

Nicola King.

That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month's feature article offers excellent advice in the form of 'Read Before You Write'.

If you have a website suitable for writers – let us know. If we like it we'll publish your site address for FREE.

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.htm

THE WRITERS BUREAU, SEVENDALE HOUSE, 7 DALE STREET, MANCHESTER, M1 1JB, ENGLAND.