Article Writing Guide

Writing Professional Articles

The market for professionally written articles is a growing, but highly competitive field. Employers in the field expect consistently high quality articles on a regular basis from their writers, a task that can, if not properly prepared for, burnout a novice writer in record time.

The Simple Steps to Quality Articles

The good news is writing articles whittles down to a single technique, regardless of whom the article is for, what it is about, or where it is to be published.

Determine Your Topic

The first step is to decide exactly what you are going to write. Often times your topic is dictated by the organizations you are writing for. When it isn’t, you have to come up with your own. This is sometimes easier said than done. Skimming over the daily news or recent discussion group entries is an excellent way to come up with ideas for new articles.

Figure Out Who Your Audience Is

Determining who your intended audience is a vital component in the process and can affect the manner in which your information is presented. Writing for amateur stargazers is very much different than writing for seasoned, professional astronomers.

Do Your Research

If you do not know your topic well, it is time to do your homework. Few people can claim mastery of more than a handful of topics and even professionals in a particular field may not know everything there is about it. Doing adequate research will improve your chances of writing an excellent article. Prepare a list of possible sources including documents, books, internet resources and even people to interview.

Decide on the Length

Writing for newspapers and magazines, you will frequently be faced with word limits, either minimum or maximum, and must prepare your article within these parameters. If you are writing for the Internet the basic rule is to write the article only as long as it needs to be and no longer.

Outlining the Article

Prepare an outline or summary of the article based on the information from your research. This will give you the structure for the article and help bring the concept into better focus.

Writing the Rough Draft

When it comes to actually writing your article, never think that the first copy is going to be perfect. Odds are it won’t be. The first part of your paper is the introduction is where you tell the readers what the topic of your paper is. This is followed by the body of the article, which consists of several paragraphs where you fulfill your promise of discussing the topic mentioned in the introduction. Finally, you summarize what you just told the reader, drawing whatever conclusions your discussion supports.

Checking Your Work

Once the rough draft is complete, it is time to clean it up. During this phase you have to double-check your information, delete any unnecessary materials and check the article for grammar and spelling errors. Read the article out loud either to yourself or to a friendly ear to be sure it flows smoothly.

Polishing Up the Article

The last step is making any changes you noted in the previous step. Once this is done, go back and recheck your work. Rewrite the article as much as it takes, but remember the old adage of Leonardo Da Vinci: “Art is never finished, just abandoned.”

Last Minute Tips

Speaking about unfinished work, here are a few last minute tips for improving your chances to get published:

• The outline or summary for the article doesn’t have to be in any particular format. They are used to help you in the writing process. If you feel more comfortable writing a list of incomplete sentences, that’s okay. From those you can prepare a formal outline later if you need to.
• Checking grammar and spelling last saves you a lot more time than you might think. During the other steps you may decide to delete the section containing them so wait until those decisions are made before you worry about grammar and spelling.
• It was once considered acceptable to send an article to a magazine or newspaper unannounced for them to consider and, if lucky, you would receive notice weeks or months later regarding their acceptance or rejection of the article. Today it is customary to introduce yourself and your story idea in a query or pitch letter. This has been made much easier by the invention of email, but has not eliminated this step of accepted protocol. You will need to find the name of the editor who handles the category your article is targeted for. This information can be found either on their masthead or, if their website is done correctly, in the “Contact Us” area. Write an enticing outline of your article and a brief summary of why the publisher’s readership would be interested. A few lines about your experience as a writer should also be included. Write the letter in a friendly but professional manner. Do not use the letter to make demands or confessing your shortcomings. Discussing wages and fees should be discussed after the editor accepts your proposal.
• It is often said you have to learn to stand up before you can learn how to run. If your experience as a writer is limited, you do not start by pitching column ideas to editors. Advanced writing opportunities like columns are generally reserved for people who have extensive experience and knowledge in either writing or a particular field of expertise. If you are new to writing, start small. Obituaries, human-interest stories and simple news articles are a better place to start and it is generally easier to start with newspapers than with magazines, particularly smaller community newspapers. Try writing articles for specialty sections such as life, fashion, arts, cars or travel before pitching news stories. Specialty sections tend to be understaffed and are therefore more open to freelance writers.
• If you're interested in a career as a writer, start early and be realistic. People who want to make their living as writers generally start to build their portfolios as early as high school and some as early as junior high school. It can take even the most dedicated writer several years before he can make a living off from writing. Simon Hawke, author of the “Reluctant Wizard” series, once told an aspiring writer to go learn electrical engineering first because the new writer would need an income until the royalty checks started coming. In other words, do not quit your day job. It is wiser to ease into writing gradually, perhaps doing freelance pieces while maintaining a more stable job part-time.
• You might want to take some courses and/or read some books covering both non-fiction and fiction writing. Also, consider joining one or more writer’s groups, either online or off. Doing this will allow you to make contacts in the industry by getting to know your instructors and fellow writers. Being a good freelance writer requires knowing not only how to write, but also how to network.

Above all else, make sure your article answers the basic questions of who, what, why, where, when and how.

Writer Beware

• Unless you have ulterior motives, do not write for a newspaper or magazine for free. Ask about their freelance fee beforehand. Pay for freelancers is usually calculated on a per-word or per-assignment basis. Your time and labor are valuable. Writing for free demeans the profession, making it more difficult to earn a living on freelance fees. If you are just starting out, volunteering to do some articles for smaller community papers, student publications and nonprofit organizations is a great way to build your portfolio. Be warned that these publications rarely have the money to pay freelancers so, as you build your portfolio, start looking for paying markets for your work.
• Respect your deadline. Give yourself plenty of time to write the article. Waiting until the last minute to start an article is not a good idea. If you do, you will be rushing at the last minute to finish the article. It is doubtful that such an article will be representative of what you could do otherwise. With most editors, a late article is worse than a weak article.
• Maintain a mental state of humility. The article you write will be viewed by multiple editors, copy-editors and fact verifiers before being published. Changes will be made. Getting upset is one certain way to never be invited to write for that publication again.
• Do everything in your power to avoid errors and plagiarism. Your reputation as a writer is on the line with each and every article. Getting caught in an act of plagiarism will get you blacklisted by editors fast. Keep notes and source lists close at hand for your editor to verify your work. If a mistake is discovered, come clean and apologize profusely. Then make the necessary corrections without hesitation.
• Avoid gossip. Never say anything bad about other writers or editors. Literary circles are small and even competitors talk to each other frequently.

Getting Assistance from a Ghostwriter

Companies like ours specialize in assisting writers in finishing their articles within their deadline requirements. Writers frequently find themselves running out of time in finishing their articles for one reason or another. Others realize they have undertaken projects that are beyond their capabilities. It happens more often than any of us would like to admit and it is no shame to ask for help. Our writers are highly skilled and capable of preparing articles on short notice (though be warned, we are not miracle workers). All it takes to get started is your order.