The Professional Freelance Journalism Course How To Write A Column David J. Wallace 1
The Professional Freelance Journalism Course How To Write A Column David J. Wallace Introduction About the Author Starting Your Column Getting Down to Business From the Outside In Winding Up The British College of Journalism 3 3 4 5 7 7 9 Copyright. 2016. All course material and material contained herein is subject to international copyright under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and under United States Copyright Law and United Kingdom Copyright Law. 2
How to write a column Being a columnist ranks right up there with overseas correspondent as one of the most glamorous-sounding jobs in journalism. And it can be. The freedom to write on a wide range of topics, to express opinions and take chances in new writing styles can be liberation from years of routine reporting. A successful column has the same financial reward as software: write it once, sell it repeatedly and get paid by each buyer. Writing to a specific length, by a particular deadline and knowing the legal and ethical boundaries of a newspaper, magazine or other publication are all crucial skills for writing a column. The job has difficult aspects, too. Foremost is the discipline and pressure of finding subjects to write about so frequently. A columnist in London s Financial Times wrote that even good writers can make bad columnists when they sink to desperate accounts of such key events in their lives as making coffee, popping out to the shops or - a favorite - fretting about writing a column. About the author For four years, David J. Wallace wrote Take on the World, a self-syndicated weekly feature on international trade and technology. The 750-word feature ran in weekly business newspapers throughout the United States. For four years he was a staff writer at the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and he has worked as an independent journalist since 1993. He has written for The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and such magazines as Wired, World Trade and Home Office Computing. 3
Starting your column Most columns begin when the writer has a staff position at a publication. That allows the writer the support of an office environment, and, just as importantly, a salary. National and international publications often consider a regular column as a reward for a well-regarded writer who has earned his or her stripes in reporting and has the skills, personality and temperament for the job. Most readers become aware of successful columnists only after they achieve popularity - with the book contracts, calendar deals and syndication rights that can follow. Yet local and regional columnists far outnumber the stars. Most never reach the heights of a Dear Abby or Dave Barry, just as most athletes and actors never achieve national recognition. Getting a column is easier when you re already famous. Hilary Rodham Clinton has written a column. So has Bill Gates. The rest of us have to show some expertise that attracts people: having knowledge of a topic like gardening or computers; a sense of humor that amuses people other than your friends and family or wanting to share your enthusiasm for a particular activity. Just because you CAN write a column may not be enough reason to do it. As in any business venture, you need to lay some groundwork first. There is no completely new terrain but there are niche opportunities. The more specific your topic is the greater chance of limited competition. Starting Out What subjects do you know well? Do you have information, contacts or opinions that other people will want to hear? Those are just a couple of the questions to ask yourself in formulating the proposal for a column. Is there a topic that is being overlooked, or an audience who is not getting what they need from existing features? Chances are, there is no completely new terrain but there are niche opportunities. The more specific your topic is the greater chance of limited competition. 4
For example, despite a number of etiquette columns, a new newspaper feature called Ms. Demeanor focused on children s questions about proper behavior and manners. Instead of a feature on pets, consider one devoted solely to exotic birds - for a bird-owner s magazine. A magazine or newspaper column typically runs anywhere from 600 to 1000 words. That can be a lot of space to fill every week, or several days a week. Decide how deep your well of topics is as you decide the frequency of your column. If you re writing about current affairs or politics, you will find more material than if you have to make up stories from personal experience. Consider also how much time you will need in reporting, writing and editing each column as you choose how frequently it will appear and how much you want to earn if you re writing without the benefit of a salary. And be clear on your objective in writing the column. Some people use it to promote their business, by marketing themselves to readers as an expert in their industry. Others columns are designed to support a career as a consultant, public speaker or book author. Instead of a feature on pets, consider one devoted solely to exotic birds - for a bird-owner s magazine. Getting Down To Business Once you ve decided to go ahead, do your homework. Check with newspapers, magazines, wire services, websites and syndication companies to see what features are already in the marketplace. Editor & Publisher magazine has an issue once a year that indexes every column and its author, the length, schedule and delivery by North American syndicates and individuals. Talk with editors to see if they will run your feature and support it with advertising, personal appearances, forwarding reader mail or other involvement. Set delivery and payment terms, as any other business owner would, with a contract specifying what you promise to deliver and when, and the price for the publication. Weigh options like requiring that your column appear on a regular schedule, say every Tuesday. Do you want to permit editing of your work, or require that it be published exactly as you wrote it, for reasons of consistency or personal pride? From a business standpoint, you need to decide whether you will handle the business aspects of details like delivery of copy and payment yourself. Promotion and marketing, billing of current customers and other operations can be time-consuming if you re trying to build a large number of publications as clients. Yet the path to growth depends largely on how widely read your features are - a chicken-and-egg issue of columns needing a lot of clients before they can be syndicated, yet the syndicate being precisely the vehicle needed for spreading the word and increasing the column s appeal. A syndicate or business agent can handle delivery and collection details, but will charge a fee, normally a percentage of total sales along with an annual retainer. Set a reasonable price after thinking long and hard about how much you want to earn from your work. How many hours will it take to write each feature? Consider the competition among thousands of columns. You may be able to charge more by offering exclusivity to editors on the basis that no other periodical in that region will use your material. 5
Thinking long and hard about how much you want to earn from your work. How many hours will it take to write each feature? 6
From The Outside In Getting and keeping a column in a publication as a freelance writer can require the skills of a diplomat, along with your writing abilities. You need to maintain a friendly working relationship with the editor and staff and read the publication regularly and critically. Changes in personnel or editorial direction can determine whether your feature stays or goes, succeeds or merely fills space. Many writers ask for a complimentary subscription, primarily so they can be sure their features are running; and to maintain a clip file and to stay current on news from that area, industry or point of view. As a freelance writer, you are competing against every other writer out there and wire services or syndicates that provide inexpensive material. Try to learn from editors where to distinguish yourself. A regional or local publication might prefer features on local issues, instead of broad, general articles with no connection to its readers. Go beyond the subject itself to see where you can add value. Becoming a resource for the publication is one way to add value. For example, you can provide story ideas and sources or expertise to improve their own work. When you see items of interest for one of your editors, send it along with suggestions for how it is applicable to his or her readers. By providing help to the publication - not just worrying about your own material - you demonstrate a team spirit that editors value highly. Different kinds of publications use different writing styles. So be sure you re complying with each publication s rules. Attention to detail is another concern about outside writers. Different kinds of publications use different writing styles. So be sure you re complying with each publication s rules. And if you re writing a column for an online service, be sure to include full dates including years, since material may remain on the Internet for years with no indication of its original publication date. Winding Up Although launching a column is difficult, drawing down the curtain on a feature requires planning as well. Editors need to be notified as soon as the decision is made, so they can plan other material for the space. Readers need to be told what the future will be, and what other resources they can use. If you write a personal column, you may want to explain why you re discontinuing this dialogue with readers and what you will do next. Burnout is common among columnists and most, like athletes and actors, would prefer to go out at their peak. Writing a column is the entrepreneurial venture of a lifetime. It is your own editorial storefront, with your opinions, feelings, knowledge or experiences as the merchandise. For that reason alone, reader response can be rewarding if you help or affect other people. If the feature is not very popular, some writers view it as a personal rejection. The benefits and prestige were balanced by hours of tedious record-keeping and promotional efforts. 7
Ultimately, after writing my column for four years, I chose to focus on betterpaying assignments because there were not enough publications using my column to make it financially worth the time invested. Somewhere out there is a new hot topic for columnists. And there is never a shortage of people who want to write. The Internet has already spawned thousands of new columnists and bloggers on web-based publications. Many have become identities in their own right. You could be next if you have the right combination of a little luck, a lot of tenacity and creativity, a supportive editor or all of the above. Ready to take the next step and enrol in The Professional Freelance Journalism Course today? For your convenience, click here to go directly to our online Enrolment Application. 8
The British College of Journalism The British College of Journalism is a division of International News Syndicate Limited. Our directors and principals have been involved in all aspects of media work for some 30 years. We are an international media-training company with students in more than 80 countries and territories. The principles of freelance journalism are similar the world over. However our course has been individually revised and designed to suit the needs of students living and working in the United Kingdom. The Professional Freelance Journalism Course is conducted online, via distance learning, over your choice of 12 or 24 weeks, though you may take as long as two years to complete your studies. Upon completion you will receive your Diploma of Professional Freelance Journalism. The Professional Freelance Journalism Course is not simply a course in the theory of journalism. The British College of Journalism has developed this course to ensure that you achieve professional writing skills and get paid well for your efforts. The Professional Freelance Journalism Course is designed as a structured training program. British College of Journalism registrar@britishcollegeofjournalism.com www.britishcollegeofjournalism.com Primary Course Writer Carl Hammerschmidt Senior Course Tutor Judy Yorke Our sister Colleges include: British College of Interior Design www.britishcollegeofinteriordesign.com British College of Professional Styling www.britishcollegeofprofessionalstyling.com Copyright 2016. All course material and material contained herein is subject to international copyright under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and under United States Copyright Law and United Kingdom Copyright Law. 9