You don’t have to use big, fancy words, but you should know how to get your point across without obvious punctuation errors and grammatical mistakes.
The first step is...where do you find “news” to write about? Whatever you do, don't wait for the "news" to find you - chances are, it never will. Instead, become a roving reporter and search out news stories for yourself. Attend community events, company meetings, public forums, etc. - you just might get an important interview or a rare one-time only photo opportunity!
One of the best sources for ideas for articles comes from reading other publications. Subscribe to your local newspaper and maybe a few related trade magazines. Be sure to clip interesting articles and add them to your Source File.
Does your story idea involve an interview? The first rule of thumb for preparing for an interview is to have some basic knowledge of the subject you will be covering! This is easily done by getting a little background information from other print media such as books, magazines, documents, etc. (Planning ahead will also allow you to be able to carry on an *intelligent* conversation with your guest.)
Once you have a general idea about your subject, prepare a list of questions you'd like to ask your interviewee; think about what information your readers would like to know. You can then use these questions as a general outline for the interview. Be flexible...you'll almost always think of more once the interview has started.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to hold your reader's interest by reaching out with your words, and not your visuals. Even the best layout and design will not hold their attention if the copy is poorly written. Remember this is a NEWSletter and you're in a race against time! Your words must grab your readers and pull them in quickly, before they have time to locate a wastebasket!
Some of the “tricks” we used in Part 4 for creating headlines can also be applied to your articles. For example, articles are always more interesting to your readers if you write in present tense. Rather than writing "Contest to begin next week," use "Contest starts Monday." It is more direct and creates a sense of timeliness.
Use your words to give your readers something familiar to feel, to see, to hear, to taste, and/or to touch. For instance, if you're talking about noise, describe the noise - was it thunderous clapping? Or, maybe the chili tasted so hot, you felt as though your mouth was on fire! And, don't forget "soft as a baby's bottom!" (These are just examples to get you thinking...you should stay away from cliches!)
Avoid repetition of words. Don't write boring articles by using the same word(s) over and over. Spice it up a bit by opening up your thesaurus and using related words...especially if you find you have used the same word twice within the same sentence!
One way you can check this, is to circle words that you have used more than three times. If you can change the word without changing the meaning, do so.
Before you address your audience in an article, be sure you know *who* they are to avoid any embarrassing, stereotypical, sexist terms in your articles and advertisements. If you haven't spent time or money on demographic research, you can include the broadest range of readers by remembering such things as: not all nurses are women, not all doctors are men, not all breadwinners are dads, and not every parent who stays at home is a "mom!"
Establishing editorial policy and style guidelines for your newsletter will help avoid confusion and controversy. Try to strike a happy medium by printing a balanced range of views with these suggested general guidelines:
1) Don't ever insult any group or individual;
2) Let integrity be your guide (not power and money);
3) Back up all argumentative statements or issues with evidence;
4) Remember who your audience is and write for them; and
5) Spell out any rules for specific writing styles like abbreviations, punctuation, etc.
Whenever I write, or am editing the copy of others, I have a few standard guidelines for style that I follow (almost religiously!) Feel free to adopt any or all of these to your own newsletters…
1. When you are writing in:
First Person, use "I," "me," and "we." This refers to the person who is speaking.
Second Person, use "you." This refers to the person who is listening.
Third Person, use "he," "she," "it," and "they." This refers to the person or thing the writer (speaker) is talking about.
2. Try to avoid the urge to put "st," "nd," "th," or "rd" after dates when they appear in your newsletter. For example, if the date you are using is May 5, do not use May 5th. However, if it is a common term that you "hear" when you say it like fifth floor or 5th floor, use it.
3. If you are using numbers in your articles, the rule of thumb is to write out numbers one through nine and use numerals for everything else that is 10 or higher.
The exceptions are: street addresses, time of day and date, page and chapter numbers, percentages, temperatures, money, ages, channels, unions, sports scores, voting results, and proper names like 7-Up!
4. Whenever you begin a sentence with a number, such as "20 years ago," spell out the number rather than using numerals. The only exception is when you are using dates.
Examples:
Twenty years ago...
2005 was a year that brought promise...
5. Contractions are generally accepted in most non-academic writing (feature stories). When used in a conversational tone, they help to add personality and users will find your articles easier to read. Some of the most common contractions include:
it's (it is) he's (he is) she's (she is)
who's (who is)
let's (let us)
I'm (I am)
they're (they are)
isn't (is not)
wouldn't (would not)
couldn't (could not)
we'll (we will)
we're (we are)
we've (we have)
you'd (you would)
we'd (we would)
don't (do not)
won't (will not)
6. A credit line is a small line of type giving credit to the source of a photograph or illustration used in your newsletter. It may also be referred to as a "courtesy line" and a copyright notice can be included in this line text.
Example:
Copyright 2005 Lisa Pinter
© 2005 Lisa Pinter
One last word…If you have decided to freelance, you are submitting your first query or cover letter and you've never had anything published before - don't admit to it in writing. Just give it your best shot and write as well as you can, perhaps agreeing to write the article "on spec (speculation)." That is, let them sample your article without the promise to compensate you for it.
EXERCISE:
Where do you find your graphics? Do you have a favorite software program? Or, have you found an online resource that meets your needs? Perhaps, you are an artist or maybe you are a photographer? Whatever your source is, submit the title of the book, software program or website (with URL), etc. and a brief description of why it is your favorite. Please send it to us and we'll publish some of your examples. Thank you!
Don't miss Part 1 in this series: Starting a Newsletter - Why Publish a Newsletter
And Part 2: Starting a Newsletter - Anatomy of a Newsletter
Part 3: Starting a Newsletter - Naming Your Newsletter
Part 4: Starting a Newsletter - Hit 'Em Hard with Headlines
Part 5: Starting a Newsletter - Making a Commitment
Part 6: Starting a Newsletter - Attract Readers with Artwork
