Careers Writers

& Others Who Have a Way with Words

WRITERSCAREERS FOR

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& Others Who Have a Way with Words

WRITERSCAREERS FOR

VGM Careers for You Series

ROBERT W. BLY

SECOND EDITION

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Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

CHAPTER ONE The Writing Business 1

CHAPTER TWO Book Publishing 23

CHAPTER THREE Magazine Writing 49

CHAPTER FOUR Writing for Newspapers and Newsletters 63

CHAPTER FIVE Careers in Advertising 83

CHAPTER SIX Careers in Public Relations 97

CHAPTER SEVEN The Corporate World 115

CHAPTER EIGHT Technical Writing 131

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CHAPTER NINE Writing for Electronic, Visual, andNontraditional Media 143

CHAPTER TEN Freelance Writing 157

APPENDIX Resources 173

v i • CON T EN T S

Preface

“I don’t have much faith in words; people buy them and print

them for no other reason except that maybe they’ll sell.”

—Hunter S.Thompson, Fear and Loathing in America

Ididn’t become a writer by intent. Unlike that of a doctor or adentist, my career path didn’t follow any sort of plan. Rather,things just happened, and I went with the flow.Would I recommend this to you? It has its pros and cons. I

have had many delightful surprises, twists, and turns I might nothave experienced had I followed the straight and narrow path.These include having many books published on a variety of inter-esting subjects, being a guest on television and radio shows, rub-bing shoulders with some of the world’s most successfulexecutives and entrepreneurs, and getting nice checks for freelanceassignments. People are fascinated with writers, and if you are oneor become one, many will seek your advice on how they, too, canget published.

On the other hand, planning a deliberate career has its advan-tages, too. When you become more knowledgeable about a job orindustry, your chances of getting the job you want are improved.And you will probably earn more, sooner.

This book contains a wealth of information on numerous writ-ing careers—both staff and freelance—in literature, journalism,and commercial writing.

How am I qualified to guide you? I have been a writer since Igraduated college in 1979. I spent three years in the corporateworld and have twenty years of experience freelancing for news-papers, magazines, book publishers, and corporate clients.

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I am not the most prolific writer in the world, but I am not aslacker. I have one hundred articles and more than fifty bookspublished, with four more books under contract or on press. Iwrote my first book in 1982 and since have averaged two to threebooks a year.

During that time, I have earned the bulk of my income doingfreelance writing for corporate clients. Assignments include bro-chures, direct-mail packages, ads, sales letters, press releases, andwebsites. I am not rich on the Stephen King/Danielle Steele level,but I make a very comfortable living due to the amount and widerange of work that I do.

I tell you this not to brag, but to let you know this book is basedon years of real-life experience making a living as a writer. It’s longon practical how-to advice and short on theory.

The late science fiction writer Roger Zelazny said that he lovedbeing a writer, even the paperwork. I don’t like the paperwork, butother than that, I agree with Roger: The writing life is a great life.Since writing often doesn’t pay well compared with other profes-sions, you shouldn’t go into writing unless you love to write. If youdo, this book is for you.

v i i i • PRE FA C E

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the following people for pro-viding information about their careers:

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Richard ArmstrongIlise BenunEve BlakeGary BlakeTad ClarkJoan DamicoDavid DwekHarlan EllisonCharles FlowersDenny HatchDon HauptmanPaul KarasikLinda KetchumDavid Kohn

Robert LeroseKen MagillBob OtterbourgMilt PierceTom QuirkJulie and Dave SchroederBarry SheinkopfTerry C. SmithAmy Sprecher BlyRobert VaritoniJoe VitaleTerry WhalinCraig WolffDavid Yale

The section “Writing for Newsletters” in Chapter 4 is reprinted(in edited form) with permission from the Newsletter and Elec-tronic Publishers Association.

The section “Estimating a Technical Writing Job” in Chapter 8is a slightly modified version of text appearing in John Lancaster’sbook, How to Make Money Writing Technical Manuals (self-published). Reprinted with permission.

The section “Humor Writing” in Chapter 9 was written byPeter Fogel and is reprinted with his permission.



C H A P T E R O N E

The WritingBusiness

“I like everything there is about being a writer except the waymy neighbors treat me.” —Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Writing is an intensely personal act. Even when you’re doingcommercial work for an employer or client, you put a lotof yourself in your writing. So it’s appropriate that I begin

this book on making money as a writer with the story of how I gotinto the writing business. It will help you to see how writers endup becoming writers in real life. And maybe you can learn frommy mistakes.

I love books and always have. Throughout school I was avoracious reader. Ms. Shern, our sixth-grade teacher, gave sweetsas prizes to students who read the most books each week. I was a constant winner and, therefore, a slightly overweight eleven-year-old.

I didn’t read all those books to win raspberry tarts, however. Ijust loved to read. And I still do. I am a book person, “bookish,” abookworm.

Yet it never occurred to me to be a writer. Writers, to me, wereartists starving in garrets. As a level-headed boy from a middle-class family in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, I favored going into a “real”profession—medicine, law, science, engineering.

In 1975, I graduated high school and began my freshman yearat the University of Rochester. My major was chemistry. I was setto become a research scientist.

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But a funny thing happened on the way to my degree. As Imoved from the introductory to the advanced courses, my abilityto see concepts, solve problems, and understand the materialbegan to falter. I soon saw that I did not have the type of brain thatwould make for a successful scientist. I enjoyed the basics, but thecomplexities were beyond my grasp. I would always love science,but as a layperson, not a professional. I tell people today that myunderstanding of science is limited to how Carl Sagan and IsaacAsimov presented it, and no further.

There I was, now a sophomore and without a clear career direc-tion. Since I did not want to throw three semesters of science andmath courses down the drain, I did something really stupid. Iswitched, without really understanding what I was doing, into themajor most closely related to chemistry: chemical engineering.

But two events happened around this time that ultimately setthe direction for the rest of my working life.

The first is that I noticed I had an aptitude for writing. In ourlabs, we worked as a team: one student performed the experiment;one did the calculations and the graphs; the third wrote thereport. I found the report writing was the only part of this I wasgood at and enjoyed. My instructors complimented my writingeven as they criticized my ineptness at handling equipment.

Based on this newfound interest, I tried writing short storiesand got several published in the student literary magazine. Oneeven got accepted by Galaxy, a science fiction magazine. But themagazine went out of business; I was never paid, and the story wasnever published.

The second event happened in the school cafeteria, where Iworked washing dishes. The editor of the school paper came up tome and said, “I liked your stories in the literary magazine. Whydon’t you try writing for the school paper?”

I showed up the next day at the school paper offices, and that’swhere my real college education started. Although we were a smallschool, the newspaper was published daily, and there began myintensive training in writing.

2 • C A R E E R S FOR WR I T E R S

Seeing my byline in the school newspaper and magazine, andgetting recognition from fellow students, thrilled me beyond any-thing that had happened to me until that time. I wasn’t an athletein high school, so I never got the recognition and kudos manyteenage boys do. But in writing, and getting my writing published,I found my identity, my calling, my satisfaction. I was hooked.

By my senior year, I had developed a keen interest and someskill in writing. But I had gotten into it by accident; I had no clearcareer path. Although I had not studied journalism, I thoughtperhaps I could get a job as a newspaper reporter. My friend, theformer editor in chief of our school paper, got me an interviewwith the Associated Press in Buffalo, New York.

Later, over the phone, the editor informed me: “You didn’t getthe job. Your writing was good, but not the best of those we inter-viewed. You were a little slow, taking too long to complete theessays; our reporters must be fast. You scored high on the intelli-gence test, but . . . you failed the spelling test.”

Had I passed, I would have undoubtedly taken the job andenjoyed a career as a newspaper reporter. However, being rejectedby the AP and not granted an interview at any other paper, I wasto take a different path.

A Job Interview Pans OutToward the end of each school year, managers from major corpo-rations seeking to hire engineers come on campus and interviewthe senior engineering majors. Having failed to get the writing jobI wanted, I still needed to earn money to live and pay back myconsiderable student loans. I signed up for the interviews anddecided to work as an engineer.

During the interviews, recruiters asked about extracurricularactivities, and I talked energetically of my work on the schoolnewspaper, of which I had become features editor, and schoolmagazine, of which I had become editor in chief. One recruitersaid to me after an interview, “You know, you sound as if you are

TH E WR I T I NG BU S I N E S S • 3

not that interested in engineering but really like to write. Ourcompany hires technical writers, and with your combined back-ground in engineering and writing, you sound like you would begood for the job. Would you like to interview with hiring man-agers at a couple of our plants?”

I was amazed. It had never occurred to me that the samemanufacturing companies that were hiring my classmates asengineers would also pay me a salary to be a writer for them. Infact, I didn’t really know what a technical writer did. I was soon tofind out.

One interview was at the Westinghouse Defense Center in Bal-timore, Maryland. The area was suburban and clean, the facilitymodern and cheery.

The manager who interviewed me, Terry C. Smith, seemedenthusiastic, creative, and happy in his work. Terry was interestedin my writing and asked to see my articles from the school paper.After I showed him my clippings, Terry told me that he had writ-ten a book, a copy of which he proudly pulled off his bookshelf toshow me. Its title was How to Write Better and Faster, and it waspublished in hardcover by Thomas Crowel. I was in the presenceof a real author—and duly impressed!

I felt I wanted to work for Terry Smith. He had written a bookabout writing and could teach me a lot. Also, the writing I wouldbe doing, while technical, seemed fairly interesting. Terry’s depart-ment, marketing communications, produced brochures, tradeshow displays, videotapes, and other promotions used in the mar-keting of Westinghouse’s weapons and defense systems. They wereall colorful, attractive publications.

Terry offered me a job at $16,000. I felt this was too low, givenwhat I could earn as an engineer. During my job search, I had myone successful interview for an engineering position, and wasoffered a job as a quality engineer with IBM in upstate New Yorkfor $20,000. I told Terry of my other offers and said I could nottake the job for less than $18,500. He offered me the $18,500, and


I immediately accepted. And that’s how I got my first paying jobas a writer.

After less than a year with Westinghouse, Mike Mutsakis, aproduct manager with Koch Engineering, a manufacturer ofchemical equipment, called. Mike had also offered me a job out ofcollege, but I felt I could learn more from Terry, so I went withWestinghouse. Mike had never filled the position and was con-vinced I was the right person—apparently, he had difficulty find-ing writers with chemical engineering degrees. Mike flew me toNew York City for an interview and offered me $27,000 plus perksI didn’t have at Westinghouse, such as a private office. I also likedthe idea of moving to Manhattan. I accepted.

In addition to writing brochures and technical papers, at KochI was responsible for administering the company’s advertising andtrade show activities. I liked Koch Engineering but began to growbored and dissatisfied for several reasons. When the new companypresident asked me to move to the manufacturing headquarters inWichita, Kansas, I decided to resign and try freelancing.

My parents thought I was nuts to give up a high-paying corpo-rate job for the uncertainties of freelancing. And maybe they wereright. But I was young, single, and without financial responsibili-ties. Although not a risk taker by nature, I went for it. In February1982, I began to promote myself as a freelance copywriter andtechnical writer.

The first year, I earned more than my engineering firm salary.However, Manhattan has an astronomical cost of living, and so Ilived very modestly. I didn’t own a car, and I lived and worked ina one-room studio apartment.

By the way, the best financial advice I ever heard for writerscomes from Florida editor David Kohn, who says, “Live belowyour means.” As a writer, you may enjoy a handsome income, oryour earnings may be modest. If your overhead is low, you can livenicely on a lower income and not feel constantly pressured to earnmore.


As my income steadily increased and I continued working hard,I was delighted and surprised at how well my freelancing hadworked out. Through a series of happy accidents, I had become afull-time freelance writer, earning my living exclusively throughmy writing.

Why Do You Want to Be a Writer?I became a freelance writer largely by accident. Should you or any-one do it on purpose?

We’ll discuss the pros and cons shortly. But let me tell you this:if money is your primary goal, and you want to become wealthy,writing is not the career choice I would recommend to you.

Many writers see the kind of money that bestselling authorsand Hollywood screenwriters make and think they can duplicatethat success. It’s possible, but a long shot. Only a small percentageof writers make six and seven figures. Most have modest incomes.Only a handful become famous. Most live in relative obscurity.

The main reason to become a writer, in my opinion, is thatwriting is what you love to do more than anything else, and thethought of doing something other than writing eight or ninehours a day, five days a week bores you to tears. You may be inter-ested in finance and medicine and travel, but you would ratherwrite about them than be an investment banker, neurologist, ortravel agent. I once asked Andy Neff, a financial journalist, why hedidn’t go to work as a broker or analyst and instead preferred to bea reporter, which paid well but not as much as these other posi-tions. Replied Andy, “I think it’s more fun to watch.” But the lureof money is often difficult to resist, and years later, Andy indeedbecame a research analyst for a major brokerage firm.

Writers are interested in a diverse range of subjects but prefer tomove from field to field to satisfy intellectual curiosity, rather thandevote an entire working life to one particular discipline. When Iwas a technical writer at Westinghouse, I enjoyed learning aboutthe many activities of the company, the advanced technologies we


were developing. But I would never want to spend my whole day, never mind my whole career, working on just one of them.One engineer I interviewed had spent ten years working on theantenna configuration for one particular model of a radar systemwe manufactured. This topic held my interest while I wrote anarticle on it for the company magazine, but I would never want tohave a job that narrow and confining. You may feel the same way.

So again: the main reason to become a writer is that you love towrite and you want to spend your days doing it and getting paidfor it.

To make writing a career, the compulsion to write should bestrong within you. If the urge to write is mild—that is, if writingis an interest rather than a passion or an addiction—you need notmake it your career to satisfy your urge. You can write poems dur-ing your lunch hour, short stories at night, or your novel duringthe weekend. Or you can post your writings on your own websitefor all the world to see or write and publish your own E-zine(online newsletter). You can submit articles and essays to maga-zines, get published, get paid, and see your byline in print. You caneven write books and become a bona fide author without makingit your full-time job. You can attend writers’ conferences, readwriters’ magazines, join writers’ clubs, and lead a literary life inyour spare hours, after your regular job.

But for those of us who become full-time writers, writing in ourspare time evenings and weekends isn’t enough to satisfy the writ-ing urge. We feel unfulfilled, bored, and discontented when wework at jobs that are other than writing. We don’t want to spendour days attending meetings, managing projects, supervisingemployees, or doing other nonwriting tasks. We want to write anddo writing-related chores like research, interviews, reading, andWeb surfing. So although we may be able to make more money inother positions or careers, we choose instead to be writers.

Most writers I know are introverts, and most are not “peoplepersons.” I don’t mean to say that writers dislike people. I meanthat given the choice between spending the day all alone in a room


in front of a word processor or being in the more social environ-ment of the conventional workplace, writers usually choose thesolitude of writing. I agree with writer Fran Liebowitz, who says,“I do not work well with others, nor do I wish to learn how to do so.”

Many writers, but not all, are curmudgeons. We do not quite fitinto the social mainstream and often feel out of place in a corpo-rate setting. Technical writer Peter Kent said, only half joking, thatone reason he chose to become a freelance technical writer was sohe wouldn’t have to wear a suit and tie every day.

Certainly, not having to wear a tie is a perk for me. But whatabout you? There are advantages to the writing life, but also dis-advantages. Let’s look at the pros and cons so you can make aninformed decision about whether to pursue this as your careerinstead of an avocation or hobby.

Advantages of Being a WriterThere are many advantages to making a career of writing, includ-ing doing what you love, flexibility, and the chance to enhancepeople’s lives. Let’s take a closer look.

You Get to Write Writers spend a good part of the day, although not all of the day,writing—which Kurt Vonnegut Jr. defines in his book Timequakeas “making idiosyncratic arrangements in horizontal lines, withink on bleached and flattened wood pulp, of twenty-six phoneticsymbols, ten numbers, and about eight punctuation marks.” Ifyou like to write, you will be doing work that is relatively pleasantand enjoyable to you. This sets you apart from many workers who spend their days doing work they do not find enjoyable orfulfilling.

Many people, on the other hand, dream of writing and gettingpublished, and as a full-time writer, you can get paid to do both.“I usually enjoy any assignment,” says freelance writer Charles


Flowers. “When I get depressed, I realize that I will cheer up if Iwrite something, anything. Even a couple of postcards will do it.”

You Get PublishedWriter May Sarton once observed that while many people want tohold books with their names on the covers, many of them don’tactually want to do the hard part and write the book. For somepeople, the glory and excitement is in getting published and see-ing their work in print.

Writing is unusual in that many writers get to sign their work.Factory workers don’t sign their names to cars they helped build,and surgeons don’t sign their names on patients on whom theyoperated. Writers, however, get a lot of public credit for theirwork. Scriptwriters see their names in the credits of movies andtelevision shows. Authors see their names on book covers. Jour-nalists have bylines in magazines and newspapers.

Some writers—technical writers, advertising copywriters, andpublic relations writers, to name a few—do not get bylines. Butthey still get enormous pleasure from seeing their work in print. Iwas never as thrilled in my writing career as when the firstbrochure I had written at Westinghouse was printed. Although Ireceived no byline or credit, it gave me enormous satisfaction tohold copies of that beautiful color brochure in which my wordswere so attractively printed to accompany the many photos andillustrations. Generation X and Y writers today may get the samethrill seeing their words posted in colorful html on a website.

Even when you don’t get a byline, your writing produces tangi-ble results you can hold in your hand, show to others, and keeppermanently; newsletters, press releases, brochures, ads, videos,articles can all be clipped and saved and shown to friends and col-leagues. In many professions, people retain no tangible evidenceof their work. A purchasing agent, for example, does not keep theproducts she purchases for her company. A tailor does not keepthe suits he sews. But if you write an article for an editor or abooklet for a client, you can get copies and show them off as your


work. This is a nice perk not available with many other profes-sions. For those technically savvy writers, you can even post yourfavorite writing samples on your personal website.

Aside from the personal satisfaction, keeping and sharingcopies of your work helps promote your career, whether you areseeking a promotion, a job with a new company, or freelance writ-ing assignments. Therefore, writers are not as dependent on goodreferences and recommendations as other workers because theycan bring samples of their work to job interviews and show themto potential employers and clients.

When you go on a job interview, always bring your samples,either in a portfolio or file folder. You can bring photocopies in afile folder you can leave with the hiring managers you interviewedwith. That way, they can read them after the interview at theirleisure. And, the leave-behinds can help keep you in mind as theymake the hiring decisions, more so than the other candidates whotook their portfolios with them after the interview.

Writers, unlike most other professionals, are judged more bythe work they have done than by what others say about them. Soif your writing is good, you can get work. Yes, it’s important to getalong with and please people. But you are not wholly dependenton what others say about you when it comes to getting hired.

You Do Work That People Care AboutDespite the complaints about declining literacy and reading, manypeople can and do read. What you write is important to some peo-ple and essential to others. In A Common Reader, James MustichJr. notes the importance of literature in a civilized society: “Peoplewithout expectations generally have no literature, for the over-bearing present in which they live drowns out the past and thefuture, the memory and hope that are the springs of inspiration,reflection, composition.”

“Recognize that many Americans, who are skilled in otherareas, are often unable to write well,” says Andy Neff, a financialanalyst. “Use your writing skills as a competitive advantage.”


You Can Make Very Good MoneyWriting is not a “monied” profession. Writers, on average, earnmuch less than accountants, orthodontists, dentists, attorneys,management consultants, stockbrokers, financial planners, doc-tors, airline pilots, executives, and other professionals. Many full-time writers have a spouse or significant other who earns moremoney, allowing them the freedom to be writers and earn less.Many other writers remain childless and single, so they do nothave to earn large sums to live comfortably. Some even sacrificecreature comforts in pursuit of their art. In an early interview withJohn Calvin Batchelor, the novelist, he described his tiny, mini-mally furnished New York City apartment. Since then, of course,he has had enormous success and, surely, lives quite nicely.

Yet although writing is not a high-paying profession, there aresome writers who make a lot of money and others who periodi-cally make big money from writing projects. At the top of themoney tree are the bestselling novelists and big-name Hollywoodscreenwriters, who command seven-figure advances and fees.

But you don’t have to be a bestselling novelist or famous Holly-wood writer to make big money writing. Jim Reutz, for example,earns more than a million dollars a year as a writer, yet you havenever heard of him. That’s because Jim writes direct-mail promo-tions for newsletter publishers and other direct marketers forwhom winning copy means the difference between success andfailure. They pay Jim handsome royalties on direct-mail packagesthat are sometimes mailed in quantities of one million pieces ormore.

Big money can be made by writers in other fields, as well.Although the average journalist earns about $33,000 a year, someearn close to seven figures. A recent article about New York Postgossip columnist Liz Smith, for example, hinted that her annualcompensation was close to a million dollars. The top sports writ-ers and financial journalists in the country also earn $200,000 to$300,000 a year or more writing articles or syndicated columns formajor newspapers and magazines. For writing two weekly

TH E WR I T I NG BU S I N E S S • 1 1

columns, the New York Post paid columnist Sidney Zion $100,000a year.

And there are other avenues for making big money as a writer.Jeffrey Lant, a writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has become amillionaire by writing, self-publishing, and selling books, specialreports, and other information products. Dan Poynter, a writer inSanta Barbara, California, has earned millions of dollars by writ-ing, self-publishing, and selling books on parachuting and othersports.

You also don’t have to be a “creative” writer to make a fortune.Stephanie Winston is an author who writes on a topic many wouldconsider mundane: how to become more organized in your workand at home. She has written only two books on this topic, yetthese books in all editions have sold more than 1.6 million copies,making Stephanie a wealthy woman.

While many writing jobs pay poorly, some pay extremely well.Corporate speech writers and communications managers oftenearn salaries of $70,000 to $150,000 a year or even more, plus a lotof benefits.

You Have Flexible HoursFreelance writers can set their own hours. In many ad agencies,writers can work hours other than nine to five, as long as they putin the time. Contract technical writers can sometimes negotiate todo some of the work at home, if they have computer systems com-patible with what the employer uses at work, and can, therefore,also have more flexibility in their schedules. Book writers espe-cially have great freedom: they are given a deadline, but from thetime they get the book contract to when they hand in the book,they are relatively free to do what they please, come and go whenthey please. It’s a very nice life.

You Can Wear Informal AttireUnless they are seeing clients or editors, freelance writers can dresshowever they want. Ad agency and PR writers are often in envi-


ronments where casual dress is acceptable. Most writers employedby corporations, however, must dress in conventional businessclothes—although casual business attire is becoming increasinglypopular in corporate America.

It can be a great advantage to wear what you want to. Somewriters find that they work better because they are more comfort-able. You can save money on clothes and dry cleaning becauseyou’re not wearing a suit every day. You also save time when get-ting ready for work in the morning, because you need not shave,put on a suit, polish your shoes, or comb every hair neatly intoplace.

You Can Achieve FameWriters, even those who are not on the bestseller list, get moreattention than people in most other professions. Bylines makethem highly visible. Even if people have not read your work orheard of you, many become interested and envious when theyhear you are a writer.

Most writers gain minor fame only, but even this can be enor-mously satisfying. Writers may lecture to members of large asso-ciations and employees of prestigious corporations, be asked fortheir autographs, receive fan letters and nice phone calls and E-mail messages from readers, or appear as guests on radio andTV talk shows. This doesn’t put bread on the table directly, but insome ways it can be satisfying.

You Help OthersMost writing is designed to entertain, inform, or instruct. There-fore, people either enjoy reading what you write, or they benefitfrom the information your writing conveys. Either way, you aremaking life better and more enjoyable for others. That’s a nicefeeling.

Perhaps most of the things you write will be news oriented orcommercial in nature and not have much impact. But every oncein a while, an article or book you write changes someone’s life for


the better . . . and they let you know it. It is a powerful reward tohear from a reader that you’ve made a difference in his or her life.

There Is Constant Demand for Your ServicesWriting is a service in universal demand. Practically every indi-vidual and organization needs materials written; a large numberof these pay staff or freelance writers to turn out newsletters,articles, bulletins, Web pages, and announcements on a daily orweekly basis.

Some have predicted that the current high illiteracy rate, com-bined with the growing popularity of computers and other elec-tronic media, is reducing the need for writing services and mayeven make printed reading material obsolete. This is untrue. Ifanything, the Internet age is creating new opportunities for writ-ers. Writers are now getting paid for writing CD-ROM presenta-tions, multimedia presentations, websites, E-mail marketingcampaigns—even help screens. And while rising illiteracy rates doreduce the number of readers, keep in mind that our populationis growing at a frantic rate. So while a lower percentage of peopleread, there are more customers overall to buy your work.

You Enjoy Freedom and IndependenceIn corporate America, speechwriters and other staff writers, whilenicely compensated, are somewhat out of the mainstream of thebusiness and corporate world.

You often hear the distinction between line and staff jobs. Peo-ple who hold line positions, like product managers and processengineers, do work that is essential to the primary business of thecompany: a product manager at Cleano Soap literally runs thebusiness for that product line, while a process engineer makes surethe product is produced economically and in required quantitieson schedule. Line people become totally involved in the businessof the corporation; it is the main concern and focus of their worklives.


Those who hold staff jobs do work that, while desired, is notessential to the running of the company. Therefore, their identitiesare usually tied more to what they do and less to what the com-pany does.

For this reason, writers at Cleano are probably more interestedin writing than in Cleano Soap. Computer programmers atCleano are probably more interested in HTML and Java than insoap. These people derive satisfaction from their crafts; they iden-tify themselves as writers or programmers, not Cleano Soap teammembers. This gives them a certain distance from the mainstreamof corporate America and an independence that many enjoy andembrace. It lets them be a little bit of a rebel even within theirmainstream lifestyles. And we all have a little bit of the rebelwithin us.

There Are Tax AdvantagesMany writers—full-time freelancers as well as those corporateemployees who moonlight—enjoy significant tax deductions notavailable to the average working person. They can deduct all orpart of the cost of their computers, software, computer paper,CDs, and other office supplies. They may also get deductions forpostage, telephone bills, and having space at home that they use asan office. But be sure to consult with your accountant as to whatis deductible for you and what is not.

Disadvantages of Writing Full-TimeWhile it’s true there are great advantages to this kind of work, ajob as a full-time writer does have disadvantages that should beconsidered.

You Don’t Have Companionship at WorkMost writers work alone. That’s one of the appeals for some, butothers can get lonely and isolated. “A writer leads a fundamentally


solitary life,” says playwright Arthur Miller. “It’s an obsessive life,so you miss out on a lot of stuff that everybody else is enjoying.”

You’re on Your OwnHand in hand with the solitude of writing is the fact that there isoften little encouragement from the world. At times it seems as ifno one wants your words, and your very desire to be a writermakes you superfluous to modern society.

“Writing is an act of pure ego,” says Harlan Ellison in his bookRabbit Hole. “Writing is an act of consummate, preternatural self-indulgence and egomania because, by the very act of its existence,it proclaims the writer as someone above the madding throng,someone who must be paid attention to, someone whose thoughtsand comments are important enough that you need to absorbthem.”

You Are Told What to WriteMany writers don’t always write what they want. Subject, length,and even tone and style are frequently dictated by a client, editor,or employer.

Writers who make a career of writing usually have to compro-mise: they get the blessing of avoiding other work and doing justwriting in exchange for having to write what the boss or editorwants rather than what the writer wants.

If you want to write only pieces of your own choosing, youwould be better off taking a day job doing some other work, thenpursuing writing as an avocation nights and weekends. This wayyou can do as you please without suffering economically. You mayeven create an original work that makes a lot of money.

This is what happened to Tom Clancy, author of The Hunt forRed October and other novels involving espionage, the military,and defense. He was an insurance agent during the day, writingnovels in his spare time.

At first, Clancy could not sell his books to mainstream publish-ers. A small press published his first novel, which became a best-


seller and paved the way for a career change from insurance agentto bestselling novelist.

Writer Denny Hatch, who wrote three novels while employed inexecutive positions, stopped writing novels when he resigned hisstaff job to become a freelance copywriter. He says the freelancebusiness writing took all his time, leaving little time for fiction.Now though he is back to writing books.

Your Creativity Is Reigned InCreative writing is a form of self-expression. Journalism, technicalwriting, and advertising copywriting are not. As a corporate writeror journalist, you are communicating a message or delivering news.The content of what you write is shaped by the facts of the story,the client’s or editor’s preferences, and the objective of the piece.

Many writers feel this type of work is constraining and uncre-ative. Others feel it is too formula, crass, or commercial. But youshould try it before you decide how you feel about it; you may findthat you enjoy having the structure and guidance that these typesof writing afford.

On the surface, the type of writing jobs described in this bookmay seem unglamorous. But many writers hold them and findthem to be deeply satisfying. The satisfaction is not in creating apiece of writing that is in itself “creative,” but in using your cre-ativity to fashion a piece of writing that meets the client’s specifi-cations, yet is finely crafted and a delight to read.

You May Not Make a Lot of MoneyWriters’ incomes vary widely, and this book goes into specificdetail about what you can expect to earn in the various writingcareers. But up front, I want to warn you that writing is generallynot a high-income profession. Some writers are wealthy; manyearn handsome salaries; but the average annual income for writ-ers is relatively low compared with many other professions. “Youwant to get rich?” asks novelist Walter Mosley in an interview withthe Daily News. “Go into real estate.”


An article in the Wall Street Journal stated that the averageincome of those who listed “writer” as the profession on theirincome tax returns was $25,000. There are some bright spots,though. One young writer corresponding on an online forumreported that he was earning $50,000 at an ad agency as a copy-writer, and he was practically just out of college.

In spite of the sometimes meager pay for writers, beware ofdeveloping a “poverty mind-set,” meaning you do not expect toearn a lot of money, view getting published as more importantthan the money paid for the publication, and even look down onlucrative writing as commercial hack work.

The problem with the poverty mind-set is that it limits yourearnings: if you believe you shouldn’t earn a lot of money, youprobably won’t. So many writers will accept ridiculously lowadvances, royalties, fees, and salaries simply for the privilege ofgetting published or getting a writing position.

Many writers gasp when they hear that successful freelancerscharge hourly rates of $50 to $150 or more. “For writing?” theysay, awestruck. But lawyers charge $200 an hour and up, plumbersoften charge $75 an hour or more, and even the man who cleansmy gutters gets $35 for an hour’s work. So $50 an hour or $30,000a year is not a ridiculous sum to imagine earning. Set your sightshigher.

You May Not Have Job SecurityIn the corporate world, there are staff jobs and line jobs. A personwith a line job is directly involved in the business of the company,and his or her work contributes directly to the bottom line. Exam-ples include brand managers, vice presidents of manufacturing,and process engineers.

Those with staff jobs are not directly involved in the business ofthe company; they provide services used by others within thecompany. Examples include technical writers, computer program-mers, purchasing agents, and training directors.


Since line people are more directly involved with the business,they are usually considered more important, and their jobs aremore secure. As a writer, you have a staff job and are moreexpendable. When corporations downsize, writers, marketingcommunications people, and training directors are almost alwaysamong the first to be let go.

Many People Will Treat You DisrespectfullyAlthough some people will be impressed that you are a writer andtreat you with respect, even reverence, an equal number will not.The primary reason may be that writing is a “soft skill” that mostpeople possess to some degree. That is, practically everyone canwrite. Not as well as you, the professional writer, but well enoughto put together a sentence, paragraph, or even a letter, article,report, or talk.

“[Thanks to] the computer, the Internet, and E-mail, todayeverybody in the world is writing to everybody else, keeping intouch and doing business across every border and time zone,”writes William Zinsser in On Writing Well. “All those people whosaid they hate writing and can’t write and don’t want to write canwrite and do want to write. Never have so many Americans writ-ten so profusely and with so few inhibitions.”

A large number of people feel writing is not a specialized skill,that there is no mystery to what writers do; therefore, writing is alower-level profession. (Many others, incidentally, greatly admireskill in writing and admit they have little such skill themselves.)

Those who have a specific technical skill, such as x-ray techni-cians, diesel mechanics, chemical engineers, CPAs, investmentbankers, attorneys, and systems analysts, command more respectbecause others cannot do what they do. Or, if they do not com-mand respect, people are less likely to criticize and question theirwork simply because of its technical, specialized nature.

At times, however, it may seem as if everybody is a writer, andeverybody is telling you how to write the piece. This is one of the


hazards of the profession. All you can do is get used to it and tol-erate it with a smile.

“Writers are not looked upon in the same way as musicians andartists and painters because of the accessibility of our craft,” saysfreelance writer Robert Lerose. “Everyone works with words andgrammar. How can you have respect for something that ‘everyone’can do? Where’s the magic in that, as opposed to the mysteriousdexterity a musician needs or the unreachable craft of a painter?”

You Will Depend on Mastery of a Soft SkillBecause writing is a soft skill, you may suffer from some anxiety anduncertainty. Many of us who earn our livings through soft skills—writers, speakers, trainers, consultants, entrepreneurs—secretlyworry that we missed the boat by not having a trade or being qual-ified to do something more specific and tangible, such as program-ming IBM AS/400 computers or becoming certified welders.

To some extent, it’s true that without a hard skill or trade, youmay at times be shut out of jobs in an increasingly technology-oriented marketplace. On the other hand, soft skills are alwaysneeded—writers are always needed—but technology can makecertain hard skills obsolete. So those whose livelihood depends ona hard skill may in reality have less job security, not more, than us.

It’s Not as Easy as It LooksWriters sit in cool, comfortable home offices, don’t commute ordress up for work, and spend the bulk of the day reading, chattingon the phone, or clicking away at a computer keyboard. Yet writ-ing isn’t always easy.

“There will be days when you write wonderfully and days whenit’s like pulling teeth,” said crime writer Ann Rule in The Writer.

“Writing is thinking,” comments history writer David McCul-lough in the same issue. “And that’s why it’s so hard.”

“Yeah, it’s hard,” agrees Walter Mosley, “but not as hard as fill-ing a wheelbarrow with bricks.”


You Face Heavy CompetitionAdvertising writer Stan Friedberg once wrote a song called “Every-body Wants to Be an Art Director.” Actually, he may have missedthe mark, and it should have been, “Everybody Wants to Be aWriter.”

At times, it seems as if everybody does want to be a writer. Sothere is a lot of competition. That’s one reason fees are oftenlow—prices are dictated by supply and demand, and the supply ofwriting sometimes seems to outweigh the demand.

Actually, that’s true in literary writing, but not in commercialwork. In corporate and marketing writing, there is a lot of compe-tition, but there is even more work, so fees and salaries are usuallyhigher.

Here’s an amazing fact about writing: what you want to do as aliving and get paid for, others want to do as a hobby and for free.Writing is a popular avocation. As a result, professionals mustcompete with amateurs willing to do the same work at slavewages. This is the case in practically no other profession. Forexample, plumbers don’t compete with hobbyists who want to fixpeople’s toilet bowls just for the fun of it. But writers who write formoney compete with hobbyists who write just for the fun of itevery day.

Writing Is Perceived as a Commodity ServiceBecause writing is a generic or “soft” skill, writing is often per-ceived as a commodity service. That is, the employer or client hiresor buys mainly on price, not quality or skill.

This is not always the case. It’s probably not true even in themajority of cases. But beware that there are those who see no dif-ference between a well-published professional or an untriednovice; to them, they’re just “the writer.”

My advice is to work only for employers, clients, and editorswho value your skill. Do not work for those who see what you doas a commodity and buy on price.


You Are Outside the MainstreamSome writers see this as a plus, but you may feel differently. Writ-ers are often viewed in corporate America as odd ducks whosomehow are not part of the good-old-boy network. Some writerseventually switch careers, going into management or other areasthat are more mainstream.

Society Is Against YouIf you decide to freelance, be aware that society is not oriented toaccommodate your lifestyle. As a self-employed writer, you willhave more trouble than a corporate worker in qualifying for mort-gages and other loans, even though you may be earning moremoney. Self-employed people are also penalized financiallybecause they must buy their own health insurance. Freelancers inCanada, of course, are covered at no cost under the national sys-tem and don’t have this heavy burden. As Kurt Vonnegut Jr.observes in his book Palm Sunday, “Nobody cares much aboutwriters but writers.”


C H A P T E R T W O

Book Publishing

“When you sell a man a book, you don’t sell him just twelveounces of paper and ink and glue—you sell him a whole newlife.” —Christopher Morley, novelist

Is book publishing glamorous? Many people think of publishingas the brave handmaiden to great books, an industry in whicheditors goad talented but wayward authors to fashion enduring

art. And book publishing does have its moments—the feel of anew hardcover book, the thrill of seeing your book in a bookstore,the editorial satisfaction of unearthing a worthy manuscript, theconvivial luncheons, the pungent gossip.

But don’t judge a book by its cover. In a U.S. News and WorldReport interview published shortly before his death, publisherAlfred A. Knopf said that “taste in publishing, as in all things, hasdeclined, and that has affected the quality of what is printed. Justlook at the fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists. They are full ofdiets, health, exercise.” Knopf went on to say that most editors nolonger work closely with authors because there are just too manyother things to do. “By the time they get around to publishing onebook, they are already working on a new book they have justbought.”

From cave walls to computer terminals, writing has been a toolfor recording human knowledge, history, and dreams for cen-turies. And no matter how far the computer takes us, there willprobably always be people for whom a book is something won-derful and irreplaceable.

Although our discussion of book publishing will focus on edi-torial work—especially the editing of adult trade books—there

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can be a great deal of glamour in publicity and advertising posi-tions as well. By breaking into advertising and publicity in thisfield, writers can work with books and authors, aiming towardmore responsibility and good pay and using many of the sametypes of interpersonal skills needed for success in editing.

The effect of the Internet on traditional book publishing is yetto be determined, although early indications are that the Internetis harming the market for traditional printed books.

One factor is the new E-book. Theoretically, E-books havemany advantages over printed books—lower cost, faster time tomarket, more efficient distribution—and threaten stiff competi-tion. In reality, the new E-book reading devices and E-books havenot caught on, although there is a growing market—mainly entre-preneurial—in self-published E-books written in pdf and down-loadable, for a fee, from the writer’s website.

The more significant competition is from search engines andtheir ability to quickly locate on the Web information on virtuallyany subject. In response to the ready availability of free Internetinformation, traditional publishers are publishing many fewer ref-erence books. Why, for instance, do I need a book on herbal sup-plements, when I can find more than I would ever want to knowabout St. John’s Wort, lycopene, and vitamin B12 for free, in sec-onds, on the Web?

Marketing and PromotionOf the more than seventy thousand people in book publishing,only about 15 percent do editorial work; 25 percent work in mar-keting. (The others do everything else, including administration,sales, and distribution.)

Since books are a one-shot product (unlike, say, a new brand ofcereal that will be sold for years or even decades), the marketingbudgets for individual titles are limited. Craig Herman, director ofmarketing for Pocket Books, says his marketing budget is 80 cents


per book printed. So if a book has a first printing of ten thousand,the marketing budget is only $8,000.

Yet marketing is a significant activity at major publishinghouses because they publish so many books. Simon & Schusterpublishes approximately five hundred books a year, and if theaverage marketing budget is $8,000 a book, the total annual mar-keting budget would be about $4 million.

Here’s a brief summary of some of the key marketing positionsthat involve writing as part of the job.

Publicity Director A publicity director is responsible for publicizing all books on apublisher’s seasonal list. According to Cynthia Kirk, director ofpublicity and promotion at Donald I. Fine, to do the job well, youneed “a high level of energy and curiosity. You have to be inter-ested in books and be familiar with media. You have to have theflexibility to say to yourself, ‘If approach A doesn’t work, I’ll tryapproach B.’”

The glamorous part of the job is working with authors, some ofwhom are well known. Lining up an author for the “CBS Morn-ing News” or “The Tonight Show” is a high. Publicity directorsarrange book tours, supervise the writing of promotional mater-ial, and coordinate the publisher’s overall efforts at promotingbooks and authors. The salary range for publicity director is$30,000 to $60,000.

PublicistA publicist does many of the things that a publicity director does,but he or she usually works with less famous authors. Publicistsusually write their own press releases and are responsible for pro-moting a certain number of the publisher’s books. These peopleare instrumental in helping authors get television and radioappearances and, in some cases, helping them plan tours ofdifferent cities to promote their books. They may also help plan

BOOK PUB L I S H I NG • 2 5

publication parties and events aimed at spotlighting the newsangles of certain books.

Earnings for publicists range from about $18,000 to $50,000. Apublicity assistant, a lower-level position usually paying $15,000to $30,000, helps the publicist follow through on promotionalideas, which can involve everything from mailing review copies(books sent to the media) to distributing press releases. Generally,strong writing ability, good interpersonal skills, and a head fordetails are the publicist’s key tools on the job.

Advertising DirectorThis person helps create and place advertisements for the publish-er’s books. He or she must be familiar with the media in order tofind the best “mix” of advertising—the right magazines, the rightnewspapers, the best television programs in which to advertise aparticular book. Working with sales, marketing, and editorialstaffs, the advertising director tries to divide attention among allthe publisher’s books. Realistically, though, only a handful ofbooks get the advertising director’s full attention. Before becom-ing an advertising director, you may start as a copywriter. Adver-tising directors earn between $45,000 and $85,000.

CopywriterCopywriters, sometimes also known as advertising assistants,write the advertising copy that helps sell books. This copy may beprint advertising, the description of a book on its jacket (knownas flap copy), fliers, or E-mail announcements of new books tobooksellers.

The job tests your abilities to put yourself into the world of avariety of books, usually about a variety of subjects. It’s a delightto see an advertisement you’ve created appear in the New YorkTimes Book Review, for instance. Copywriters earn anywhere from$20,000 to $75,000 annually.


Marketing DirectorThe marketing director takes overall responsibility for marketingefforts. He or she usually supervises ten to twenty people, includ-ing the ad director and the promotion director.

These positions exist at almost every publishing house and aregenerally considered essential. In fact, some editors complain thatsales and marketing people have more influence than they dowhen it comes to deciding which books to buy. Their salaries runfrom about $50,000 to $100,000.

It is not hard for publicity assistants to work up to higher posi-tions. After finishing their daily chores, ambitious souls can alwaysvolunteer to write a press release, to book an author on a radioshow, or to put together a list of television stations that shouldreceive a copy of an upcoming book. The road from publicityassistant to publicist to publicity director to director of advertisinghas been traveled many times. In this field, it is not uncommon toswitch companies frequently in search of more responsibility,more money, and a better title.

Before a book can be published and marketed, however, it mustfirst be edited. No wonder many people equate the editor with theentire publishing process.

Book EditingIn publishing, there are many editors, but few actually edit booksthat are written by publishing’s superstars. The glamorous side ofpublishing is working at one of a dozen or so top publishinghouses, editing the cream of the manuscripts that are submittedfor publication. The editor gets involved with writers, agents, bookreviewers, and book clubs to ease the passage of a book from con-ception to publication to public acceptance.

The glamour of publishing is built, in part, on its legendary fig-ures: Bennett Cerf, the colorful founder of Random House; Alfred


A. Knopf, outspoken pioneer and founder of Knopf; Max Perkins,editor to Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Wolfe; Ken McCormick, for-mer editor in chief of Doubleday; and Michael Korda, flamboyanteditor of Simon & Schuster. There’s nothing wrong with aspiringto that kind of heady success, but first you have to be realisticabout what publishing is and what it is not.

Publishing is not a place for writers or English majors who sim-ply “like books.” Editors edit and publish books but generally donot write them. So don’t think that publishing is the place to bewhile you grind out novels at night. Publishing is a business.Recently, many independent publishers have merged with or beenacquired by larger companies, making them more accountable toaccountants and top management than to literary ideals. Fewerand fewer commercially risky books are being published. Thesedays, a large number of publishable books tend to be “safe bets,”and one of publishing’s most charming facets—the occasional riskof publishing a worthy manuscript by an unknown author—isquickly evaporating.

Samuel Vaughan, former editor in chief of Doubleday, oncelisted some of the prerequisites he felt were necessary for successin publishing. He felt you had to be:

• Passionately persuaded about print and committed to thepower of the word

• In love with both the idea of books and the ideas in books

• In love with language

• Capable of enduring frustration

• Possessing “a taste for long odds”

When Vaughan conducts job interviews, he looks for a personwith “brains, talent, judgment, energy, taste, flair, courage, andconviction—the sort of puzzling person who appreciates litera-ture but is no snob, who can discover a new genius but can alsorespect books published for reasons of entertainment.”


The book-publishing industry employs only about seventythousand people (not including booksellers, book manufacturers,or other book-service employees). Only about 1 percent of thosehave the type of editorial positions at major publishing companiesthat could be considered “glamorous.” There are about twenty-fivehundred consistently active book publishers in the United States,but five companies have half of all paperback sales, and the top tenhave 86 percent of the market. Roughly fifty thousand books arepublished each year, and only a small percentage of them everreceive attention in the press.

According to Publishers Weekly, publishing’s major trade maga-zine, the greatest growth is occurring in trade (bookstore) booksand mass-market paperbacks (pocket-size books distributed tosupermarkets and other retail outlets in addition to bookstores).Some industry leaders have predicted that the trend toward“brand-name” authors will continue and that the computer willplay an increasingly important role in the production, editing, anddistribution of books. More people now probably judge whether abook is good by the posted consumer reviews on Amazon.comthan by the professionally written reviews in the New York TimesBook Review.

Few would-be editors will reach the pinnacle of publishing. Fewget to edit the books of John Updike, Robert Ludlum, Erma Bom-beck, Norman Mailer, or Isaac Asimov. Few have their own tablesat 21 or Four Seasons; few chitchat with author Tom Wolfe orsuperagent Swifty Lazar. Only a handful of America’s trade editorsever know the satisfaction of seeing their authors on “Oprah” orthe bestseller list. Maybe only one in five hundred editors rubshoulders with publishing superstars at the Book Expo Americacocktail parties or return the nods of colleagues as they strollthrough the Frankfurt Book Fair, looking for European bestsellersto buy and publish in the United States.

But being even a small part of an industry in which these thingshappen is enough for some, as is the chance to help bring books


to life. Here’s what advice editorial assistant Sue Shapiro has forwould-be editors:

“I suggest that job seekers study LMP [Literary Market Place].Large houses [such as Macmillan Publishing] usually have open-ings. Go to a house that publishes the type of book you like toread. For example, if you like serious fiction or nonfiction, try forHoughton Mifflin, Harper & Row, or Atheneum. Or try FSG [Far-rar, Straus, and Giroux] or Little, Brown.”

Literary Market Place is where can you find a comprehensive listof major American publishers—complete with addresses, tele-phone numbers, and the publishing house’s top personnel.Known as LMP, this annual directory is used extensively by peo-ple in the book trade as well as by savvy job seekers. It’s availableat most large libraries and will show you the diversity of jobs avail-able in the field while providing profiles of hundreds of publish-ing houses. See the Appendix for details on LMP (and all the otherresources mentioned in this and the other chapters in the book).

Publishers Weekly (PW) includes a section called “WeeklyExchange,” where job seekers and employers advertise. You won’tfind prestigious trade publishers advertising for senior editors inthis section because those jobs are rarities, but you will find a lotof jobs that offer experience and a chance to get your feet wet.

As you study PW and LMP, you may be bewildered by the vari-ety of managerial titles, and you may be unable to decide justwhom to write to and how to approach a publisher. Do youaddress a letter to a top editor or to the publisher of the company?Do you start by going to an employment agency? Or do you writeto the personnel departments of each house?

Many people start by using an employment agency, but as theygain experience in publishing, they network, use contacts, andapply to decision makers at the publishing houses themselves.When you do gain some experience, you may wish to send a letterto the publisher or president of a company. That person may routeyour letter to a particular department or editor, but it helps tohave the letter filter down from the top.


EducationWhile many publishing professionals agree that a strong liberalarts background is a helpful prerequisite for editorial work, there’sa debate as to the type of vocational training one should have.Many insiders believe that no training program can truly prepareyou for the world of books or teach you to uncover the next Jaws,Roots, or In Search of Excellence.

Editor Nan Talese wrote in a Publishers Weekly article on pub-lishing careers: “To me, publishing inevitably is more a vocationthan a profession. The greatest satisfaction is involvement in thework itself. I doubt there really are any effective training pro-grams; the enormous number of details makes experience in thejob the greatest teacher.” She goes on to recommend Scott Berg’sbook, Maxwell Perkins: Editor of Genius, to show young peopleboth the “daily dross” and the “gold” of publishing.

Most publishers assume that you’ve had a solid college educa-tion. Usually, that means a bachelor’s degree in a humanitiesmajor, with a varied diet of liberal arts courses, business courses,and even a few computer science courses. Great editors haveemerged from a number of disciplines, but it helps to present cre-dentials that show you’re well read in literature, economics, mar-keting, psychology, fine arts, and drama. Any courses you take inart history, graphic design, photography, E-commerce, or printingmay also be impressive. Law courses are a big plus, too. And whilepublishers are not bowled over by advanced academic degrees,they may well take notice of an M.B.A. or an advanced degree incomputer science or marketing.

There are several renowned postgraduate courses in publishing,and we’ll outline a few of the best. But remember that some pub-lishing executives are skeptical that the skills necessary in the realworld of publishing can be learned in a classroom. Many of thetop publishers value academic courses as the best training andmay well favor a job applicant with an impressive record as anEnglish major over a candidate who lacked the exposure to such


an education. The academic courses offered today in publishingwill give you a smattering of many important publishing-relatedskills and experiences, but the best way to “sell” these courses toyour interviewer is simply to present them as a “broadening expe-rience” rather than the equivalent of on-the-job training.

Currently, the top three academic publishing programs areoffered by Columbia, New York University, and the University ofDenver. Other excellent programs are available at several dozencolleges and universities throughout the United States.

The Publishing Procedures Course at Columbia is an intensivesummer professional program for recent college graduates whoare seriously considering a career in book publishing. Intended toconvey an overall understanding of the requirements and oppor-tunities of publishing, the Radcliffe program provides basic train-ing in publishing skills and brings students into direct contactwith publishers. The program has been in existence for more thanthirty years (in 2001, it moved to Columbia from Radcliffe).

Allen Peacock worked in the Harvard Coop textbook depart-ment while waiting to get into the Radcliffe program. He went onto become an editor at Linden Press (a division of Simon & Schus-ter), with a growing reputation as a fine editor concerned aboutquality literature and nurturing authors.

The New York University Book Publishing Course, run by theSchool of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, is anintensive program designed to provide a comprehensive overviewof book publishing, from initial concept to final sale. Sessionscover acquisition of manuscripts, author-publisher contracts,editing, printing processes, proofreading, copyright, sales promo-tion, publicity and advertising, and subsidiary rights.

The Publishing Institute at the University of Denver is spon-sored by the Graduate School of Librarianship. The institute offersa four-week program of concentrated course work devoted exclu-sively to book publishing.

There are also excellent courses of study in book publishing atthe City University of New York, George Washington University


(Washington, D.C.), Hunter College (New York City), Rice Uni-versity (Houston), Arkansas State University, Hofstra University(Hempstead, New York), Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville,New York), Simmons College (Boston), the University of Califor-nia at Berkeley, and the School of Visual Arts (New York City). Seethe Appendix for details. City University of New York boasts oneof America’s most distinguished publishing libraries, the WilliamH. and Gwynn K. Crouse Library for Publishing Arts.

What Editors DoAcquisitions editors buy manuscripts and oversee their publica-tion. They negotiate fees and royalties with agents and writers,attend sales conferences, meet with the publicist assigned to theirbooks, and work with authors, designers, and printers to ensurethat the finished book is well written, sound, and attractive. Anacquisitions editor with a reputation for talent and sensitivity canbe a magnet, attracting top writers of all descriptions. When AnnHarris, for instance, was a senior editor at Harper & Row, sheacquired and edited The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, TheTimes of My Life by Betty Ford, The Exorcist by William PeterBlatty, and Altered States by Paddy Chayevsky.

Top editors throw out the formulas; they are on the lookout forcreative ways to meet the ever-changing needs of the book-buyingpublic—as when, for instance, Richard Simon and others atPocket Books proposed to Dr. Benjamin Spock that he write abook about baby care; when Simon & Schuster’s financial man-ager, Leon Shimkin, heard a lecture given by Dale Carnegie andsuggested to Mr. Carnegie that his lectures would make a goodbook (How to Win Friends and Influence People, one of the mostsuccessful books of all time); and when Sam Vaughan suggestedWilliam Buckley Jr. try his hand at spy novels for Doubleday.

When such editors prove their worth and outgrow their sur-roundings, they either start their own companies or, in somecases, are given their own imprint within the company—a line of


books bearing the editor’s name. Richard Marek, who publishedthe early books of Robert Ludlum, gained his own imprint, as didKurt and Helen Wolff, who were responsible for publishing TheName of the Rose.

Assistant and associate editors do many of the same things thatsenior editors do, but they generally handle fewer books and lessprestigious authors. They also have less say as to what books willbe acquired, and they may not be authorized to negotiate fees. Insome publishing houses, however, these same titles can be mis-nomers, actually representing little more than euphemisms for“administrative assistant” or “clerk.”

“Editorial assistant” has traditionally been translated as glori-fied secretary, but this will vary from house to house. It’s anapprentice position, and you’ll probably do a lot of filing, wordprocessing, reading manuscripts, and writing reports on the onesyou think show promise. If your judgment is keen, you’ll benoticed and usually promoted.

Since editorial positions are the most sought after, a commonstrategy is to start at a lower level in another area and work yourway up. “Many persons with noble editorial ambitions acceptwhat they consider to be second best—such as a production, sales,or clerical job—just to be in the publishing world, or in the hopeof eventually realizing that first dream,” writes John Dessauer inBook Publishing: The Basic Introduction. “Others drift into profes-sional or education publishing as a second choice when they dis-cover that the trade publishing job they sought is just notavailable.”

As the low person on the editorial totem pole, you’ll probablyreview manuscripts from the slush pile—unsolicited manuscriptsfrom unknown authors. Many editors have started here and havemade a reputation by discovering a particularly promising manu-script. Gone with the Wind was submitted to Macmillan by anunknown author, and Ordinary People was submitted without anagent and became the first unsolicited manuscript Viking hadpublished in a generation. Author William Styron once presided


over McGraw-Hill’s slush pile—an autobiographical detail hewove into Sophie’s Choice—but even Styron failed to spot thepotential of an adventure story he found in the pile: The Kon-TikiExpedition.

The senior editor is publishing’s glamour getter, a literary sleuthtrying to find publishable books. The editor in chief—in somehouses referred to as the publisher—may have a more prestigioustitle and earn more money, but the job is mainly administrative.As one editor in chief put it: “Our job is to produce fifty books outof every two thousand manuscripts we read.”

Editors in chief plan the house’s whole publishing program,balancing the season’s new titles so that they fulfill the publishinghouse’s general philosophy and marketing aims. They also controlthe budget and supervise staff.

Working with Authors and AgentsThe editor/author relationship may be one of the most importantin the life of a book. As the two work together to bring a book tofruition, it can be a collaborative and creative process, workingtoward the mutual goal of producing a sellable, high-quality bookthat will have a long life. While editing is not an explicitly creativejob, many editors feel that they do have a chance to express theirown creativity by helping to shape a manuscript. Authors look totheir editors for advice about the book’s format, content, andstyle. And it is to the editor’s advantage to have a good workingrelationship with the authors, so that if a book is successful, theywill want to work with that publishing house again.

No honest appraisal of the acquisitions editor’s job is completewithout mentioning that occasionally editors do have conflictswith authors. For any of a million reasons, they sometimes slipinto adversarial roles as a manuscript undergoes the publishingprocess. Everyone, of course, wants the book to be a success, buthow that success is to be accomplished can be the subject ofheated debate. Writers, admittedly, can be unrealistic in their


expectations. They can also be perfectionists, or they can be lazy,sloppy, irresponsible, self-centered, reclusive, and even dull.

From the point of view of some writers, a senior editor can looklike little more than an insensitive paper pusher. Writers oftencan’t understand why it takes so long to get a decision from an edi-tor, why advances are so low, why book schedules are so easilythrown out of whack, why editors don’t return phone calls. Edi-tors wonder why writers frequently ignore deadlines, ignoreauthor’s questionnaires, fight over every single syllable, or insistthat an unrealistically large number of copies of their books beprinted.

As an editor, you’ll need to understand the mind-set of theagent, too. Agents get 10 to 15 percent of what their clients(authors) receive, so they take an assertive, businesslike stance thatmost authors don’t have the time, patience, personality, or experi-ence to take themselves. They’ll push you for a decision, tell youthat the advance is too low, plead with you to keep the book inprint, yell at you because the bookstores aren’t stocking the book,and tease you with book ideas that may—if you act right now—become next year’s bestselling titles.

This can be irritating (or amusing), but it’s part of the game ofpublishing, and you may as well get used to it. It can be fun to sitwith Scott Meredith over lunch and hear him go on and on aboutNorman Mailer’s new project or Arthur C. Clarke’s latest brain-child. It can be a kick to watch an agent use powers of persuasionto turn a maybe into a yes.

Before too long, you’ll know which agents, writers, and col-leagues you can trust—and which you can’t. Powerhouses likeScott Meredith can boast about the advances (prepublication roy-alty payment) they’ve won for their clients. Other agents are morelow-key, though they may be just as likely to bring you a mar-ketable manuscript.

Although an editor reads and edits manuscripts, those activitiesform a surprisingly small part of his or her day. Most of it is spentattending to correspondence, checking galleys and cover designs,


talking to agents and authors, meeting with colleagues, and a mil-lion and one other tasks that eat up a workday.

“I love working with and developing relationships with authorsfrom a variety of backgrounds and perspectives,” says BrianHampton, an editor with Thomas Nelson. “Acquiring and helpingto shape manuscripts is challenging and gratifying. Hearing fromreaders whose lives have been changed by the books I work on isa wonderful reward for my efforts.”

“Life is crazy, and everyone needs help sorting it out,” says NeilWertheimer, publisher at Rodale Books. “At Rodale, our mission is simple: we’re trying to save the world.” Adds writer JerryBuchanan, “A book that instructs in some profitable field is apriceless treasure.”

After an editor uncovers a manuscript or book proposal that heor she feels has merit, the editor begins the arduous task of per-suading the publisher—and perhaps a board of executives—tobuy the book. This may take a few days, a few weeks, or a fewmonths. Agents and authors chew their fingernails while the pub-lishing house ambles toward a decision.

If the answer is no, it’s usually final. But if the decision is yes, theeditor starts to negotiate for the book. Usually, negotiation entailsa few phone conversations with an agent. During these conversa-tions, editor and agent come to an agreement on the specifics ofthe contract. Among the most important details to be discussedare the amount of the author’s advance; the expected date of man-uscript submission; the manuscript’s anticipated length and dateof publication; the ownership of reprint, book-club, serial, andforeign rights; and a number of details involving everything fromdramatic rights to royalty percentages to boilerplate language(standard clauses) about the author’s and publisher’s obligationsto each other.

This task is not as cumbersome as it sounds. Working your wayup as an apprentice, you’ll soon become familiar with how con-tracts are negotiated. Of the many details discussed in each con-tract, only a handful vary from one book to another.


But the real heart of the job is in taking a manuscript and guid-ing it through the production process toward becoming a boundbook in a store. Roughly speaking, here’s what this entails, oncethe author has submitted an acceptable manuscript:

• Editing the manuscript

• Having the manuscript copyedited (closely edited forconsistency and style)

• Working with designers and printers to get the book andcover designed (helping to choose a typeface, jacket copy,and cover design)

• Reading and distributing book galleys (page proofs of theprinted book)

• Working on last-minute changes with the author

• Checking and distributing bound galleys (proofs bound fordistribution to reviewers prior to the actual publication ofthe finished book)

• Arranging a publicity budget and strategy with the salesforce, marketing director, advertising manager, publicitydirector, and subsidiary-rights director

• Approving the press release

• Inspecting copies of the bound book

Other people have the responsibility of making sure that oncethe book is printed and bound, it finds its way to the wholesalers(companies that buy books in bulk from publishers and selldirectly to bookstores and other outlets), to such large bookstorechains as Barnes & Noble and Borders, and to the thousands ofindependent bookstores across the country.

Even when the book is on the shelves, an editor will continue tobe the publishing house’s main conduit of information about thatbook. Every time an author or agent inquires about royalties, anew printing, or the possibility of the book going out of print, theeditor is the person who’ll be contacted.


Beyond these responsibilities, he or she will also be expected tokeep abreast of the field—visiting bookstores, researching newproposals to make sure they’re legitimate and won’t duplicatebooks already in print, and reading Publishers Weekly to see whatthe competition is publishing. The editor must follow the activi-ties of such organizations as the American Booksellers Associa-tion, the American Library Association, and the Association ofAmerican Publishers; and he or she must pay attention to lawsuitsthat involve publishers and details of First Amendment, electronicrights, or copyright violations. The editor will inevitably beexpected to peruse a sizable stack of trade journals, too.

Getting Started in PublishingOne editor (who prefers to remain anonymous) shared her viewof editing with us. Her story typifies both the pains and pleasuresof the publishing world:

“I was an editor of my high school and college newspapers, butthen I tried to break into publishing, and all they wanted was typ-ing. Even my graduate degree meant little.

“I pounded the pavements for a while and then got my first jobthrough an employment agency. I became an assistant to severaleditors. But there was no movement. At most houses, there’s littlemovement.

“So I quit and went back to the employment agency. And, aftera while, I became an assistant editor at Simon & Schuster. There,they promote every six months. But that is largely because, at achaotic house, people leave regularly. There’s an expression inpublishing that you choose to work either at a frenetic pace to bepromoted or for a sedate, prestigious publisher where you maynever get promoted. At S & S, I started at $155 a week (in the mid-1970s). Eventually, I became a senior editor at a paperback house.And, of course, there was glamour: free lunches, free movies, freeplays (after all, we occasionally did business with producers and


playwrights). And there’s the thrill of watching your book makethe bestseller list.

“Also, there are parties: authors throw themselves parties, pub-lishers throw parties. The other day I attended an author’s partygiven by a wealthy grandmother of the author. The house washuge, and there were Renoirs and Picassos on the walls.”

I asked her what else she found glamorous about being an edi-tor, and she replied: “In all fairness, it is exciting to do books withcelebrities—Michael Jackson, Candice Bergen, and others. Andalthough many authors cause aggravation, many others are enjoy-able to work with. If you think that being an editor at a publish-ing company means that you’ll be working with James Joyce,forget it! But it is rewarding to make a flawed manuscript into awell-polished book.”

Brian Hampton says majoring in journalism or English as anundergraduate is ideal preparation for a book editor’s career.Knowledge of computers, finance, and marketing is also helpful. Askill that probably cannot be taught in college is what Hamptoncalls “the editorial eye,” which he defines as “the ability to see whatneeds to be done in a manuscript and to do it in a sensitive way.”

Not all editors or publishers are right about the decisions theymake all of the time. J. R. R. Tolkien’s publisher had such lowhopes for sales of Lord of the Rings that he offered Tolkien noadvance. In the half century since its publication, the Lord of theRings books have sold more than fifty million copies. Literaryagent Bob Diforio advises writers, “It is always best to write whatyou are motivated to write, rather than trying to write to meet aneed or an intended market. Better books result.”

Occasionally, editors get fired or leave their jobs to becomeagents, publicists, or packagers (people who produce books bycontracting directly with authors, designers, and illustratorsbefore offering the book to a publisher as a complete “package”).The pressure of editorial responsibilities is not for everyone. Somepublishers hire only young people because they can get away withpaying them practically nothing and then keep only those who


show unswerving devotion and who are willing to “marry” thejob.

One young editor, in a Publishers Weekly roundup of job oppor-tunities in the field, commented: “I’m committed to publishing,but I’m not sure that will continue when I’m thirty-five. What if Iwanted to have a family? There would be no way it would be pos-sible on this salary. It’s a luxury to work in publishing as it is now,and I want to be paid for my ability.”

In a Publishers Weekly story announcing the retirement of JoanManley—group vice president for books at Time-Life Books anda thirty-year publishing veteran—Manley was asked if she had anyadvice for women in publishing. “Women have always been inpublishing and many have had distinguished careers,” she said. “Itoffers more chance for equal opportunity and has a more sub-stantial track record in that respect than, say, the steel business.The people who should stay in publishing are those who love it,despite gender. I guess my only advice is to enjoy it to the hilt, and,if you don’t, get out. There’s not that much money in it.”

Achieving SuccessAs an editor, you need to set goals for yourself or you may bethought of as someone whom time has passed by. The best editorssoon develop a maturity that makes them even tempered, reliable,and meticulous. They build solid relationships with agents andauthors; they participate vigorously at editorial meetings; theytake an interest in their colleagues and their colleagues’ projects.

You’ll work your way up by acquiring books that establish yourreputation. They need not all sell fabulously well, but they shouldbe books of quality, not just spin-offs of past ideas. Try to be wellrounded in your selections, since you don’t want to get pigeon-holed as the editor who does the humor books or the how-tobooks. You should be known as the person who has the imagina-tion to develop any idea well—although it’s also useful to developseveral particular areas of expertise.


As you work your way up the ladder, you’ll learn the value of“doing your homework” (for example, researching potential bookprojects so that you can tell if an author’s assessment of the book’scompetition is accurate). You’ll learn how to cut through red tapeat your publishing house, how to pitch your books at editorialmeetings, and how to negotiate in such a way as to keep faith withagents and editors.

Not every editor wishes to progress to the high-paying job ofeditor in chief, but if you do wish to get there, don’t be afraid tolet your superiors know that you’re on a fast track. They’ll respectyou for it.

In editing, success will lead to more success. As an editor’s rep-utation grows, he or she will draw the attention of agents andauthors. Soon, that editor will be offered more and better manu-scripts. For some editors, the acquisition of a “hot” manuscriptfrom a top author is a security blanket, a failure-proof trophy ofsuccess. Book buyers have a long memory, and when you hook upwith bestselling authors, you have, in a sense, found a type ofannuity: your prestige grows with each new book the authorwrites.

Working for Smaller PublishersThe glamour of book publishing is not necessarily tied, however,to working at one of the larger, more prestigious houses. Theadvantage of these publishers is that they tend to have worked outefficient systems for conducting business. They take a professionalattitude toward employee benefits, training, and mobility. Butthey do not guarantee that you’ll be promoted or even noticed.And a small publisher may give you a better opportunity to seehow the whole publishing process works. At St. Martin’s Press, forexample, it would not be unusual for an editor to wander into apublicist’s office and chat informally about promotional plans fora new book.


If you’re eager to get firsthand knowledge of how books aremarketed, publicized, and sold, as well as edited, you may want totake a job with a publisher that has a relatively small staff, allow-ing entry-level assistants to share in the higher responsibilities andthus become more well rounded. Don’t forget the world of inde-pendent small-press publishing. While most of the major housesare located in New York City, small presses are scattered through-out the country, and many of them provide well-rounded, respon-sible entry-level positions.

I’ve tried to be realistic in this brief look at publishing. Thereare a number of drawbacks that are hard to accept. Publishersknow the allure of publishing, and the starting salaries seem to bemore like honorariums. And the publishing world, relativelyspeaking, is small; sometimes the industry seems petty andunfair—rewarding tasteless trash with high advances and worthybooks with an uncaring shrug. In its swing toward mass market-ing, mergers, and high advances, publishing may have lost some ofits earlier charm, but it has also opened up a wide range ofemployment opportunities and widened the circle of people forwhom reading is a lifetime joy. As an editor, even though you’rebehind the scenes, you can relish the satisfaction of walkingthrough a bookstore and watching people discover and enjoy whatyou and an author worked so hard to achieve. Every book thattouches the life of another person adds another drop of immor-tality to the author who wrote it—and to the editor who helpedshape it.

Book Publishing: Required ReadingEvery Sunday, the New York Times Book Review discusses a num-ber of the most important new works in fiction, nonfiction, chil-dren’s books, and poetry. A good review in the Times can pave theway to bestsellerdom. The Book Review is sold separately at manybookstores around the country and is available by subscription


independent of the Sunday Times in which it appears. For sub-scription information on the New York Times Book Review and theother periodicals mentioned in this section, see the Appendix.

Book World is the literary supplement to the Washington Postand has a circulation of one million. Although it reviews almosttwo thousand of the most significant new titles each year, it givesspecial attention to biographies and books on politics. In addition,it features columns on science fiction and on paperbacks.

Publishers Weekly, the major trade magazine of the publishingindustry, usually gives important new books their first reviewsabout six weeks in advance of the books’ publication dates (mostother publications review books after publication). Each capsulereview not only gives an overview of the book’s plot but also sum-marizes any special distinction it may have, such as being a Book-of-the-Month-Club selection or having sold rights to a majormagazine or film company.

The publishing world—and diligent book buyers—look for-ward to two special issues each year, the spring and fall announce-ments, which give a glimpse of books to come. In these two thickissues, major publishers advertise their book lists for the new sea-son. Leafing through these issues, an observant book fancier canlearn exactly what the big books of the coming season will be andmake book-buying plans accordingly.

Examining more literary and scholarly books than other book-related publications, the New York Review of Books prides itself onprovocative essays and interviews that address a variety of literaryconcerns. The twenty-year-old biweekly aims less at being timelythan it does at being trenchant, and it has a flair for making odd-couple matchings of books and critics—Joan Didion on WoodyAllen, for example. Gore Vidal, Susan Sontag, Tom Wicker, andRenata Adler are among its regular reviewers.

Two influential magazines of narrower scope are Kirkus Reviewsand Library Journal. Founded in 1933, Kirkus Reviews is a thickcompendium of reviews aimed at librarians. Published twenty-four times a year, each issue covers about two hundred titles, run-


ning the gamut of fiction and nonfiction, with occasional reviewsof how-to books and children’s titles. Library Journal, publishedtwenty times a year, covers a wide range of fiction, nonfiction,technical, medical, and business titles.

Two other top book-review supplements—the Los AngelesTimes Book Review and the Chicago Tribune Book Review—areworth the price of a subscription to their parent publications. TheLos Angeles Times Book Review has gained a national reputation inrecent years, despite its occasional emphasis on California titles.

The Chicago Tribune’s Sunday book section reviews an unusu-ally large number of paperbacks, both trade and mass market. Thereviews are national in scope and lively in tone.

And, although not for the casual consumer, B. Dalton’s“Hooked on Books” merchandise bulletin is perhaps the mostpowerful tastemaker in book retailing today. Written by Kay Sex-ton, Dalton’s vice president of marketing, “Hooked on Books” issupplied weekly to the managers of B. Dalton stores around thecountry who, along with editors and salespeople in every majorpublishing house, read it to find out the latest publishing trends.

Publishing: A Brief GlossaryLike many specialized industries, publishing has its own peculiarjargon. Here are the key terms you need to know:

Advance. An amount of money advanced to the author by thepublisher before publication of the book. The advance issubtracted from royalties earned from the book’s futuresales.

Author tour. A promotion trip, usually arranged by the pub-lisher, to help an author generate interest in his or her bookthroughout the country.

Backlist. A book, often with a limited audience, publishedwith the expectation of selling a steady number of copiesover a period of years.


Breakout potential. A book with breakout potential isexpected to “break out” of a particular subject or genre cate-gory to attract readers from other areas of interest, or toattract a significant number of new readers and sell muchbetter than the author’s earlier books.

First printing. The number of copies printed when a book isfirst published.

Frontlist. All the new books presented in a selling season; alsorefers to nonspecialized and popular books with bestsellerpotential.

Galleys. Bound or unbound, these typeset proofs are shown toauthors to help correct errors in format and content. Boundgalleys are also sent to magazines, newspapers, and otherreviewers for evaluation in advance of or concurrent withpublication.

Hopes ’n’ Dreams book. A term for a book that appeals tothe hopes and dreams of readers rather than to realisticpracticalities.

Impulse buy. A book placed close to the cash register at astore so that buyers may purchase it on impulse. Often dis-played in a publisher-supplied countertop unit called aprepack.

LMP. Literary Market Place.Mass-market paperback. A rack-size paperback book aimed

at a mass audience, usually printed in quantities of twenty-five thousand or more.

Midlist. A fiction or nonfiction book that is neither as special-ized as a backlist book nor as conspicuous as a frontlist book,with an identifiable audience and a well-known author.

Multiple submissions. Submitting a book manuscript to sev-eral publishers at once instead of one at a time.

Packager. A person who arranges the elements of a book—idea, manuscript, production—and packages them to sub-mit to a publisher or to produce the book independently.


PW. Publishers Weekly, the trade magazine considered the bibleof publishing.

Reprint rights. The rights that a publisher buys in order to beallowed to reprint a hardcover book in a paperback format(also known as paperback rights).

Royalty. Money (usually representing a certain percentage ofsales) paid to an author in compensation for the continuingright to publish and sell his or her book.

Run. The number of copies printed at any one time. A tradehardcover’s first run might average five thousand to fifteenthousand copies, while a mass-market paperback’s first print-ing might be twenty-five thousand to fifty thousand copies.

Serial rights. The right to serialize or run excerpts from abook, usually a new book. First serial rights give the right toexcerpt part of a book before the book is officially published.Second serial rights give the right to excerpt a book followingthe book’s publication. Only a small number of magazinesbuy first serial rights to books. These rights, often expensive,can generate excellent publicity for a new book while attract-ing new readers to the magazine running the excerpt.

Stocking stuffer. A low-priced, often whimsical book thatpublishers promote as a possible gift item. These books usu-ally have wide appeal (such as The Preppy Handbook).

Subsidiary rights. Reprint, serial, translation, book-club, per-formance, online, CD-ROM, audio, video, and other rightsin a book, beyond its presentation in its original form.

Syndication rights. The right to syndicate a portion of a newbook—to edit the excerpt and distribute it to a newspapersyndicate’s network of affiliated newspapers.

Trade book. A book that is published for the general publicand sold at bookstores (as distinct from textbooks, whichare marketed to schools).

Trade paperback. A paperback the size of a hardcover ratherthan pocket size.



C H A P T E R T H R E E

Magazine Writing

“The job of a writer, it seems to me, is to focus very finely ona thing, a place, a person, act, phenomenon . . . and then,when the focus is right, to understand, and then render thesubject of that focus in such a way that it suddenly appears incontext—the reader’s context, regardless of who the readerhappens to be, or where.”

—Hunter S.Thompson, Fear and Loathing in America

In today’s information society, the media of communication arechanging at a rapid pace. Where once magazine racks held asmall selection of periodicals dominated by such giants as Life

and Look, today there are magazines aimed at every special inter-est group, technical field, hobby, industry, and discipline imagin-able. For example, there is a magazine just for hog farmers andanother for people who treat sludge. There are magazines for IBMPC users, Macintosh users, Windows users, Lotus 1-2-3 users,UNIX users, and IBM AS/400 users.

Magazines combine news with how-to information and advice.They are designed to help you do whatever you like to do better,whether it’s run, bicycle, play volleyball, program computers,macramé, lift weights, eat gourmet foods, or garden. Becausemagazines target specific interests, a larger percentage of the con-tent is of interest to their readers than is the content of a dailynewspaper.

Today there are more than fourteen thousand magazinespublished in the United States. These include not only consumer

4 9


and general-interest magazines, but also scholarly journals, tradepublications, and special-interest magazines.

With this many magazines, there is an enormous opportunityfor both freelance and staff writing positions. In fact, producingmagazine articles serves as a source of income for more writersthan any other type of writing. When you read writers’ magazinessuch as Writer’s Digest and The Writer, you will find more articleson writing for magazines than any other topic.

Magazines: Where to Find ThemAn amazing number of people want to write for magazines theyhave never seen, much less read. This is a mistake. A magazine islike a potential employer and can easily be studied. Just buy somecopies at a newsstand or check a few out at the local library.

Many magazines sell sample issues and offer free writer’s guide-lines. Send for both. Study the publication. The only reason towork for a magazine covering a subject that doesn’t excite you isto get experience so eventually you can get the job you really want.

Your library has several reference books that list magazines,including Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, Writer’s Market,Bacon’s Publicity Checker, and Standard Rate and Data Service (seethe Appendix for contact information). Of these, Writer’s Marketis most oriented toward writers and provides such useful infor-mation as addresses, the names of managing editors, what per-centage of the editorial content is produced by staff versusfreelance writers, and the types of articles the magazines publish.

Writer’s Market categorizes magazines as either consumer ortrade. Consumer magazines, such as Family Circle, Reader’s Digest,and Glamour, are read by the general public. Trade magazines,which include business and technical journals, are read by special-ists in business or technical fields. Most writers want to work forconsumer magazines, and consumer magazines sometimes paybetter. On the other hand, there are many more trade magazines,so competition is less fierce.


Magazine Staff WriterThe best way to learn the positions available at magazines is tolook at their mastheads. Some magazines have editors on staff anduse freelancers to do the writing. Other magazines have multipleeditors and staff writers who produce a large portion of the mag-azine’s “editorial” (industry jargon for articles as opposed to ads,which are written by advertisers and their ad agencies). Often,staff writers have editorial titles, such as “associate editor.”

Most magazines use some combination of staff and freelancetalent. A staff writer at a major consumer magazine can earn$40,000 a year or more. At trade publications, salaries range from$30,000 a year to $40,000 a year or more. Some trade journals paydismally, while others will surprise you, offering salaries near to orin excess of many consumer magazines.

Consumer magazines generally want to hire editors and writerswith some journalism experience, typically with newspapers ormagazines. A consumer electronics publication, for example,would more likely be interested in an applicant who wrote on thesame subject for an electronics trade journal. Trade experience isa good stepping-stone to consumer publications. Some magazineshire people who have been publicists or freelancers.

You may not start as a writer. Magazines often hire editorialassistants at salaries in the mid to high teens, and this is one wayto break in. The New Yorker is famous for hiring aspiring writersas fact checkers and having them later become famous authors.Some magazines, like Mademoiselle, have intern programs thathire college journalism majors for summer jobs. Often an intern-ship can result in a job offer after school.

According to the book Career Opportunities for Writers, maga-zines pay the following salaries for editorial positions:

• Editorial assistant: mainly clerical duties, $15,000 to $19,000

• Researcher: check and verify facts in stories submitted bywriters, $12,000 to $30,000

MAGA Z I N E WR I T I NG • 5 1

• Copyeditor: edit articles for grammar and style, $15,000 to$45,000

• Associate editor: assign, read, and edit articles; writearticles and columns, $20,000 to $50,000

• Senior editor: supervise the editorial department includingall of the people listed above, $22,000 to $115,000

“An associate editor is usually a staff editorial person whoseresponsibilities can include writing and editing full-length featurearticles, photo captions, product reviews, and news,” says maga-zine consultant Ralph Conti. By comparison, a contributing edi-tor is usually a writer who is not on staff and writes for themagazine on a freelance or per article basis.

Writing for Trade PublicationsWhen you say “magazine,” most people think of the colorful con-sumer magazines—women’s, news, sports, gardening—on thetable in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. But as mentioned,there is a whole other part of magazine publishing eagerly lookingfor writers: business and trade publications.

“Consumer journalists tend to look down on the trades andalso underestimate the importance of trade pubs,” says KenMagill, a former editor for iMarketing News. “CEOs and vice pres-idents of the country’s biggest companies read me every week. Ideliver to them news that is crucial to their businesses that theycan’t get anywhere else.”

And what about the belief among many writers that trade jour-nals are boring?

“We get writers all the time who say trades lack human inter-est,” says Magill. “Often it’s the writer who lacks human interest.Every industry is made up of a collection of characters. A tradepublication is just like a community or small-town newspaper.There are all the petty and not-so-petty political issues, the egos,the movers and shakers, the losers. Interview an entrepreneur


right after a venture has failed, and tell me there’s no human inter-est there.”

And what about the pay? Magill says his reporters earn $30,000to $60,000 a year.“The pay is better than the consumer world,” saysTad Clark, editor of DM News. “Because of this, I’ve been able tohire many reports and editors away from daily newspapers. Theyhave the best training. They know how to write and edit news.”

In addition to newspaper experience, Tad recommends a well-rounded education, even though most trade journals coverspecialized, narrow industries or markets. “Find a job with a pub-lication that follows your interests,” Tad advises aspiring businessjournalists. “There’s one for everything out there. Because of that,you may end up being happier in your job.”

Most trade and business publications service niche markets.According to a survey from the American Society of Business Pub-lication Editors, 80 percent of business and trade publicationshave fewer than eighty thousand subscribers, and 70 percent aremonthlies.

Trade journals hire editors and staff writers of two types. Thefirst is the English-major type, who is primarily a writer and hasno particular expertise in the industry or field covered by the pub-lication. They are hired for their writing skills and often spendtime turning manuscripts submitted by business executives, engi-neers, and scientists into readable articles.

The second type of writer hired by trade publications is thetechnical expert who has worked in the industry and wants tochange careers to get into writing and journalism. These peopleare hired more for their contacts and industry knowledge,although writing talent, even if raw, is still desired.

If you are an expert in a subject matter, such as the Internet orchemical engineering, it may be easier for you to get a staff posi-tion with a trade journal than for a writer who is a generalist andhas no such experience.

“In an editor’s dream, you write like an angel, have rock-solid,news-based qualifications, and have been passionate about the


subject since you were knee-high to a spotty toadstool,” says a bul-letin from the Periodicals Training Council in London. “In prac-tice, any two of these three will probably get you an interview.”

Freelancing and the Query LetterOf the thousands of magazines published today, a large majoritybuy articles from freelance writers. The key to getting freelanceassignments from magazines is not a cover letter or resume. It is aquery letter. If you can master writing query letters, you can getarticle assignments from magazines.

A query letter is, in essence, a sales letter. The prospect is theeditor. The product you want to sell the editor is not you—it is thearticle you want to write for the magazine.

Editors look for professionalism in query letters. This means notypos, no misspellings. Address the letter to a specific editor byname, and spell his or her name correctly.

Another thing editors look for is familiarity with the magazine.Don’t suggest an article on hunting elk to the newsletter for theASPCA. Sounds obvious, but such things happen every day; forexample, writers often make the mistake of proposing “how-to”articles to magazines that don’t do “how-to.” Study the marketbefore you send your query.

Editors also look for good writing. If you can, write the firstparagraph or two of your query so it could be used, as is, as thelead for your article. This shows the editor that you know how tobegin a piece and get the reader’s attention.

In addition, editors dislike lazy writers—those who want to seetheir bylines in a magazine but refuse to do research or get theirfacts straight. Put a lot of hard nuts-and-bolts information—facts,figures, statistics—in your letter to show the editor that you knowyour subject. Most query letters (and articles) are too light oncontent. Credentials also impress editors. Tell the editor why he or


she should hire you to write the article. If you are an expert in thesubject, say so. If not, describe your sources. Detail which expertsyou will interview, which studies you will cite, and which refer-ences you will consult. Also, list your previous publishing creden-tials, if you have any—especially books and articles in well-knownmagazines.

Estimate the length of your article in terms of the number ofwords. The Writer’s Market listings usually include a magazine’spreferred word count. Articles range in length from two hundred-word fillers to five thousand-word features. The average length ofmagazine articles today seems to be in the range of fifteen hun-dred to two thousand words, or about six to eight double-spacedtyped pages.

The more fully developed your idea, the better. If you spell outeverything—your topic, your approach, an outline, your sources,the expected length of the article—then editors know what theywill get when they give you the go-ahead to write the piece. Themore complete your query, the better your chance for a sale.

Keep in mind that freelancing for consumer magazines is anextremely competitive market because so many people want to getpublished. For instance, Newsweek receives more than five hun-dred manuscripts a month for its “My Turn” column; only four orfive are published.

Reprinted here are two sample query letters. Both were success-ful and resulted in an assignment to write an article. All articleswere accepted and have been published.

In the first example, the letter and brief outline give the editorplenty of information on which to base a decision. The letterclearly states the need for the article, as well as the writer’s cre-dentials, both as a writer and in the field of technical writing.

Both letters indicate that an SASE is enclosed. SASE stands for“self-addressed, stamped envelope.” Including an SASE is a mustfor every query letter and manuscript submission.


Mr. Kenneth J. McNaughtonAssociate EditorChemical EngineeringMcGraw-Hill1221 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020

Dear Mr. McNaughton:

When a chemical engineer can’t write a coherent report,the true value of the investigation or study may be distortedor unrecognized. Productivity vanishes.And the engineer’schances for career advancement diminish.

As an associate editor of Chemical Engineering, you knowthat many chemical engineers could use some help inimproving their technical writing skills. I’d like to providethat help by writing an article that gives your readers “TenTips for Better Business Writing.”

An outline of the article is attached.This two thousand-word piece would provide ten helpful tips—each less thantwo hundred words—to help chemical engineers write bet-ter letters, reports, proposals, and articles.

Tip number three, for example, instructs writers to bemore concise.Too many engineers would write about an“accumulation of particulate matter about the peripheralinterior surface of the vessel” when they’re describing solidsbuildup.And how many managers would use the phrase“until such time as” when they simply mean “until”?

My book, Technical Writing: Structure, Standards, and Style,will be published by McGraw-Hill in November. While thebook speaks to a wide range of technical disciplines, myarticle will draw its examples from the chemical engineeringliterature.


I hold a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University ofRochester and am a member of the American Institute ofChemical Engineers. Until this past January, I was manager ofmarketing communications for Koch Engineering, a manufac-turer of chemical process equipment. Now, I’m an indepen-dent copywriter specializing in industrial advertising.

Ken, I’d like to write “Ten Tips for Better Technical Writing”for your “You and Your Job” section. How does this sound?

Sincerely,

Bob Bly

ARTICLE OUTLINETen Tips for Better Technical Writingby Robert W. Bly

1. Know your readers.Are you writing for engineers? Man-agers? Laypeople?

2. Write in a clear, conversational style.Write to express—not to impress.

3. Be concise.Avoid wordiness. Omit words that do notadd to your meaning.

4. Be consistent . . . especially in the use of numbers,symbols, and abbreviations.

5. Use jargon sparingly. Use technical terms only whenthere are no simpler words that can better communi-cate your thoughts.

6. Avoid big words. Do not write “utilize” when “use” willdo just as well.

7. Prefer the specific to the general.Technical readers areinterested in solid technical information and not in gen-eralities. Be specific.


8. Break the writing up into short sections. Short sections,paragraphs, and sentences are easier to read than longones.

9. Use visuals. Graphs, tables, photos, and drawings can helpget your message across.

10. Use the active voice.Write “John performed the experi-ment,” not “The experiment was performed by John.”The active voice adds vigor to writing.

Mr.William BrohaughEditorWriters Digest9933 Alliance RoadCincinnati, Ohio 45242

Dear Mr. Brohaugh:

John Frances Tighe, a soft-spoken, bearded gentleman,modestly refers to himself as “the world’s second-most suc-cessful freelance direct-mail copywriter.”

John’s fee for writing a direct-mail package? $15,000.But that’s peanuts compared to the $40,000 Henry

Cowan charges. According to Who’s Mailing What, a newslet-ter covering the direct-mail industry, Cowan is the highestpaid copywriter in the world. Direct Marketing magazinereports that his income on the Publishers Clearing Housemailing alone (for which he receives a royalty) was $900,000in a recent year.

Next to the movies and bestselling novels, direct mail isone of the highest-paid markets for freelance writers.Although surprisingly easy to break into, it’s an industrymost freelancers don’t even know about. Direct-mail writing


is dominated by a few dozen writers who earn lush six-figure incomes writing only a few days a week.

I’d like to write a three thousand-word article on “MakingMoney as a Direct-Mail Writer.” The article would tell yourreaders everything they need to know to start gettingassignments in this lucrative but little-known specialty.

Here are the topics I would cover:

1. The Secret World of Direct Mail.What is direct mail? Whois writing direct mail—and how much are they earning?Why has this market been a secret until now? I wouldinterview some old pros as well as some new writers toget their perspectives.

2. A Look at the Market. What are the various uses of directmail (mail order, fund-raising, lead generation, cordialcontact)? Types and formats of direct-mail packages youmight write.Types of organizations that hire freelancewriters (publishers, catalog houses, fund-raisers, insur-ance companies, banks, manufacturers, ad agencies) andhow (and where) to find them.

3. Getting Started. Learning about direct mail. Studying themarket. Building your swipe files. Getting your firstassignments.

4. How to Write Direct-Mail Copy That Sells. Understandingthe mission of direct mail.Tips for writing copy that will get results. How to present your copy to clients.Graphics and layouts for direct-mail copy. Differences in sales copy (direct mail) versus editorial copy (maga-zine writing).

5. Marketing Your Services. Getting and keeping clients. Howto market your services using: portfolios, meetings, tele-phone calls, letters, advertising, publicity techniques.

6. Fees. How to set fees.Table of typical fees.


7. Keeping Up with the Field. Books. Publications. Professionalorganizations. Courses. Seminars.

This article will draw both from my own experience as asuccessful direct-mail copywriter (clients include Prentice-Hall, New York Telephone, Hearst, Chase Manhattan, EdithRoman Associates) and from interviews with top pros in thefield—including Milt Pierce, Sig Rosenblum, Richard Arm-strong, Don Hauptman,Andrew Linick, and others. I knowthese people personally, so getting the interviews is noproblem.

Also, I am a member of the Direct Marketing Club ofNew York and author of the forthcoming book, Direct MailProfits (Asher-Gallant Press).

May I proceed with the article as outlined?An SASE is enclosed.Thanks for your consideration.

Regards,

Bob Bly


Building Your CredibilityWhether you want a staff position or prefer the variety and inde-pendence of freelancing, you’ll need to develop a portfolio andresume that demonstrate your ability to write, generate ideas, andtarget your ideas to a specific audience.

If you have expertise or interest in a specific topic, you canmake yourself indispensable to an editor by presenting a numberof article ideas you’d like to pursue. When you’re just starting tobuild your portfolio, the response to your queries might ask thatyou write the article you suggest “on spec.” That guarantees thatat least the article will be read, that the editor is interested in the

idea. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the article will be pur-chased and published. The editor wants to be sure you can deliveran article that will fit well with the magazine’s content, writingstyle, and tone. Even magazines that don’t pay, or pay only in con-tributors’ copies or a small honorarium, require that you send aquery letter before they will assign an article to you.

Magazine editors are always looking for new ideas. Filling thepages of a magazine every month requires the efforts and talentsof many individuals. If you’re an “idea person,” someone who cancome up with viable ideas and match them to the appropriatepublications, you’ll be off to a good start in a magazine career.

StringersBeing a stringer is not a career. Rather, it’s a way for writers andothers interested in the printed word to earn extra money by beinginvolved in the magazine field. Newspapers, primarily thetabloids, also use stringers; in fact, they use them more than mag-azines do.

A stringer is someone who looks for hot tips, leads, and storyideas and brings them to the attention of the appropriate editors.The stringer may just supply the idea or more detailed back-ground information on the story or even be asked to do some leg-work or research. Reader’s Digest aggressively invites its readers tosubmit these kinds of materials, and it pays well for them.

If the idea develops into an article, the stringer is paid a fee.This is usually a nominal sum, but not always. Some of thetabloids, most notably the National Enquirer, pay a fairly decentfee for story leads.

Story ideas submitted by stringers are turned over to staffor freelance writers, although if you’ve developed a good relation-ship with the magazine as a freelancer you will often be given the assignment. Being a stringer can provide the opportunity toget freelance assignments or even a staff position. Stringers do not generally get bylines for having provided an article idea.


Therefore, if an idea or tip you gave a magazine becomes an arti-cle, you cannot claim to have been published in that magazineunless you wrote the article yourself.

Education and ExperienceThere is no specific educational requirement for magazine writ-ing. Unlike newspapers, which greatly favor applicants with jour-nalism degrees, magazines don’t particularly favor journalismmajors. So the lack of a degree in this field is not a handicap here.

The best way to sell yourself as a magazine writer, aside fromquery letters, is clippings of articles you have written. The morearticles you get published, the more clippings or tear sheets youhave to send editors. This is why many writers, at the beginning oftheir careers, will write for smaller and specialized publications atno charge, simply to get the byline and clippings. This is some-thing you’ll stop once you begin to get paid for your writing, butthere is nothing wrong with doing it when you start.


C H A P T E R F O U R

Writing forNewspapers and

Newsletters

“American newspapers (with certain notable and honorableexceptions) are not written ‘upwards’ . . . but downwards soas to catch the ear and capture the money of the crowd.”

—Stephen Leacock

Newspapers in the Internet AgeMany people have argued that television and the Internet havemade newspapers an outmoded, inefficient means of deliveringnews. With online news services such as Salon.com, you get news instantly, as it happens. With newspapers, the brushfire ontonight’s TV news isn’t covered until the next morning’s newspa-per, if that early.

Given the easy access of news and information online, why donewspapers still survive? Editor Tom Hagy says, “If people aremassaging and manipulating and shaving the Web down to apoint to which they get what they are interested in, and only whatthey are interested in, how will they learn anything beyond theircurrent interests?”

A recent Roper poll showed that 69 percent of Americans preferto get their news from TV, as opposed to only 37 percent from

6 3


newspapers. The average American household watches televisionfifty hours a week. In 1980, 62.2 million newspapers were soldeach day. In 1995, that figure had dropped to 59.3 million, adecline of 4.8 percent in fifteen years. During the same period, thenumber of daily newspapers in America dropped from 1,743 to1,548—a decline of 11 percent.

In the United States, the First Amendment to the Constitutionestablished a unique role for American journalism—to be anunofficial watchdog of the government. An informed citizenry isat the heart of a democracy, and a free press was seen as essentialto providing the people with access to information about theirelected officials. In essence, the press became a branch of theAmerican system of government—known in press circles as theFourth Estate—reporting to the populace the activities of the Sen-ate, the judiciary, and the presidency.

The best journalists take the responsibility that comes with theright to a free press very much to heart. That responsibilityrequires reporting accurate, reliable news with the purpose ofinforming the populace.

Breaking into JournalismIt is difficult—not impossible, but difficult—to get a job in jour-nalism without having majored in the subject at college. There-fore, if you are interested in becoming a reporter, this should beyour major course of study at school.

You do not have to major in journalism as an undergraduate. Infact, many journalists who cover a specific topic major in thattopic. Many computer journalists, for instance, either have degreesin computer science or have worked as programmers. Having anundergraduate degree in subject X can give you an edge in land-ing a job in journalism covering subject X. However, if yourundergraduate degree is in subject X, you probably want to con-sider a master’s in journalism.


What will you learn in journalism school? “I teach storytelling,in the main,” says Craig Wolff, an associate professor at theColumbia School of Journalism. “When all else washes away—new media, round the clock news—that is what will persist as themost vital, sought-after skill a journalist can have. As a species, wehave always been interested in the story, the narrative, the piece-by-piece assembling of how something came to be. This is a nativeinstinct that will be sought and treasured.” Adds writer BarrySheinkopf, “We want, as readers, not to be persuaded by a sensibleand well-modulated argument, but to be overcome by an irre-sistible force. We want to be absorbed by the tale, renderedspeechless, carried away.”

The other requirement is that you were active in your highschool and college newspapers. This is how you can generatepublished writing samples—known in the business as “clips” or“clippings”—to show editors who can hire you for your firstnewspaper job.

“Clarity and accuracy and depth of knowledge and research areindispensable skills,” says Wolff. “In these times, with so manycompeting voices, the ones that can be consistently and reliably onthe mark are the ones that will be trusted. People who practice thecraft in this way are the ones who will endure, as models for thecraft, and in the marketplace as well.”

The reason it’s hard to get a job without these credentials is thatthe field is so competitive. So many young people want to bereporters and editors, there are many more applicants than thereare jobs. Those who have the education and the experience havethe advantage. There are exceptions. Expertise in a specific fieldmay substitute for experience in journalism, if the specialty is indemand. For instance, one writer was asked to be a financialreporter, even though his previous job experience was in realestate, because he had written a book on the subject. The bookdemonstrated both his expertise in the subject and his writingability, but his experience is the exception, not the rule.

WR I T I NG FOR NEWSPAPER S AND NEWS L E T T E R S • 6 5

Another way to get both clips and experience is to write foryour town’s local weekly newspaper or shopper. These newspaperspay little or nothing for unsolicited articles, but they are realnewspapers, and the experience and the published news clippingwill help begin to establish your credentials as a journalist. Manybig-city newspaper reporters and editors began their careers onthe staffs of weekly newspapers. While many move on to careerson larger newspapers, others stay to advance in editorial positions.They like the small-town flavor and the focus on local news andissues.

Working for NewspapersThe newspaper business is deadline driven. As a newspaperreporter, you learn to write and edit quickly. Daily newspapersneed fresh stories every day. So newspaper writers work on incred-ibly tight deadlines.

Reporters for small newspapers cover everything from localtown council meetings to high school sports, obituaries to crimereports. The size of the staff usually means you’re an all-purposereporter. This is a great opportunity to learn the trade and can bemore interesting to someone who prefers a variety of subjectsabout which to write.

On larger newspapers, reporters generally specialize on a “beat.”Like the cop who walks a beat and gets to know the neighborhood,a beat reporter gets to know all the necessary background and con-tacts for covering a specific subject area. Some of the usual beatsare police, courts, education, business, entertainment, or sports.

Although newspapers do publish feature stories, most of whatis in newspapers has a news slant. You must be aware of what isgoing on within your beat, whether it’s the PTA, the city council,the city police desk, or the world. If current events do not fascinateyou, and you are not already an avid newspaper reader, you mightbe better off doing a type of writing that interests and fascinatesyou more.


The News CycleWhether you work for a large daily or a small weekly, the newscycle begins with getting your reporting assignments from an edi-tor. On a smaller paper, usually only one or two people have “edi-tor” as part of their titles. If you’re on a daily paper, you’ll get yourassignments from the editor of your section or beat, such as thecity editor or the sports editor. If you happen upon a story on yourown, you’ll need to clear it with the editor.

It’s the role of the editor to determine what is newsworthy.Often the editor will dictate an “angle” or “slant” to your story—how to approach it or what viewpoint to take. On larger papers,the editors of various sections meet daily with the managingeditor to discuss what each section will carry in the next day’snewspaper.

Once your articles are written, they are reviewed by the editorand, at large newspapers, by the copyeditors who check your writ-ing for errors and proper newspaper style. Most newspapers fol-low the style set by the Associated Press and outlined in TheAssociated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.

The whole cycle—getting story ideas, assigning reporters tocover them, writing the articles, and editing them—is repeateddaily, or weekly. For some, the cycle can get monotonous, but formany others, the constant demand for news and the pace of meet-ing deadlines is exciting.

Learning to Write Newspaper ArticlesYou will have an enormous advantage in your search for a news-paper career if you already know how to write a newspaper articlebefore you apply for a job.

Writing newspaper articles is like playing the piano. It’s rela-tively simple to learn the basics and turn out an acceptable article,but you can then spend the rest of your life refining your craft.

There are two ways to learn about writing for newspapers.The first is in school, either by taking journalism courses or byworking on your school paper, or both. High school journalism


courses are valuable and can teach you a lot, but a bachelor’sdegree in journalism is a good idea if you pursue this as a career.

Another option, if you have a bachelor’s degree in another field,is to go to graduate school in journalism. Many colleges and uni-versities offer degree programs in journalism. One of the mosthighly respected programs is that of the Columbia UniversityGraduate School of Journalism. Another is the University ofMissouri School of Journalism, the oldest such program in thecountry.

The second way to learn about journalism is to write articles forpractice. Perhaps you have a club or company newsletter. Ask theeditor if you can contribute some articles. Small weekly commu-nity shoppers occasionally take articles from town residents. Manyweekly and some daily papers also accept freelance article submis-sions. Pay is minimal, often $50 or less per article. One localcolumnist, when on vacation, is able to get temporary replace-ments to write her parenting column at no charge—seeing theirbylines in the newspaper is payment enough.

The best way to freelance for newspapers is to send query let-ters, as with magazines. Look at the kinds of articles the newspa-per publishes. Study the organization and writing style. Thencome up with your own ideas that you think will fit in with thenewspaper’s format. You can present your ideas to the editor firstin the form of a query letter or telephone call, or you can take achance and write the article to submit “on spec”—on the specula-tion that the editor will like it enough to publish it. Chapter 3 pre-sents detailed instructions on how to write query letters that getarticle assignments.

Developing a SpecialtyOne way to launch a journalism career without a lot of journalismexperience is by specializing in a subject matter, such as science,technology, computers, business, real estate, investments, travel, orother topics.


Are you an expert? Do you give seminars, work in a particularfield, or have advanced credentials in a field routinely covered bythe press? Approach local newspapers to see if they need a science,medical, or consumer reporter covering your particular specialty.Some editors will hire journalists who have proven subject exper-tise or expert credentials, even if their journalism experience orwriting background is limited.

Of course, you’ll improve your chances by both becoming asubject expert and getting known as a writer who specializes inthat field. If you have authored a gardening book, for example,you may be able to convince your town paper to have you do aweekly column on gardening and lawn care. That column can besyndicated to other newspapers, and the experience can help youget hired by larger papers that pay better salaries.

Chapter 3 discusses writing for trade journals and other spe-cialized professional publications. Newspapers often hire tradejournal editors and reporters to cover a particular beat or fieldrelated to the topic of the journal. This is a good career path, as itis much easier for a beginner to get a writing job with a trade jour-nal than with a newspaper. One college friend, who majored inelectrical engineering and started working for an electrical engi-neering magazine after college, is now a successful newspaperbureau chief in London.

Getting StartedThe more experience you gain in high school, college, or freelancewriting before you start applying for your first job, the morequickly you will be hired as a reporter. Geographic mobility is alsoa plus.

When you begin your job search, send cover letters and resumesto a broad range of newspapers, some to national papers, some tolarge city dailies, and others to town weeklies. There are more thansix thousand newspapers in the United States. Send out two hun-dred to three hundred resumes in your first mailing wave. With


phone follow-ups, expect this to yield two to five interviews, andif you’re fortunate, a job. If no job is offered, send another threehundred resumes and repeat the process. Tenacity pays off in get-ting jobs as well as news stories.

The cover letter should highlight journalism education andexperience as well as any specialized subject knowledge. If youhave published articles in magazines, say so. If you are a publishedbook author, this will impress potential employers even more.

Newspaper writing is probably the most difficult specialty tobreak into. You may have to start small, writing for town weeklies.Do not turn up your nose at this. It is an excellent opportunitythat opens the path to a career working for more prestigious pub-lications. And the smaller and more local the newspaper, the lesscompetitive it will be.

Certainly, small community newspapers have different stan-dards than the Boston Globe or the New York Times. While someaspiring journalists view the small-town weekly as the bottom ofthe barrel, I disagree. Newspaper writing seems simple, but expe-rienced journalists know they are learning and improving withevery piece they write.

Writing for a small-town paper can give you excellent experi-ence and credentials that get you a job on a larger paper. Smallerpapers offer a mix of journalism, blending local politics with arti-cles that are almost promotional in the way they advertise librarysales, parades, Little League, club meetings, and other hometownevents.

If you decide to work for a smaller paper, do it with enthusiasm.Yes, there will be “puff pieces” to write. But you will also have theopportunity to cover local government, events, news, and com-munity affairs in an intelligent, even sophisticated, fashion. Doboth types of articles as required, and do your best. That’s the wayto learn your craft and get clippings you can use to secure a betterjob down the road.


NetworkingBecoming involved in the media world and the community ofjournalists can give you the contacts you need to open the door toa newspaper job. An excellent way to start is by joining the Amer-ican Society of Journalists and Authors. Attend meetings to meetand network with fellow writers as well as editors who can buyfreelance material or hire you for a staff position. The society alsohas a job hot line for members that can bring you work. Call orwrite for information today.

Switching FieldsIt’s easier to get into many of the other writing specialties dis-cussed in this book than to break into newspaper journalism.

Therefore, a good strategy is to start in another area of writing,establish credentials and clippings, then move from that field intojournalism. Many journalists are former publicists, press agents,magazine writers, book authors, technical editors, or corporatewriters. Conversely, many journalists often go into these otherfields when they get tired of the low pay that is typical at manynewspapers.

Even if you have a nonwriting job, you can and should moon-light or freelance if you want to switch careers and become areporter. The more writing samples and clips you have, the betteryour chances of being hired.

If money becomes an issue and you can’t get into a biggerpaper, you may consider switching to a better-paying field, such aspublic relations or corporate communications. Some journalistsconsider these viable career options, while others feel they are sell-ing out. It’s up to you.

Another career path is to move from newspapers to broadcastmedia—radio or television. Although smaller radio and cable TV


stations pay surprisingly modest salaries, on-camera personalitiesfor broadcast channels can make big money—$100,000 to$350,000 a year or more! Some reporters continue to write fornewspapers while doing TV or radio commentary in addition totheir writing, giving them the best of both worlds.

FreelancingMagazines offer much more opportunity for freelancing thannewspapers. Most newspaper writers are on staff, not freelance.Yes, some newspapers hire freelancers, but the work is sporadicand the pay is minimal. You could probably not find a single free-lance writer who makes a living writing exclusively or primarilyfor newspapers. For more on freelancing for magazines, seeChapter 3.

Large daily newspapers that circulate over a broad geographicregion often hire “stringers”—experienced reporters who work ona freelance basis from a region covered by the newspaper. Thereporter often sells the story to both the large daily paper and asmaller local newspaper. If the story has an even broader newsvalue, it might be picked up by a wire service as well.

Some reporters got their start in the news business by sellingstories to one of the wire services. A wire service is a news agencythat distributes news stories to papers all over the country, origi-nally over telegraph wires but now through telephone wires via faxor modem.

The most widely recognized wire service is the Associated Press.Smaller but well-distributed agencies include the Cox News Ser-vice, the New York Times News Service, and Knight-Ridder NewsService. You’ll find these and other wire services in the directorieslisted in the Appendix.

Many reporters climb the career ladder by becoming editors. Aneditor assigns stories, manages a staff of reporters, edits copy, andis responsible for the content of the newspaper. There is more


management responsibility and slightly more money. As an editor,you will do more editing and managing and less investigativereporting and writing.

You will not start in this business as an editor. Your first job willbe as a reporter. Within the ranks of the reporters, you can assumemore and more responsibility and autonomy. If you do well, even-tually you may be offered an editor’s position. Or you can applywhen a position opens up on your paper or a competing paper.

Writing ColumnsMost daily newspapers have staff columnists who write on sub-jects ranging from politics and foreign affairs to consumerism andinvesting. Often columnists write for one paper and have the col-umn syndicated so that it runs in many other papers nationwide.Jane Applegate, for example, writes a column for the Los AngelesTimes that appears several times a week in the business section ofmy local daily paper, the Record.

National syndication is a ticket to success in a big way for manywriters. It is not exactly easy to achieve but is probably less diffi-cult than most writers believe.

Most people are aware that such well-known columnists as CarlRowan, James J. Kilpatrick, and William F. Buckley Jr. are nation-ally syndicated—they sell their columns regularly to newspapersall over the country. Not so well known, probably, is that it is notonly political columnists and “big names” whose columns aresyndicated in this manner. Writers of “service” columns are alsowidely syndicated. “Dear Abby” is the most familiar example, butthere are also Sylvia Porter, Rona Barrett, Eliot Janeway, and manyothers—many not nearly so well known—writing on personalproblems, household hints, finance and economics, investment,medical matters, career concerns, and other topics.

Even this is not a complete list of the types of materials thatmay be syndicated. The crossword puzzles, comic strips, political


cartoons, and other such items in your local newspaper are alsosyndicated.

In short, almost anything that would interest newspaper read-ers generally may be syndicated, including completely new ideas.

The market is both easy and difficult to crack, depending onseveral factors.

1. Opinion columns—“think pieces”—are extremely difficultto sell, almost impossible if you are not a recognizedauthority of some sort. Walter Lippman was able to do it,and probably Walter Cronkite and a few others of greatreputation can do it, but it’s an uphill, almost hopelessbattle otherwise. (That is not the same thing as trueanalysis columns, such as those analyzing the stock marketor the latest medical findings. Even in those cases you mustbe able to demonstrate impressive credentials.)

2. Humor usually sells well, but it is much more difficult towrite than most people believe. You will have tough acts—such as Dave Barry and Erma Bombeck—to follow. Youmust be good—very good.

3. Something truly different and original will sell—if readerslike it. And that is what it always comes down to: thereaders are the final judges.

Editors buy what they think readers will like. They may beright—or wrong. Of course, they will never know without tryingthe column. Still, after all their years as reporters, correspondents,and newspaper editors, they “have seen it all,” or believe they have.(Maybe your “new” idea is not so new, after all, to an old hand inthe business!)

Syndication is usually done through an established organiza-tion, such as the King Features Syndicate or United Features, twoof many syndicates. They are the professionals; they have a goodidea of what is salable as a syndicated feature and what is not.


They are also realists; they know that even a good idea takes timeto sell to enough subscribers—newspapers—to make the proposi-tion viable. That is why you must pay them as much as 60 percentof the selling price as a commission. And that is also why it is noteasy to get them to accept you as a client.

But it is not hopeless. There is another way: do it yourself. Beyour own syndicate by selling your material directly to a numberof newspapers on a syndicated basis.

Here are just a few subject areas that have potential for syndi-cated columns:

Advice, generalAutomotive mattersBeauty and fashionBooks and periodicalsBridgeBusinessDecoratingEcology and animalsEducationEntertainmentFood and wineGardening and farmingHealth foodsHobbiesHome-based businessesMedicine and scienceMusicPolitical sceneReligionRetirementSportsTechnologyTelevision and radio


Travel and vacationsWomen and family

Bear in mind that you are up against experts, some with largereputations, as competitors. Try to specialize as much as youcan—it’s much easier to be a true expert in a narrow specialtythan in a broad one. Try to choose an area in which you truly dohave some credentials as an expert and where there are not anexcessive number of competitors.

Obviously, for many of the areas, you must be a professionalexpert. But you could also be an “amateur expert” in areas such aswine, gardening, home-based second-income careers, and house-hold hints.

Don’t underestimate the value of research to supplement—even replace—your own expert knowledge; you don’t have toknow it all yourself. If you are in a position to get good informa-tion on a continuing basis, you can turn that to advantage. Manyjournalists, for example, are not experts in their subjects, but theyare expert in finding information they can use—who to call orinterview, what bulletins to read.

You can easily get yourself placed on distribution lists for newsreleases, for example. All you need to do is make up a letterhead—you can simply type it—announcing that you are a columnist,news service, publisher, or other relevant entrepreneur andrequest that your name be placed on the mailing list. The market-ing departments of most manufacturers issue such releases, as wellas full press kits, and will be happy to add your name. There aredozens of trade publications that are distributed free of charge tomany people. Your librarian will help you find lists of periodicals.

Once you select a topic area, you will have to decide whether tospecialize or generalize within that category. For example, here are some columnists and columns in the advice category:

• Jean Adams: “Teen Forum” about and for teenagers

• Dr. Joyce Brothers: Psychologist, professional advice


• Heloise: Household hints, solving household problems

• Joyce Lain Kennedy: “Careers,” tips about jobs and careers

• Abigail Van Buren (now written by her daughter, JeannePhillips): “Dear Abby,” advice to the lovelorn and others

You must determine your audience. For the general public as anaudience, you want to shoot for the daily newspapers. But if youare after a more specialized audience, such as professionals orbusiness owners, you want to consider the trade papers. DM News,for example, is a tabloid for the direct-mail community, andTarget Marketing is a smooth-paper magazine for the same audi-ence. Both are “controlled circulation” periodicals, incidentally,which means that qualified applicants receive free subscriptions.

There are many avenues to success. One man sells a comic stripand a column on handicrafts aimed at hobbyists and home work-ers. Another man who publishes his own newsletter, offeringadvice and information on investments, saving money, and relatedsubjects, also syndicates his own column on those subjects inmany local newspapers.

You will probably do well to try marketing your column toweekly newspapers at first for several reasons. Editors of weeklynewspapers are often easier to see and talk with, although theytend also to have rather limited budgets. If you can give your col-umn local interest, it will be more attractive to a weekly since theyare the journals of small towns, neighborhoods, and suburbia.The editor will probably be pleased to have a local writer doing acolumn and presumably available to discuss coverage of the col-umn, perhaps even to accept special assignments. Certainly, thesmall weekly is easier to sell to than the big daily!

You don’t have to limit yourself to newspapers. Consider otherkinds of periodicals, including trade tabloids—many trade jour-nals are published as “slicks” (smooth-paper magazines)—butthere are many others published on newsprint as tabloids. Try alsothe Sunday supplements and regional slicks—many of those usesyndicated material.


It’s a “numbers game”—playing the percentages or probabilitystatistics. If your column has worth, and you send samples toenough editors, inevitably you will make a few sales. It will takepatience and endurance, but if you persist, you will succeed. Thefirst few sales are the hardest to make. Once you’ve begun, it willgradually become easier. The Appendix lists major syndicates.

SalariesDaily newspapers pay better salaries than weekly town papers. Asa rule, the larger the circulation, the better the pay. In the directo-ries listed at the end of this chapter, you will find the names andaddresses of thousands of daily newspapers.

Most journalists start with smaller dailies, then move up. Oftentheir ultimate goal is a job with the Boston Globe, the New YorkTimes, the Washington Post, USA Today, or the Wall Street Journal.These newspapers have the largest circulations and pay the high-est salaries.

Of course, the top ten or twenty papers can hire a limited num-ber of reporters and editors. So only a small fraction of reportersever get to write for the Times or Wall Street Journal.

Most reporters enjoy decent salaries, interesting work, andrewarding careers at small and medium-size papers. Staff journal-ists earn somewhat more than the average full-time freelancewriter, but less than staff writers and communications managersin corporate positions.

The average journalist’s salary in the United States is a little over$32,000 a year, but the range is wide. Many small-town reporters,even with several years of experience, earn salaries in the upperteens or low twenties.

Reporters for major daily newspapers can make $40,000 to$70,000 a year or more. Some syndicated columnists, financialjournalists, big-name sportswriters, and other top reporters haveincomes in the six figures. Newspaper reporters, especially those at


“name” papers, can supplement their incomes writing magazinearticles or books.

FameNewspaper reporters usually do not become celebrities, althoughone of the perks of the job for many is the opportunity to meetwith famous or powerful people in politics, business, and theentertainment industry.

Some newspaper reporters, such as Jimmy Breslin and the lateMike Royko, do gain fame and become celebrities in their ownrights, though newspaper reporters never gain the star status of arock musician or movie actor.

One unusual thing about being a reporter versus other jobs isthat your name appears on the stories you write for the paper. Soeven though you are not a celebrity, you do gain some minor famein your community and, if writing for a national paper, nation-wide. A lot of people don’t pay attention to bylines, but friends,relatives, and neighbors will probably notice your name and besuitably impressed.

But with recognition can come less desirable public notice.Some people do not like the media in general and reporters in par-ticular. For instance, while writing this book, I called informationfor the phone number of the Columbia University School of Jour-nalism. “Oh, that’s where people go to learn to misrepresent thetruth,” the operator said cynically.

While most reporters work very hard to present the news in anaccurate, straightforward, unbiased manner, the unscrupulousand sometimes highly publicized practices of some reporters havecontributed to a measure of discontent among the public. Othersaccuse the media of having a negative rather than a positive focus.But if you’re someone who wants to make a difference, who wantsto be part of the best of the Fourth Estate, then you’ll find jour-nalism a rewarding career.


Writing for NewslettersIn the academic year ending in the summer of 2000, some 38,300students received bachelor’s degrees in journalism or mass com-munications, according to a survey by the School of Journalism atthe University of Georgia. More than four hundred colleges anduniversities offer journalism or communications programs.

More graduates than ever before found and took jobs in thecommunications field upon graduation. And while more thaneight of every ten bachelor’s degree recipients in 2000 had at leastone job offer when they completed their studies, graduatesselected their jobs because they liked them, rather then becausethey were the only jobs available.

The median annual salary for journalism and mass communi-cations bachelor’s degree recipients with a full-time job six toeight months after graduation in the spring of 2000 was $27,000.Newsletter journalists averaged $27,976.

With more than thirty-eight thousand people competing forentry-level journalism jobs, it isn’t always an easy task to find thatperfect first job. For many journalism graduates, the task is moredifficult because they don’t fully understand the opportunitiesavailable. Everyone knows about newspaper, magazines, radio,television, and advertising, but many journalists aren’t aware ofthe reporting and editing jobs within subscription newsletters andspecialized-information publishing.

A subscription newsletter is a specialized-information publica-tion that is supported by subscription sales and (usually) does notcontain advertising. Successful newsletters convey specializedinformation to narrow markets—information that isn’t availablein a daily newspaper or weekly magazine, for instance.

There are two different types of newsletters. Business-to-business newsletters are written for and paid for by businesses.A business newsletter specializes in niche subjects of interest to alimited number of people.


In contrast, consumer newsletters are purchased by an individ-ual. Customer newsletters are more general, focus on topics suchas investment advice, health, and travel, and generally have a largeraudience.

Subscription newsletters have been around for quite a while.The Kiplinger Washington Letter, first published in 1923, appearsto be the oldest continually published newsletter.

Most subscription newsletters accept little or no advertisingand, therefore, are not accountable to advertisers nor pressured totread lightly around certain subjects. Because newsletter journal-ists typically spend years working a particular beat or writingabout a specific field, they tend to become experts in their fields.

“There’s more of a personal relationship between you and yourreaders,” one newsletter editor said. “The readers are knowledge-able. You can assume they know basic things about the field,” saidanother. “There’s more autonomy; you’re generally relied upon toenterprise your own stories,” said a third.

Many newsletter journalists have the job title of “editor”—anindication of their substantial roles in watching for and develop-ing story ideas. But, in fact, a newsletter editor usually does muchof the reporting and writing for the publication, with the excep-tion of daily and some weekly newsletters, which have larger edi-torial staffs.

Newsletters provide more detail, background, analysis, andfollow-up to a story than is required by the average newspaper ormagazine reader. Some newsletters include the entire texts of gov-ernment reports, court rulings, or other documents. Newslettersubscribers are experts, and they demand expert reporting.

Some newsletters offer wide flexibility concerning workarrangements. Home computers, modems, fax machines, andovernight mail have made it easier for newsletter journalists towork from any place in the world, regardless of the publisher’s orprinter’s location. One publisher for more than fifty newslettershires freelance editors to write nearly all of his newsletters.


“If you work for us, you’re not going to get wide exposure. Youprobably won’t be a big name in your hometown,” said JoelWhitaker, publisher of Whitaker Newsletters of Fanwood, NewJersey. “But you are going to be interviewing very senior people inbusiness and government.” While a local newspaper reporter iscovering city hall, a newsletter journalist at a similar point in hisor her career is interviewing congresspeople and CEOs of majorcorporations, Whitaker said.


C H A P T E R F I V E

Careers inAdvertising

“Last summer the Queen asked me what I did for a living.When I said ‘Advertising’ you should have seen the expressionon her beautiful face—a mixture of horror, incredulity, andamusement.” —David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather

The Copywriter: The Creative SideIn advertising, the copywriter is an idea person. He or she dreamsup the words, the slogans, the jingles, and sometimes the visualimages that appear in the ads and commercials you read and seeevery day. Freelance copywriter Paul Hollingshead defines copy as“any writing that offers a product or service for sale.”

Copywriting is creative, but it’s different from other forms ofcreative writing. Novelists entertain; magazine writers give infor-mation; but copywriters have a tougher job: they have to writewords that sell.

“Although I’ve written poetry, novels, short stories, a musicalcomedy, movie music, and a few other forms, I still consider copy-writing to be my creative home,” says freelance copywriter SigRosenblum. “Reaching out and touching the hearts and minds ofothers is intoxicating and habit-forming.”

“No one starts out in life wanting to be a copywriter,” adds free-lancer Robert Lerose. His advice: get experience in the areas you

8 3


are interested in. “If I wanted to do direct mail, I’d work for a DMagency. If I wanted to write speeches, I’d work for a PR firm.”

Copywriters work side by side with art directors and creativedirectors in the creative department. While account managementhandles the business side, the creative department is responsiblefor the actual writing and design of ads and commercials.

Beginning writers start as trainees, then move up to the posi-tion of junior copywriter. Junior copywriters get to write, but theyhandle the minor projects—product data sheets, broadsides, cir-culars, newspaper inserts, E-mail marketing campaigns.

Once they become full-fledged copywriters, they get to work on“major-league” print advertising and television campaigns for theagency’s big accounts. The next promotion is to copy supervisor,which involves supervising a team of writers. The copy supervisoris high enough up the ladder to be eligible for a vice presidency.

A copy supervisor can go on to become an associate creativedirector and then the creative director, who is responsible for allcreative work in the agency. The creative director supervises writ-ers, artists, illustrators, and photographers.

There may be many creative directors in the agency. They, inturn, are supervised by a director of creative services. The directoroversees major creative tasks (such as the design of a new cam-paign or theme) and sets the overall tone, style, and “philosophy”of the agency’s creative work. The director of creative servicesreports directly to the agency president.

The higher up you go on this ladder, the more you’ll superviseothers and the less you’ll write. So while the position of creativedirector tempts copywriters with a prestigious title, more author-ity, and a six-figure salary, many writers prefer to stay writersbecause they would rather write than manage.

Training and BackgroundHow do you gain skill in copywriting? First, you need the skills ofthe general writer: the ability to write clear, concise, interesting


prose. The best way to gain these skills is simply to write for yourlocal newspaper, your college literary magazine, a trade journal, achurch bulletin. Many copywriters started out as novelists, news-paper reporters, freelance magazine writers, poets, proofreaders,or editors. Others worked as advertising managers, salespeople, oras writers for the advertising departments of manufacturers ordepartment stores.

As you master the basics of writing, focus specifically on copy-writing. Keep files of ads, articles on advertising, sales letters, andbrochures that catch your eye. Study the files. What makes a givenad effective or ineffective? Pinpoint copywriting techniques thatwork and use them in your own writing.

Put together a notebook of your own copy samples. At first,these will be “speculative” ads: ads you’ve written on your ownrather than for a real client. Once you get some experience, youcan add clippings of your published ads to the book. The book isyour portfolio—a collection of your copywriting samples thatdemonstrates your ability to prospective employers.

One quick way of building a portfolio is to create new ads forexisting products. Paste published ads for these products on theleft-hand pages of your book. Rewrite the published ads to makethem better, and put your improved versions on the facing right-hand pages. This before-and-after format can make a dramaticpresentation of your ability to outdo the pros.

Every copywriter needs a portfolio. One that contains pub-lished ads is best, but many beginners have gained their first jobsby showing portfolios of speculative ads.

Although you should look neat, clean, and professional on yourjob interview, appearance on the job is not as important for thewriter as it is for the account executive. In many creative depart-ments, artists and writers wear casual clothes (jeans, sports shirts,tennis shoes) and save a single three-piece suit for the occasionalclient meeting.“If you’re a writer or artist, you can be more crazy,”complains one account executive. “They call it ‘creative.’” A busi-ness suit is still the appropriate attire for job interviews, however.

C A R E E R S I N ADV E RT I S I NG • 8 5

Once you get the position, you’ll quickly catch on to the agency’sdress code.

A broad liberal arts education is the best training for copywrit-ers because they have to combine specific product knowledge withgeneral knowledge of people, places, events, and the world at largeto come up with advertisements that sell the product by making itrelevant to the consumer’s life. The liberal arts allow students tosoak up knowledge in such varied and useful fields as creativewriting, journalism, poetry, human relations, management, mar-keting, economics, psychology, and history—all recommendedfare for aspiring copywriters.

Specific courses in copywriting can also be valuable, dependingon the teacher. Look for courses where the teacher has had profes-sional copywriting experience; you can only learn this skill fromsomeone who knows the field. By doing all the homework assign-ments, you can build a portfolio of copy to present to prospectiveemployers. Many students have landed copywriting jobs aftercompleting such courses and putting together sample books oftheir assignments.

Education doesn’t end with college, however. “Learn the ABCsof your craft,” advises freelance copywriter and former ad agencyowner Sig Rosenblum. “Read deeply in advertising. It’s a fascinat-ing exercise in practical psychology. Read widely in other depart-ments, too. And most important: write relentlessly. Style is like amuscle. It improves with use.”

The best copywriters continue to be students throughout theirlives and are interested in practically everything. They read books,trade journals, magazines, newspapers; see plays and films; visitgalleries, museums, historical sites; keep extensive clipping files ofinformation on all sorts of subjects. They also read popular mag-azines and watch television to see what other advertisers are doingand to keep up with the tastes of the general public.

For decades, copywriters have studied what works and whatdoesn’t work in advertising, and many have written books that


describe their discoveries and techniques. Reading books onadvertising and copywriting can give you in a few hours what ittook these people decades to learn. In particular, read any of thebooks by David Ogilvy, John Caples, Rosser Reeves, Claude Hop-kins, or James Webb Young. Other books of interest may be foundin the Appendix.

Copywriters also study people—how they behave; what theydo; what they look like; what they eat, wear, and buy. As a copy-writer, every person you meet is a potential source of informationfor your next campaign, and you’re always listening to what peo-ple say, hoping to capture a comment that could turn into a greatslogan or headline.

Many writers prefer to lead solitary lives, hunched over thecomputer banging out the Great American Novel. But the adagency copywriter is a team player, working closely with accountexecutives, art directors, and creative directors. “Advertising isn’t a business for loners, for prima donnas, and I wish that morepeople . . . would understand this,” writes advertising consultantWhit Hobbs in Adweek. “This is a very tough, complicated busi-ness, and again and again it has been proved that the more effec-tively people work together to create advertising, the moresuccessful the advertising.”

Although it’s unusual for agencies to offer training programsfor copywriters, many of the bigger advertising agencies will hirenovices and give them informal training. If you can’t get your footin the door as a copywriter, you can try starting as a secretary oradministrative assistant. But be warned: that’s a tough route totake, and the chances of your actually moving up the ladder to acopywriter’s position are slim. Most advertising agencies wanttheir secretaries to remain secretaries; only a few will give secre-taries the opportunity to write copy part-time and then advanceto a full-time copywriting job. The majority of agencies prefer tohire writers from outside the agency, and they rarely promote cler-ical staff.


MoneyCopywriting can be a well-paying profession. Your starting salarymay be low, but after a few years you’ll be taking home respectable(if not astronomical) paychecks. And if you become a superstar,your salary could soar into the mid-six figures, exceeding the pay-checks of many corporate presidents and CEOs.

According to an Adweek salary survey, the median 1994 salaryfor copywriters was $48,300. The average copywriter in the top 10percent earned $61,200. The survey also pinpointed some inter-esting trends:

• Account executives (AEs) start at higher salaries thancopywriters, but senior copywriters usually make more thanaccount executives of equal experience.

• The bigger the agency or account, the more the accountexecutive, copywriter, or creative director makes. An accountexecutive at a $150 million agency earns, on average, one-third more than his or her counterpart at a $5 millionagency.

• Writers and AEs are paid the most in East and West Coastagencies, the least in the Midwest and the South.

• The best-paid people in the advertising industry are not AEsor writers but independent (freelance) television directors.A typical director’s fee ranges from $7,500 to $20,000 forone day’s shooting; top directors—such as Bob Giraldi andJoe Sedelmaier—earn more than a million dollars a year.These directors are hired by various agencies to directcommercials on a per-project basis.

• On the agency side, top creative directors can earn $300,000to $400,000 a year and more. Top account-managementsalaries, while in the six figures, can’t match this.

Dick Wasserman, a vice president at Needham, Harper & Steers,wrote up the results of his own salary survey in an article in Adver-


tising Age. To get his data, Wasserman went to Jerry Kindman, aNew York CPA who, along with his two partners, handles the taxreturns of some three thousand advertising people each year.Two-thirds of his clients are writers or artists, and one-third areaccount executives.

Kindman compiled average salary figures for his copywriterclients according to the number of years they’d spent in thebusiness:

EXPERIENCE ANNUAL SALARY

Beginners $11,000–$15,0001–2 years $15,000–$25,0003–4 years $18,000–$30,0005–7 years $25,000–$35,0007–10 years $35,000–$50,00010–15 years $40,000–$80,00015–25 years $50,000–$200,000

Wasserman drew a few interesting conclusions from Kindman’sfigures and from the results of other surveys he made:

• To move beyond the $40,000 to $60,000 annual salary, acopywriter must have success in writing commercials as wellas print advertising. A reel (sample film reel or videotape) offive good commercials is a must for copywriters who wantto move up in the world of big-agency advertising.

• Once they get beyond the beginner level, copywriters earnmore than AEs.

• Although agencies don’t come right out and say it, they doprefer to hire younger people. Kindman said he couldn’trecall having a client older than fifty. The agency business isoriented toward youth and is a difficult job market for olderpeople looking to begin a new career.

• High salaries go to copywriters and creative directors whoare willing to work in branch offices outside New York or on


certain types of accounts that no one else wants to handle(such as cigarettes).

For copywriters, the pay is good, the business exciting, the jobchallenging and rewarding. Best of all, it doesn’t take highly spe-cialized training, skill, or technical knowledge to break in.

Getting StartedAlthough many advertising greats never got past high school,nowadays an undergraduate degree is needed to land mostaccount-management or copywriting jobs. A recent survey ofthree hundred advertising professionals showed that three-quarters had bachelor’s degrees or higher.

Most advertising executives recommend that aspiring writers,whatever their majors, take a good mix of courses in English liter-ature and composition, journalism, speech, business administra-tion, math, social sciences, economics, psychology, accounting,marketing, and advertising. The best preparation is to blend thisacademic training with job experience in a career allied with orrelated to advertising—sales, media, print production, journalism,photography.

However, advertising is gaining popularity as a major course ofstudy in its own right. The advertising program at Michigan StateUniversity, with 1,208 students and twelve full-time professors, isone of the largest. The course of study includes accounting, mar-keting, math, computer science, writing, psychology, sociology,media planning, consumer behavior, management, and research.In addition, the senior class is divided into “agencies” that com-pete for a real-life account and develop a campaign that the com-pany will use. Other schools with advertising programs includeTexas Tech University, the University of Alabama, Louisiana StateUniversity, the University of Oregon, and Boston University.

Be aware that many advertising executives are skeptical of acad-emia’s ability to prepare students for life in the “real world” of


advertising. So while a college education in advertising may havea lot to offer, it won’t necessarily make you a more attractive can-didate to potential employers.

In addition to these academic programs, several of the topagencies have formal in-house training programs for accountmanagement, media, art, copywriting, and market research.Unfortunately, there are a limited number of openings in theseprograms; a survey of the largest twenty agencies revealed thattwelve have formal training programs for which, all together, theyhire only 145 new trainees each year.

When you’ve completed your basic training and are ready tooffer yourself to the working world, you’ll need to write a greatresume and a sharp cover letter. Remember, there are hundreds(maybe thousands) of people like you competing for the job youwant. Sure, you’re bright, well educated, and willing to work hard.But they are, too. And many are far more experienced. So you needa sharp, no-nonsense resume and a hard-selling cover letter to setyou apart from the crowd.

This isn’t as awesome a task as it sounds. One personnel direc-tor reports that of the eight thousand resumes he receives eachyear, two-thirds contain typos, spelling mistakes, or grammaticalerrors. So if you proofread your resume thoroughly and have a fewother people take a look at it, you’re already ahead of two-thirds ofthe pack!

Although having a letter-perfect resume is important, it’s notenough to land you a job interview. You also need a persuasivecover letter to convince the prospective employer to see you.

In an article for Free Enterprise magazine, copywriter DonHauptman stresses the need to use “tailored letters”—individualletters tailored to a particular agency or advertised job. “Thetailored letter focuses on the specifics of the position in question,”says Hauptman. “It tells what the applicant can do for theemployer.”

Such a letter is far more effective than using a form letter or just popping your resume in the mail with no cover letter.


According to a study by the California Employment DevelopmentDepartment, 46 percent of tailored letters result in job interviews,as opposed to only 2 percent of resumes mailed without coverletters.

Hauptman observes that the biggest fault of most cover lettersis their failure to address the needs and interests of the employer,or the job description, qualifications, and responsibilities as statedin the help-wanted ad. He cites as an example the experience ofthe head of a high-tech firm who advertised for an administrativeassistant in the local paper. Of two hundred replies he received,only four letters even alluded to the qualifications and duties out-lined in the ad!

The cover letter—especially one sent to a busy creative directoror agency president—should sell you to the agency. Be aggressive.You should know you’re the best candidate for the job; let thereader know it, too. You should end the letter by promising to fol-low up with a phone call in a week or so to set up an appointment.

Take this situation, for example: The advertising manager of anindustrial firm wanted to write copy for a big ad agency. But thead agency’s help-wanted ad strictly stated, “We will only considercopywriters with agency experience—no others need apply.”

The ad manager had no agency experience and was infuriatedby this bit of snobbery. His powerful letter, reprinted here, turnedhis lack of experience into an asset and resulted in a job interview.


Dear Creative Director:Your Adweek classified says you’re looking for a copywriter

with agency experience.Why?I’m a writer on the client side.The product managers I

work for aren’t interested in slick, pretty ads that win creativeawards.They demand (and I give them) copy and conceptsthat generate leads, create awareness, and increase sales.

Of course, a compelling cover letter is no guarantee of an inter-view. Mail-order companies are happy to get one or two orders forevery hundred direct-mail packages they send out; as a job seeker,you can expect similar results. You’re doing great if you get ahandful of “yes, come in and see us” calls in response to a mailingof several dozen letters. Don’t be discouraged by this low responserate; it only takes one good response to result in a job. Instead, bepersistent. Keep writing letters, and you’ll eventually get aresponse and some interviews.

When you go on interviews, your style in person should matchthat of your letters—professional and polite, but aggressive andready to sell. Be punctual. Look like a businessperson: wear a suit;be clean and neat; if you’re a man, keep your hair short. Do a lit-tle research about the agency—its size, major clients, and trackrecord—before the interview.

Copywriters, of course, must bring their portfolios. Accountexecutives can bring whatever they think will best show theirqualifications—marketing plans they’ve written, a portfolio ofcampaigns they’ve supervised, market research studies they’veconducted, even letters of praise from happy clients.


Rather than build a portfolio of splashy four-color adver-tisements, I’ve built campaigns that achieve marketing objec-tives within set budgets.

Now, the average agency copywriter may write more adsthan I do. But my book will show you that I do first-ratework.And if that’s not enough, I challenge you to try me outon a few assignments and see if I don’t top every agency-experienced writer that applies for this position.

Sincerely,

Joe Doakes

Don’t be a wallflower. Ask the interviewer a lot of questionsabout his or her agency and the help they need in the departmentyou’d want to work in. And tell the interviewer why you’re theright person for the job.

Always send a thank-you note after every interview. So few peo-ple do this that it really sets you apart from the crowd and can turna maybe into a yes.

If you don’t get the job, analyze the reason why. Listen to thecreative director’s critique of your portfolio or the account super-visor’s analysis of your background and the experience you lack. Ifyou hear the same comments from a number of different inter-viewers, a change might be in order. Perhaps you need to improveyour copywriting samples, or get more experience, or take a cou-ple of courses. Be realistic about whether you are qualified for thejob you seek.

On the other hand, don’t be disappointed when the first fewinterviews don’t result in a job offer. We’ve talked to beginningagency people who said it took them a year or more to get thatfirst job! Even an experienced writer can spend two to six monthson the street before finding an agency whose needs fit his or herexperience.

So don’t despair. Be patient, and if you were meant to work inadvertising, you will get that job. However, many people find thatthe competitive, frantic pace is not for them and that they wouldbe happier in another type of business or writing job.

Recognize, too, that the advertising business is one where con-tacts make a difference; it helps if you have a friend or relative ina position of authority at a major agency. If you’re fortunateenough to have such a contact, take full advantage of it.

Moving UpSome industries frown upon job-hopping. But not so in advertis-ing. A lot of people in the business—account executives, creativedirectors, even headhunters and agency heads—actually encour-


age job-hopping in the early years of a career because it gives youa broad range of experience and boosts your salary.

A study conducted by the American Association of AdvertisingAgencies showed a 31 percent annual turnover rate in advertising.Judd Falk, an executive search firm, estimated the turnover rate tobe between 30 and 35 percent.

In its “Adweek Salary Survey,” Adweek even outlined a careerpath designed to make your job-hopping more productive andprofitable. The article recommends you start in a big agency to gettraining and earn the most money you can at the entry-level andjunior positions. After you’ve soaked up an education at the bigagency’s expense, move to a smaller agency. When you make thismove, you’ll get a more senior position, more money, and moremanagerial experience.

If the small agency doesn’t grow, switch back to a big agency—this time at the level of account supervisor, creative director, ordepartment head. Look for a big increase in salary when you do.

This sounds logical and may work for some people. In truth,however, there is no surefire formula for success. You have to fol-low your instincts and grab opportunities as they arise.

It is true that strategically shifting from big agency to smallagency and back can hasten your progress up the managerial andsalary ladders. Here are a few observations to help you shift at theright time and to the right place:

• Big agencies offer many paths for career advancement, butyou can quickly be dead-ended at a small agency. “Getting agood position with a small agency is no big deal,” said oneformer small-agency writer. “After all, if you take a job witha five-person agency, you’re already in the number five spotthe day you start. And the owner isn’t likely to ever let youget to number one.”

• The biggest advantage of working for a small agency is thatyou’ll get to handle a broader range of tasks. Small agenciescan’t afford to hire a specialist for every job, so their


employees wear many different hats. A copywriter, forexample, might also meet with the client, help plan theadvertising schedule, supervise photographers and artists,and even get involved with media buying and printing. Thiseducation will be valuable to you later on; for instance, itwill give you an understanding of how other departmentswork when you take a more specialized job at a big agency.

• Most small agencies concentrate on print advertising. Andmost creative directors look for a solid foundation in printbefore they’ll train you in television. So by working at asmall agency, you can quickly build a portfolio of good-quality print ads. You’ll also learn to write brochures,catalogs, and direct-mail pieces—skills that may help youget a job with a larger agency.

• For the most part, only the big agencies have the money,resources, and staff to service major national accounts. Youneed to work on these accounts if you want to gain prestigeand status in the advertising community.

• With some exceptions, only the major agencies do anysubstantial work in television. You need televisionexperience to break out of the $50,000-a-year mold andearn the top salaries.

• The small-agency job market is less competitive. Mostpeople would rather work at big agencies on big accounts.Smaller agencies often have trouble attracting and holdingon to talented writers, artists, account executives, and mediapeople. So if the big-agency game is unpalatable, you canstill find happiness—albeit with less money and status—at one of the thousands of fine small agencies operatingthroughout the United States. The choice is up to you.


C H A P T E R S I X

Careers in PublicRelations

“With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothingcan succeed.” —Abraham Lincoln

Ihave bad news and good news about the field of public rela-tions. Briefly, the bad news first. Ever since the days of P. T. Bar-num, publicity, also known as “public relations,” has had a seedy

connotation. Public relations (PR) people are derogatorily called“flacks” and have been portrayed in countless books and films asfawning, exploitative, and insensitive.

The field of public relations is not for applause seekers. The bestPR is invisible, and the best PR people stay behind the scenes.

Public relations is a detail-oriented, high-pressure career. It isknown as a thankless profession. If you don’t produce results,you’re fired; if you do produce results, you don’t always get fullcredit.

Now, the good news.The field of public relations is growing rapidly, and there are

numerous opportunities to find entry-level positions. The field isexciting because you are dealing with the media as well as the pub-lic. There’s often an opportunity to travel, earn a respectablesalary, and use your mind in a variety of ways. Public relations isa challenge to people with liberal arts backgrounds. It appreciatesskills in writing.

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Public Relations DefinedJust what is public relations and how does it differ from adver-tising? Public relations works toward gaining public awareness ofa product or service via the editorial side of the media to achievespecific goals.

While advertising people create advertisements and commer-cials that are paid for by sponsors, public relations people attemptto help people or organizations reach their publics in a more indi-rect way. A film star’s publicist, for example, might suggest that thestar appear as a guest on a talk show. The resulting interviewwould almost surely mention the star’s upcoming projects.

If all of the public relations agencies of the United States wereto shut their doors tomorrow, most radio and talk shows, as wellas many newspapers and magazines, would soon have to followsuit. Why? Because the American media—including NBC’s “TheTonight Show,” the Wall Street Journal, and major magazines—depend upon publicity releases from public relations agencies tokeep them abreast of what is going on. True, these organizationshave their own staffs to help assemble material for their shows andpublications, but public relations firms form a surprisingly largeinformation lobby. In fact, they provide many of the “news” sto-ries we see and read every day.

There are more than three thousand bona fide public relationsfirms in the United States, and there are countless other “vest-pocket” firms that are run from the homes of individuals.

The opportunities in public relations are vast because virtuallyevery store, company, restaurant, and celebrity can use publicity tohelp gain public awareness and, by so doing, make more moneyfor themselves. A restaurant that puts its name on matches andashtrays is engaging in a form of promotion; so is a consultantwho sends Christmas cards to potential clients. So is an art gallerydealer or party-goods storeowner who puts out a newsletter. All ofthese are examples of publicity or promotion, not advertising.


On a grander scale, companies and public organizations (suchas the National Rifle Association or the Dairy Association) oftenspend millions of dollars to win public acceptance, to introducenew products, and to gain media coverage. Political candidatesmust weigh the public-relations impact of practically every standthey take, every group they address, and every place they visit.Doctors, dentists, and dietitians often leave brochures abouthealth and nutrition scattered throughout their lobbies becauseit’s good promotion.

Public relations can increase sales either directly or indirectly.An example of direct impact is the sending of press releases for anew product or a new use for an old product. An example of indi-rect public relations would be a food company’s sending ofrecipes that include its product as an ingredient to food editors.These recipes may even end up in feature stories that mention thecompany’s product. This indirectness gives public relations itsreputation for nebulousness. The amount of goodwill or salesgenerated by a promotional campaign is often difficult, if notimpossible, to measure.

Sometimes the best public relations involves checking or limit-ing the damage of negative media exposure. When a few ExtraStrength Tylenol capsules in Chicago were found to containcyanide, the Johnson & Johnson Company limited the damagedone to the product’s image by acting with admirable speed,forthrightness, and savvy. They instantly acknowledged the prob-lem and initiated a recall of the product long before the Food andDrug Administration could even suggest it. They were also acces-sible to the press, and they helped in the investigation.

The recall cost Johnson & Johnson more than $100 million, butit upheld the company’s reputation. A great deal of credit goes tothe Johnson & Johnson public relations people who, throughquick thinking and a respect for the intelligence of the Americanpublic, managed to avert what could have been a publicity disas-ter. The public relations effort was internal as well as external.

C A R E E R S I N PUB L I C R E L AT I ON S • 9 9

Employees of McNeil Consumer Products Company, the Johnson& Johnson unit responsible for Tylenol, began sporting buttonswith a thumbs-up design and the words We’re Coming Back.

Public relations is an exciting field because it challenges peopleto think of ways in which products and services can gain mediaattention. If, however, public relations people fall into the habit oflying, playing down the negative, or avoiding painful issues, theycan create bad publicity. When Rely tampons were shown to beassociated with toxic shock syndrome, the manufacturer of Relywas reluctant to acknowledge the problem. That reluctance alonepractically destroyed the brand because it destroyed the product’scredibility. To be good at public relations, you must fight thehuman tendency to deny responsibility.

Enjoying public relations and promotion requires accepting thefact that your job is to seize opportunities to help the public see aproduct or service the way you see it or the way your client sees it.The field is not for shy people; it’s for assertive people who are nottroubled by rejection. It may involve using everything from pressreleases, interviews, press conferences, direct mail, and flyers to T-shirts, buttons, pens, toys, and telephone calls to help influencepeople to take notice of your service or product.

There are approximately 120,000 people in the public relationsfield, one-quarter of them women. One-half of all people in pub-lic relations work in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Chicago;and Los Angeles.

Rewards and OpportunitiesCollege graduates beginning in public relations start at between$20,000 and $30,000 a year. The salary for experienced PR peoplecan be anywhere from $50,000 to $85,000 or more a year. Salariesare highest in the Northeast and lowest in the South.

Those entering the field of public relations have never had sucha wide variety of opportunities. Many veer toward consumer pub-lic relations, where they publicize products and services used by


consumers: books, plays, food, health and beauty aids, travel,appliances, and restaurants. Less known, but equally important,are trade and industrial public relations, which involve publicityaimed at businesspeople, including store owners, doctors, anddistributors.

The rapidly expanding health field offers public relationsopportunities in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and med-ical associations. Another growth area, according to one vice pres-ident of public relations for a major corporation, is humanresources planning, which used to be employee communications.Public policy planning, also a growing area, requires some type ofgovernment experience. There are also emerging public relationsopportunities in the fields of ecology, finance, economic educa-tion, and government regulation.

In addition to these choices, the person entering public rela-tions must decide whether to work in a corporate communi-cations office or in a public relations agency. Public relationsprofessionals can prosper within an agency, or they can make ahome for themselves in nonprofit organizations, hospitals, orfoundations, as well as governmental public interest groups (forexample, Common Cause), corporations, and trade associations.A bright newcomer with top writing and presentation skills cansucceed in any of these areas.

What It TakesWe have mentioned that public relations, while exciting, is alsodetail oriented. Although it attracts many liberal arts types, itoften requires the meticulousness of an engineer. Here is a run-down of the most important skills and abilities you’ll need to suc-ceed in public relations:

1. Defining problems. The ability to understand a problemand find ways of solving it is a key to success in publicrelations. Sometimes, the problem can’t be solved, but it

C A R E E R S I N PUB L I C R E L AT I ON S • 1 0 1

can be alleviated. For example, when the telephonecompany’s installers went on strike, there was a lot ofnegative publicity about all of the inconvenience beingcaused. A smart PR person was hired, and the negativepublicity soon eased up. Why? Because the PR personmade sure that important media figures were able to gettheir phones installed and serviced.

2. Thinking logically. Just as computer programmers thinklogically when they create flow charts, a PR person mustplan projects, such as press parties, interviews, exhibits,and direct-mail programs, by thinking of each step of theproject. Once a project has been conceived, the nuts-and-bolts work begins; that means deciding what has to bedone by when, working backwards from the final targetdate so that you can meet deadlines. An experienced PRprofessional knows that unforeseen delays are likely toslow down any project, and therefore plans must be madethat allow for human frailty.

3. Writing and editing. These allied skills are crucial toanyone who works in public relations. Sensitivity to goodwriting and an ability to recognize and edit bad writing willmake your written work stand out. These skills will allowyou to progress from writing one-page press releases toelaborate brochures, booklets, feature stories, and press kits.

4. Creativity. This often-overused word refers to the abilityto view an old problem with fresh eyes. It’s knowing therules plus seeing beyond them.

5. A mind for detail. There are dozens of details involved inthe simplest public relations project. Even the distributionof a press release requires writing, rewriting, editing,printing, stapling, folding, inserting, and mailing. Youmust buy or create a mailing list, keep it updated con-stantly, and purchase envelopes. You need to know proce-dures for getting a bulk-mail permit, and you have to buypostage and address the envelopes. By the time you get to


planning a press party for five hundred people, the detailsbecome almost an endless stream, right up to checking tosee if the microphones are working and whether or notthe bartender has enough club soda.

6. Presentation and interpersonal skills. Your skills shouldinvolve a wide range of communication talents that covereverything from selling your ideas at a meeting or overcocktails to giving a formal speech at a press conference,trade show, or press party.

7. Tenacity. Publicists who are trying to place stories in themedia must be tenacious or they will quickly becomediscouraged. One placement may require weeks of effort.Dozens of newspapers or radio stations say no before onesays yes. You must recognize that; by sticking to it, you willprobably make the placement. Eric Yaverbaum, presidentof New York PR firm Jericho Communications, says that ifhe sends a press release to one thousand newspapers, hisstaff calls all one thousand to follow up. In short, youmust have the optimism of a salesperson and the persis-tence of a freelance writer.

8. Ability to work with the press and with management.Working with managers is different from working with thepress, and you must be able to switch “languages” withease. Managers care about the bottom line; editors andreporters care about news. Each sees the publicist throughdifferent eyes, and you must be what both need.

9. Knowledge of the media. By understanding the media,you can learn how to best shape your communications. Ifyou know that a particular magazine has a three-monthlead time, you can immediately determine whether a storythat’s “hot” is even worth sending over. Perhaps that itemshould go to a daily newspaper. A knowledge of deadlineswill also help you determine which media may be right for which press releases. By dealing with journalists, and by taking courses in journalism, you’ll soon become


accustomed to seeing your stories as an editor sees them.You’ll know how a release should look, and you’ll learn tophrase it to rivet the editor’s attention. When dealing withtelevision, you’ll automatically think of your client’s storyin visual terms. Certain topics—exercise, cooking, games,fashion—are “naturals” for television, while others—books, restaurants, and music—are ideal for radio.

10. Integrity. There is no substitute for integrity and reliabil-ity. You can’t afford to lie to the press—you’ll never beforgiven. If you try to create a smoke screen, or simplymake up facts as you go along, you’ll lose your credibilityand never regain it. When a reporter asks you if the presi-dent of your company just awarded himself a $100,000bonus, and you know he did, you’d better admit the truthor at least say that you’ll look into it. Denying the truth ormaking puffed-up claims about your product will almostalways come back to haunt you.

11. Acknowledgment of what you know and what you don’tknow. A good manager knows when and how to delegateauthority. If you’re weak on the graphics end of thebusiness, learn how to communicate with designers andthen trust them to be competent in their areas. You shouldgain enough knowledge to know just how far a printer,designer, or copywriter should be trusted. But, once youdecide to trust them, don’t let your ego get in the way oftheir creativity.

TrainingThese skills and abilities can be acquired through a blend of col-lege studies and real-world experience. More than one hundredcolleges and twenty-five graduate schools offer degree programsor special accreditation in public relations, which is usuallyadministered by the journalism or communications department.In addition, more than 250 colleges offer at least one course in the


field. Some typical courses included organizational communica-tion, public relations management, and public relations theoryand techniques.

Taking college-level courses in public relations is important,but so is a general liberal arts background. Get a course or two innonfiction writing under your belt and then major in a disciplinesuch as economics, psychology, nutrition, or computer sciences. Adegree in journalism is helpful, but only if it doesn’t preclude yourtaking other enriching courses in a variety of fields. College is aplace to learn how to think. Later, you can apply these skills topublic relations through an internship program or on your firstjob in the field.

A college education is only the beginning. To do well in publicrelations takes an assertive, outgoing person. It takes a knowledgeof business and a knowledge of important issues. It also takes reli-ability and loyalty. Don’t worry about not understanding all theminutiae of printing or design. You’ll have your whole career topick up the thousands of details you’ll need to round out yourpublic relations education.

Getting StartedSince the essence of public relations is communication, yourresume, cover letter, and interpersonal style must display thecrispness, clarity, and conciseness of the promotional material youwrite.

There is no room in this field for hackneyed cover letters, all-purpose resumes, or insubstantial portfolios. Everything you showto a potential employer must be oriented to that employer’s spe-cific needs. This may mean that you won’t be able to send outresumes and cover letters en masse, but it also means that you’llprobably get more serious consideration at those organizationsthat receive your material.

The ideal public relations resume describes what you’ve done sofar—direct mail, press releases, photography, art direction, media


contact—and it also zeros in on the results. For example, if you’vewritten and distributed a release about a product or service, tellthe reader how many media pickups the release received. If youwere responsible for a direct-mail campaign, give your responserate. In other words, write a resume that is a functional summaryof what you’ve done and the positive results your work produced.

If you’re coming straight from college, the same principle holdstrue. Did you work on the school paper? If so, how did you leaveyour mark? Perhaps you were responsible for instituting a columnon restaurants. Perhaps you helped create a direct-mail campaignthat increased circulation by 25 percent. In short, be specific; showa potential employer that your influence was felt. Furthermore, bebrief. Use bullets to summarize technical information and to focuson your accomplishments. Whatever you do, don’t go overboardand say that you did things when, in fact, you didn’t.

Prepare a draft of your resume and then show it to people whoare used to looking at and evaluating resumes. You might, forinstance, show it to people in the college placement office. Youmight also take a copy by the school’s public affairs office. After all,they are public relations professionals, and they can give youinsight into how PR people will view what you’ve written.

Your First Big BreakYour first break in public relations may be your first job or it maybe your first client. It will give you the opportunity to discoverwhether or not you are cut out for the field.

In all probability, your first job will involve what is commonlyreferred to as “grunt work”: answering letters, answering tele-phones, writing copy for mundane products or services, or simplycompiling media lists. You may find yourself in press or consumerrelations, political campaigning, fund-raising, or employeerecruitment. Whatever you’re doing, take good mental notes.

If you work with a small public relations agency, your breakmay come when you land your first substantial client. Suddenly,


instead of writing the occasional release or fiddling with mailinglists, you’ll be involved with such things as arranging press parties,placing feature articles, designing a direct-mail campaign, andworking with designers and illustrators in creating brochures,logos, letterheads, and envelopes. This is your chance to fly. You’llsee how much responsibility you can handle and how well you cando a number of tasks.

A neighborhood gourmet store gave one small, two-personagency the opportunity to get actively involved with the New YorkCity food press. Their job was to launch a new $1 million gourmetstore on the Upper East Side. The assignment called for a widerange of skills, and the two young men did everything from nam-ing the store to organizing the opening-day press party. They bothgained twenty pounds as they sampled the food so that they couldwrite about it with conviction!

They wrote a three-page press release and a fact sheet thatdescribed some of the food that would be featured. Later on, theydesigned and implemented a direct-mail program that offered the store’s catering services to food managers at New York’s topcorporations.

The account gave these young PR men a variety of clips andother samples of their work that they were able to parlay intogaining more food accounts. They could point to the stories theyhad placed in the New York Times, the Daily News, and the Post.They even managed to get the Wall Street Journal to mention thestore on page one. Because the owner gave full rein to the publicrelations specialists, they were able to create a logo, cover letters,brochures, and flyers that were well produced in addition to beingwell written. Most importantly, they gained rapport with thecream of the New York food press, which became a salable com-modity when they pitched their services to other food accounts.

Clients require you to stretch yourself as a writer. The challengeis to make a press release so interesting and inviting that an editorwill use it as the basis of a story. When you’ve placed a story, you’vemade everyone happy: yourself, the editor, and your client. You’ve


also gained a “clip”—a press clipping—that you can use todemonstrate to other clients or employers that you have a trackrecord.

Similarly, when you write your first brochure, you’ve gained ashowcase for the quality of your writing. People will instinctivelyreact to your work with the thought: if they’ve done this well in the past, they’ll be able to help me in the future. So, your clips—brochures, media placements, flyers, pamphlets—are your bestselling tools. Public relations professionals are intensely interestedin knowing who is responsible for a successful campaign.Although you may never get to sign your name to your feature sto-ries or brochures, your reputation as a good publicist will spread.

To make yourself special, always take a special view of every taskyou perform. A simple press release can be transformed intosomething very unusual if you care enough to make your workfirst-rate. One young publicist, eager to find a hook for a releasebeing written about an acupuncturist, did some investigative workand discovered that it had been ten years since Nixon’s trip toChina. He used the anniversary as the inspiration for the release’sheadline, “Ten Years After Nixon’s Visit to China, AcupunctureComes of Age.” The release, which went on to focus on the workof a single New York acupuncturist, was widely picked up.

What to Shoot ForThere is no single goal for people entering public relationsbecause the field is so diverse. Some people want to start their ownpublic relations companies. They want the autonomy and thepotential for profit that come with running their own businesses.They also enjoy the diverse activities that await them in headingtheir own agencies, such as bringing in new clients, designingpublic relations programs, writing, creating graphics, and settingthe fees for their services.

Other people want to climb the corporate communications lad-der. Usually, that means becoming the communications director


of a company, an association, or a government agency. The direc-torship may bring a high salary, an expense account, and other“perks,” but it can require distancing yourself from the communi-cation skills that brought you pleasure as you were coming upthrough the ranks.

When you get to be the boss, you may spend many afternoonstaking care of administrative details, attending meetings, manipu-lating budgets, and writing memos, while your helpers write thereleases, run the junkets, place the stories, and attend the photosessions and press parties. While they’re doing that, you may beplanning policy and setting goals for others to reach.

Your goal should be the development of your own skillsthrough increasing the diversity and depth of your experience inboth print and broadcast media, making new contacts and main-taining old ones, and keeping abreast of new technologies andmethods of printing, mailing, and placing promotions. Some ofthe larger public relations firms recognize the value of diverseexperience and make mobility a part of their training programs.

Some people aim at becoming the head of a large public rela-tions department or agency, whereas others prefer the challenge ofa small department. In general, the larger the agency, the more itis specialized. You may spend several years doing work that isreported on time sheets so that the clients can be billed accord-ingly. For those who rebel against the notion of time sheets, thereare less regimented, more congenial shops. And, of course, there isalways the option of opening your own business. A number ofnew public relations firms start up when a person who has beenworking closely on one account woos that account into becomingthe first client of his or her newly formed public relations firm.

When You’ve Made ItYou’ve made it when you’re doing what you want to be doing andare being paid well for it. If you’re a writer, you may be content togo from high-priced project to high-priced project. Writers can


make the move to account executive, aiming to move up the cor-porate ladder, but most creative people don’t believe that more isnecessarily better.

Some public relations people, however, relish the idea of imple-menting increasingly larger promotional projects. For instance,Herb Schmertz, director of corporate communications at MobilOil, has played a leading role in creating Mobil’s image as a civic-minded corporation. Perhaps his boldest public-relations gambitwas actually an advertising coup. By placing low-key, issues-oriented advertisements on the op-ed page of the New York Times,Schmertz persuaded the public to see Mobil as being concernedabout the fight against industrial pollution, the high price of oil,and the search for alternative energy sources.

In the world of film and television public relations, JohnSpringer of John Springer Associates has handled key moments inthe careers of many top entertainers. He has been a quiet, effectivebuffer between clients and the press on numerous occasions,including some involving Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Ina recent issue of East Side TV Shopper, a Manhattan magazine,Springer was asked why high-powered celebrities love him:

“They trust me. Twenty years ago I started this business and setfirm rules. Always work with people you admire. Never deal inscandal or betray a client’s confidence. I’ve been offered hugeamounts of money to write a tell-all book, but even after a clientis long dead, it’s contemptible to violate a special bond.

“I know the publicist stereotype. He is supposed to be thisseedy, stogie-smoking man who races to the nearest pay phone,dials a scandal sheet, and purrs: ‘Have I got a scoop for you.’ Butto survive, the publicist must be responsible and respectable.”

John Springer Associates publicizes numerous films, plays,books, RKO Nederlander theaters, and Strawberry Shortcake, apopular character created by the American Greeting Corporation.

The firm of Rogers & Cowan has handled personal publicity, aswell as corporate publicity, for many notables. Henry Rogers per-


sonally handled public relations during Prince Philip’s extensivevisit to the United States.

There have always been kingmakers, people who stand behindpolitical candidates and handle interpersonal, as well as publicrelations, functions. David Garth has achieved recognition fordesigning some of the cleverest public relations strategies for suc-cessful political candidates. For example, it was Garth who posi-tioned Mayor John Lindsay in his successful bid for reelectionwith a campaign built around the candid admission, “I’ve madesome mistakes.”

I’ll conclude this chapter by quoting from the Public RelationsSociety of America’s booklet, titled Careers in Public Relations:

Basic to all public relations . . . is communicating. Wellthought-out, effectively handled communications are increas-ingly seen as essential to the success and even existence oforganizations and causes in today’s complex, fast-changingworld. Every organization—governmental, business, labor,professional and membership, health, cultural, educational,and public service—depends on people. Their attitudes, atten-tion, understanding and motivation can be critical factors inwhether an organization or an idea succeeds or fails.”

Public Relations: A Few Terms of the Trade

Backgrounder. Information supplied to the press about thebackground of a product, service, person, or organization.

Comp. This term is used in two different ways—as short for“complimentary,” or free, as when applied to tickets for pub-lic events such as films, plays, or concerts; or as short for“comprehensive,” which is a rough layout of a printed piece


that allows for further input before more detailed work isbegun.

Contact. The person identified in promotional material asbeing a source of further information.

Demographics. Specific information about groups ofpeople—age, sex, location, education, income level—thatmay form a market for your product or service.

Designer/art director. A person involved in giving directionand shape to graphics. Includes the choosing of artisticelements involved in a promotion (such as logo, type sizeand style, paper, ink).

Dog and pony show. A public relations and advertising termreferring to an elaborate presentation made to impress apotential client. Originally a circus expression, the phraseconnotes a presentation filled with impressive visuals, onethat pulls out all the stops.

Fact sheet. The part of a press kit that lists key facts, such as who founded the company, when it was founded, or the number of employees. It is used to supplement a pressrelease and other elements of a press kit.

Flack. A derogatory reference to a publicist.Pitch letter. A letter asking for a particular response. It can be

used to “pitch” a product or service by asking the recipientto place features, arrange interviews, or participate in a pressconference or special event.

Point-of-purchase display. A method of displaying a productat the location where it is sold.

Portfolio. A notebook or carrying case filled with samples ofyour work, such as articles for the school paper, samplepress releases, sample designs, or anything else relevant toyour work in public relations. It is also known as a “book.”

Sales promotion. Any endeavor that is meant to increase salesor awareness of a particular product or service, but is nei-ther advertising (paid space) nor public relations (editorial


influence). Included in sales promotion are sales contests forretailers or distributors, brochures, and flyers.

Tip sheet. A press release aimed at the broadcast media,showing how a client offers valuable tips to a listening orviewing audience. A book publisher might send a tip sheetabout a new book to a program director or producer toencourage him or her to schedule the author as a guest onthe talk show.

Two-, three-, four-, or five-color. The number of differentcolors applied to a printed piece.



C H A P T E R S E V E N

The CorporateWorld

“Just because people work for an institution, they don’t have to write like one. Institutions can be warmed up. Administra-tors can be turned into human beings. Information can beimparted clearly and without pomposity.”

—William Zinsser, On Writing Well

It’s ironic: many people become writers to escape the perceiveddrudgery of the nine-to-five corporate life, yet corporations area prime source of employment for writers, and a large number

of writers are not aware of the many opportunities in this market.

Pros and ConsFirst, the cons. To begin with, one downside to being a corporatewriter is that you lose all the freedom and advantages that comewith being an independent writer. You have a nine-to-five job. Youhave to commute and wear business clothes. You have a boss whotells you what to do. You must deal with office politics and workin an environment that, to you, may be less than ideal. You areexpected to come in, be at your desk, take lunch, and leave athours your employer sets. If you have to work long hours, in mostcases you won’t get paid extra. You spend a lot of your time inmeetings and dealing with other people.

Another problem: with the recent downsizing in corporateAmerica today, there are still staff jobs for writers, but there are far

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fewer of them. So competition for jobs is stiff. When I joinedWestinghouse as a staff writer in 1979, it was relatively easy to geta corporate writing job. Now it is more difficult.

Also, surveys indicate that corporate workers are workinglonger hours now than in years past. And corporate writers are noexception. Although salaries have not risen dramatically, hours aremore demanding, and writers, as professionals, are not compen-sated for the overtime.

What’s the reason for the extended hours? Downsizing onceagain is the culprit. Companies have never had large writing staffscompared with other departments such as accounting or engi-neering. For instance, the Westinghouse location at which I was astaff writer had approximately eight thousand employees. Thetotal number of staff writers was less than three dozen.

And even those numbers are shrinking. Today I see corpora-tions letting their technical publications departments go, keepingonly a manager on staff, and outsourcing the work to freelancersor contract firms. Communications departments that once had adozen employees are now down to one or two. Much of the writ-ing is farmed out to freelancers and ad agencies, or even done in-house by engineers, managers, and other nonwriters. All of thismeans that there are fewer positions available today than when Igot my first corporate job in 1979.

Another drawback is that corporate writers often are not highlyrespected, either by their coworkers or fellow writers. Many man-agers think writing is relatively unimportant and can be done byanybody. Engineers look down upon it as a minor skill. Writers aresomewhat out of the mainstream of the company’s core business,so they often are not seen as critical to the team. Literary-typewriters look down on corporate writing as boring and mundane.Journalists often think of corporate writers as hacks who have soldout, writing hype rather than the truth. Magazine and bookauthors view corporate writers as “unpublished,” even thoughthese writers have produced numerous booklets, videos, manuals,and pamphlets for their employers.


Now for the pros. Being a corporate writer has its upside, too.First, you don’t have to sell and market your services. The aspectof writing as a career that most independent writers enjoy least isselling—pursuing business, attending meetings, making presenta-tions, setting prices, negotiating fees and deadlines, billing, andmaking collections.

Staff writers are freed of these unpleasant tasks. Each day, youcome into work, and a boss gives you work to do. You are paid thesame every week regardless of the workload or the assignments.You don’t renegotiate your fee every week; you just get a salaryincrease about once a year.

There are other advantages as well. You are given a computer, aplace to work, office supplies, medical insurance, sick days, per-sonal days, vacation days, a salary, a telephone, and a fax machine.Independent writers must supply these for themselves. In addi-tion, you get a steady paycheck, week after week. Independentshave irregular cash flow, dependent on how good the marketingpart of your work has been. Corporate life provides the structureand routine many people desire or need.

Corporate life offers one other important benefit: a social envi-ronment. Writing is a lonely occupation. Most writers sit alone ina room all day in front of a computer and type. Corporate writershave much more contact with people during the day than theaverage freelance writer. Many people enjoy the social atmosphereof the office—the joking, the camaraderie, the friendships.

What Positions Are Available?You should be aware of the fact that most corporate jobs adver-tised as “writing” jobs may not entail much actual writing. Whilesome writing jobs are “pure” writing jobs, in that your main func-tion is to write, other writing jobs are really print production jobs.Not only do you write technical and promotional material, butyou are responsible for its publication. That means you spendmore time working with graphic designers, dealing with printers,

THE CORPORAT E WOR LD • 1 1 7

supervising photographers and illustrators, reading galleys, andgetting manuscripts approved than you do writing. For writerswho would rather write than get involved in the detailed work ofprint production, this is a drawback. For people who like to writebut get bored doing nothing but writing, it’s a plus.

Check the help-wanted ads in newspapers and industry tradejournals. You will find corporations advertising the followingpositions, all of which are writing or writing-related jobs:

• Technical publications manager

• Technical writer

• Technical editor

• Proofreader

• Production manager

• Copyeditor

• Proposal writer

• Employee communications manager

• Marketing communications manager

• Advertising manager

• Writer

• Copywriter

• Marketing manager

• Investor relations manager

• Corporate communications manager

• Manager of public relations

• Director of public affairs

• Communications director

• Newsletter editor

• Specifications writer

• Manual writer

• Promotions manager

I would classify these jobs into three categories: jobs that aremostly writing; jobs that are mostly print production and projectmanagement; and jobs that are strategic or managerial or involve


planning and strategy. The above list doesn’t divide neatly intothese three categories because the jobs listed fall into different cat-egories at different companies, depending on the employer’s phi-losophy and the job description.

Let’s discuss what writers do in corporations and who they doit for.

Writing JobsAlthough there are fewer positions that I would consider strictlywriting jobs today, such jobs do exist.

No writer spends 100 percent of his or her time writing. Thereare many other tasks one must attend to. In a corporation, a “writ-ing job” is any job in which 20 to 50 percent of the employee’shours are spent writing or doing writing-related tasks (interview-ing, editing, researching).

The greatest demand for writers in corporate America is fortechnical writers to produce manuals, proposals, reports, andother business and technical documents. Writers are also neededto do annual reports, employee newsletters, articles for companymagazines, and press releases. Many corporations have staff writ-ers who primarily write speeches for executives.

Corporate writers do not primarily write what they want. Theirjob is to interpret the thoughts of others—managers, product spe-cialists, salespeople, executives—and translate them into clear,interesting, persuasive booklets, reports, speeches, press releases,and advertisements. The creativity is often not in originating theproject or theme, but in writing a translation that is readable andlively yet survives the bureaucratic approval process and conformsto acceptable company policy.

There are no statistics on salary for corporate writers. Myresearch shows that a salary of $50,000 to $70,000 a year is typical.Beginners and strictly technical writers may earn less, and speech-writers working for top executives can pass the $90,000-a-yearmark in some corporations. The pay for corporate writers is better


than what most other writers earn and equal to or slightly lessthan what others in staff and middle management positions in thecorporate world make.

Project ManagementI know many people who have positions classified as “writing” butin fact do little or no writing. They start off as writers, but theirjobs are more involved with project management. They spendtheir days doing the various tasks necessary to get printed materi-als published. These include:

• Getting printing quotes

• Hiring photographers and illustrators

• Working with graphic artists

• Getting copy and layouts approved

• Supervising production and printing

• Inserting advertisements in magazines

• Reserving booth space at trade shows

• Mailing press releases to magazines and newspapers

• Planning and organizing meetings, press conferences,seminars, and other events

• Maintaining photo and slide visuals

• Purchasing advertising specialty items

• Creating production budgets and schedules

• Acting as liaison with the company’s advertising agency

• Getting trade show displays built and shipped

• Attending meetings

The job title may be specific to project management—such asproduction manager, manager of technical publications, advertis-ing administrator, communications coordinator—or it maysound like a writing job—such as technical writer, marketingcommunications representative, promotions copywriter—but itactually entails mostly project management and very little writing.


More and more corporate writing jobs fall into this projectmanagement category and involve even more project manage-ment than they used to. Most corporations today have smallercommunications staffs. When the staff is smaller, those remainingbecoming managers and coordinators rather than writers. Writingis done by ad agency personnel, freelancers, or other employeesfor whom writing is not a primary duty. The staff communica-tions people edit the writing, get it approved, and put it into pro-duction, but often they do not write original drafts.

Corporate ManagementSometimes writers, who can also be thinkers and strategists, gobeyond writing and project management to become part of themanagement team. Usually writers are managers in one of theseareas: sales, marketing, product management, public relations,corporate communications, employee communications, humanresources, training and development, or community relations.

As a manager, your role may consist of a little writing and edit-ing, some project management, employee supervision, planning,and strategy. You will work with ideas, expressing them in memos,reports, plans, and letters, but you will not be a “writer” as such.Many writers who grow tired of the routine of writing or manag-ing print production jump at the chance to grab a managerialposition. The responsibility is greater, and your annual salary willbe at least $90,000 a year or higher.

As a writer, you may feel you lack project management or lead-ership skills. These can be learned. However, it’s best to do whatyou enjoy, so if it’s writing you want, be aware that many corpo-rate writing positions actually involve doing other types of work.

There is nothing wrong with asking a potential employer,“How much writing is actually involved with this job?” If less thanone hour a day will be spent writing, it is a management or pro-ject management position. If you will actually spend one to twohours a day or more writing, I would consider it a writing job.


Remember, not all of a writer’s day is spent writing; there aremany other tasks. Even freelancers spend only 50 to 60 percent ofthe time writing and the rest at other activities. Don’t expect tospend 100 percent of your time writing. It isn’t realistic.

Where to LookCorporate staff writing jobs are almost never advertised in thewriter’s magazines. The best place to find openings is by checkingthe help-wanted ads in your local Sunday newspaper. Look undersuch categories as “advertising,” “public relations,” “marketing,”“corporate communications,” and “technical writing.”

Career counselors and job seekers debate whether it is better torespond to help-wanted ads, go through executive recruiters, net-work, or write directly to employers. Each has its pros and cons. Acombination of the three usually works best.

The advantage of replying to an ad is that you know the com-pany has a current job opening. The disadvantage is that thisopening is advertised; therefore, you will be competing withdozens or hundreds of other applicants.

To give you an idea of the response help-wanted ads can gen-erate, I once placed a tiny classified ad with the title “TechnicalWriters Wanted” in the Sunday New York Times. The ad, whichcost ninety-five dollars, was smaller than one inch, and ran onlyonce, generated nearly one hundred resumes. So competition forjobs, even when the employer is not named or not well known, isfierce.

Join local business groups such as chambers of commerce andadvertising clubs. Often their newsletters advertise writing jobsthat you might not see in the regular newspaper.

If you have friends or acquaintances working at corporations,ask them if they can get postings of new job listings for you. Somewriting positions are posted internally before they are advertisedin the newspaper. If you get word of them early, you have a leg upon your competition.


How to ApplyApply to appealing positions with a standard resume and coverletter. A couple of pointers specifically for job-seeking writers:

First, since it’s a writing job, your resume and cover letter mustbe flawless. Typos or even clumsily worded applications will elim-inate you as a potential candidate. Interestingly, one recruiterreported that two-thirds of all resumes she saw contained at leastone typo. This won’t ruin your chance of being hired if you are anengineer or chemist, but it’s a deadly mistake for a writer.

“As a manager, I’ve looked at a lot of resumes from recentgraduates,” says Terry C. Smith, former marketing communi-cations manager of Westinghouse Defense. “What I look for areaccomplishments: grades, awards, a portfolio, memberships. Onething that would land a resume in the wastebasket immediately isa typo. Amazing how many I’ve seen on resumes for jobs incommunications.”

Second, a brilliantly written resume and cover letter, while help-ful, won’t clinch the job for you. What will? Experience or knowl-edge of the company’s industry is a plus that can separate youfrom other candidates. So is experience writing the particulartypes of documents the company needs to produce. For instance,if you are applying to be a speechwriter for International Paper,you should mention whether you have previously writtenspeeches or worked in the paper or printing industries.

Should you enclose samples of your writing with your cover let-ter and resume? Probably not. The danger is that the sample is notexactly what they are looking for and will turn them off. However,if you have a sample that is brilliant, relevant to their needs, andwould be of interest, send it. Just send one or two, though. In yourcover letter, mention your other samples or portfolio, if available.

Cold MailingIn addition to responding to help-wanted ads, you can send lettersand resumes to companies in your area. These can be companies


in your geographic region or in the industry or field where youwant to work.

Tell the prospective employer your qualifications, the type ofjob you want, and then ask for an interview if there are currentopenings or will be in the near future. Write to the manager incharge of the department for which you would work (marketing,human resources, communications, technical publications), notthe personnel or human resources manager. Be sure to write to theindividual by name. A quick telephone call to the switchboardoperator or receptionist can generally provide the informationyou need.

Some career advisors suggest writing and requesting “informa-tional interviews”—telling people you just want to talk with themabout opportunities in the industry or the company and are notimmediately looking for a job. To me this is too indirect. If youwant a job, say so. If you get turned down and still think it wouldbe beneficial to speak with that person for information-gatheringpurposes, call and request an appointment. Many will be glad totalk with you.

NetworkingWhile job hunting, it does pay to make yourself visible and getyour name around. Attend industry meetings, especially localchapter meetings of trade and professional societies to whichpotential employers belong. Let people know you are looking fora job and have resumes or business cards with your name, phonenumber, and E-mail address.

Usually you won’t meet an employer directly. Instead, someonein the group will refer you to someone who knows someone. Thatsecond, third, or fourth person down the chain is hiring and willinterview you based largely on the fact that you were referred bysomeone known and trusted. Take advantage of this networkingopportunity whenever it is available.

Recently I spoke at a direct-marketing industry event. A clientwho attended confided that he was looking for a new job and


asked me to refer him if I heard of any openings. I knew he likedhis job and expressed surprise that he was considering a move.“Don’t kid yourself,” he said. “Ninety percent of the people hereare looking either for a job or clients. They don’t come for theworkshops or the education.” An important lesson to keep inmind!

HeadhuntersCorporate writing jobs generally pay between $25,000 and$85,000 a year, although some pay more. At these salary levels,executive search firms can make a profit recruiting writers, just asthey make money recruiting engineers, technicians, and middlemanagers.

The thing to remember is that the executive search firms workfor the employers, not the job seekers. They are paid by theemployer when they find an acceptable person for the position;they are not paid by job seekers when they get the job seeker aposition.

Many job seekers rely too heavily on executive search firms tofind them employment. You should view contacting headhuntersas an ancillary activity. It may indeed result in interviews and a joboffer. But don’t count on it. If you want to get a corporate writingjob, it will probably come through your own efforts. Concentrateon mailings, replying to help-wanted ads, and networking. Theseavenues are more likely to yield an offer than executive searchfirms, although they are definitely worth including in your mix ofjob-hunting activities, since you never know from where an offermay come.

It is a mistake to count on a headhunter to take a personal inter-est in you or your quest for a job. They may act interested in you,but that interest occurs only if they have a position that they thinkthey can fill with you. Executive recruiters get paid for results, noteffort. Therefore, the longer it takes to fill a position, and the morecandidates they advertise for and interview, the lower the profit onthe assignment.


If a recruiter thinks a client would be interested in hiring you,he or she will be enthusiastic. But if the client does not want tohire you, and there are no immediate positions with other clientsthat you can fill, the recruiter will quickly lose interest in you. It’son to the next resume, the next candidate, the next interview. Theyare not in business to be your friend or career counselor, or helpsolve your unemployment or career-change problem. They are inbusiness to make money. If you can help them do that, fine. If not,spending more time with you will not be productive for them.

Getting Around in Corporate AmericaYou may not have previously worked in corporate America, letalone worked as a writer in a corporation. What is it like?

New Yorker cartoons portray corporate America as conformist,stuffy, traditional, and dull. There is some truth to this, but thedullness is greatly exaggerated. My experience is that writers whoopt for corporate employment are realists. Idealists becomereporters and journalists or write socially important books. Artis-tic and literary writers pursue the writing of novels, short stories,poems, plays, and essays.

Some writers have these dreams only when they are young.Others pursue them for decades, some even throughout theirlives. Some achieve varying degrees of success in literary pursuits;others don’t.

Writers choose the corporate route for several reasons. One isthe regularity of work and a paycheck. The benefits offered bylarge corporations are also an attraction.

Is corporate work inherently boring? I don’t believe so. Corpo-rate writing, while not perhaps what you dreamed of when in highschool or college, can be extremely rewarding, creative, fun, andchallenging. Personally, I enjoy it very much. Part of whether youenjoy this work depends on the attitude you bring to it. If you canview the constraints of writing for a corporate purpose as a cre-


ative challenge, you’ll find the work stimulating. If you have a neg-ative image of corporate America and feel you are compromisingyour dreams to do this work, you will be less happy.

What about ethics? Does accepting a job with a corporationmean that you, as a writer and human being, are selling out?Again, I do not believe so. If you’ve worked in corporations, youknow that the majority of companies—and the majority of peo-ple they employ—are not evil or malicious. Most want to earn aprofit or a salary by providing goods and services that people needand want to buy. What’s wrong with helping to promote goodproducts to people who can benefit from them?

I have spoken with some journalists who view what they do asa higher calling and what corporate, advertising, and public rela-tions writers do as hack work. Is this an accurate perception?There may be some shades of truth to it, but I think it is a misin-terpretation of reality. The challenges in writing to persuade andinform can be met with creativity and integrity in both corporateand journalistic assignments.

What Is Different Today?Although I have not worked as a staff writer for a corporationsince 1982, I have many clients and colleagues who hold suchpositions. Based on discussions and observation, corporate life ismore difficult today than when I was a staff writer more than adecade ago.

Because of downsizing, there are fewer staff writers, editors, andmanagers in most organizations. Yet the workload has not dimin-ished. If anything, it has increased. Deadlines are tighter, supervi-sors more demanding. Therefore, corporate writers are workinglonger and harder.

When I was a staff writer, we came in at 8 or 9 A.M. and rarelyworked past 5 P.M. or on weekends. Now, many corporate com-munications professionals put in long hours, take work home,


and go in on weekends. Yet they are not paid overtime or givenlarger salaries. I feel writers and others in corporations today aredefinitely working harder to earn a living.

With the increased hours and workload come more pressureand stress. My two corporate staff writing positions were relativelyeasy and stress free. Today corporate writers, just like freelancers,are constantly up against deadlines and rushing to get a lot ofwork done for many people on schedule and within budget.

To be fair, it’s not just the writers who are so pressured andharried. Virtually everyone I know in corporate America today isworking more hours, has too much to do, and not enough time to do it.

Corporate life, once modestly paced for most employees exceptsenior executives and upper management, has become stressfuland pressured. In the past, writers who wanted out of the high-stress ad agency career switched to being advertising managers incorporations. Now both positions involve plenty of overtime andhard work.

Corporate America has downsized and restructured, and Ithink this change is permanent. Corporate jobs, while lucrative,are not easy and probably never will be again. If you want themoney and security of a corporate position, be prepared for thehard work and long hours that go with it.

The Bottom LineIs corporate life for you? On the plus side, it offers a regular salary,benefits, a social structure, a comfortable environment, regularity,security, and fairly decent compensation. Most corporate writersearn considerably more than their counterparts who write fornewspapers.

On the negative side, corporate life often lacks the excitementand freedom of freelancing, the artistic fulfillment of fiction, and the prestige of being a “real” author with a long list of publishedarticles and books.


My advice? Why not try both? The more writing positions you hold, the more diverse your

experience and the fuller your portfolio. Your marketability andversatility increase. You get to experience a variety of writingcareers and then choose the one most satisfying to you. Soundslike a no-lose proposition to me.



C H A P T E R E I G H T

Technical Writing

“Newspaper reporters and technical writers are trained toreveal almost nothing about themselves in their writing. Thismakes them freaks in the world of writers, since almost all ofthe other ink-stained wretches in that world reveal a lot aboutthemselves to the readers.” —Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Most technical writers would hardly classify themselves as“freaks in the world of writers.” Yet technical writing, theliterature of science and technology, is different from jour-

nalism, fiction, advertising copywriting, and other nontechnicalprose.

Just what is technical writing? To begin, technical writing isdefined by its subject matter—it is writing that deals with subjectsof a technical nature. By technical we mean anything that has todo with the specialized areas of science and industry. The NationalWriters Union (NWU), in its Guide to Freelance Rates & StandardPractices, writes: “Technical writing encompasses a plethora ofsubgenres—from the writing of owner’s manuals for toasters tothe documentation of telecommunications switches to the devel-opment of environmental impact statements.”

Traditionally, technical writers have been thought of as “engi-neering writers.” However, in addition to engineering and appliedsciences, technical writers are involved in all areas of physical, nat-ural, and social sciences, including anthropology, archaeology,biology, botany, earth science, ecology, geology, management sci-ence, medicine, psychology, sociology, and zoology, to name a few.

1 3 1


Because technical writing usually deals with an object, aprocess, or an abstract idea, the language is utilitarian, stressingaccuracy rather than style. The tone is objective; the technical con-tent, not the author’s voice, is the focal point.

The difference between technical writing and ordinary compo-sition is more than just content, however. The two differ in pur-pose as well. The primary goal of any technical communication isto accurately transmit technical information. Thus, it differs frompopular nonfiction, in which the writing is intended to entertain,or from advertising copywriting, which exists to persuade. Tech-nical writers are concerned with communication, and if they haveto, they will sacrifice style, grace, and technique for clarity, preci-sion, and organization.

Since the intended goal of any technical writing is the transmit-tal of technical information, even the most well-written technicaldocument is ineffective if the facts, theories, and observations pre-sented are in error. The content must be true and as scientificallyaccurate as possible. Technical writing that contains technicallyinaccurate statements reflects inadequate knowledge of the sub-ject and poor use of language.

Why is technical accuracy more important in technical writingthan in popular magazine articles, books, and other nonfiction?Technical documents are not merely leisure reading; their readersmake business decisions and scientific judgments based on thedata presented. An error in a Sunday supplement newspaper storymay result in misinformed readers and nothing more. Errors intechnical documents can cost industry hundreds of thousands ofdollars, and the results of good scientific work can be obscured byhastily prepared reports that are full of inaccuracies.

How to Make a Living as a Technical WriterIf you have a strong interest in science and technology and like towrite, technical writing might be the profession for you. Because


many technical professionals write poorly, technical writers areneeded in all areas of science and industry. These are some of thejobs that technical writers handle:

• Editing and proofreading copy

• Ghostwriting trade journal articles

• Working with engineers to help them improve their writing

• Producing a wide variety of technical publications,including letters, memorandums, manuals, proposals,papers, reports, abstracts, product literature,advertisements, press releases, scripts, charts, and tables

• Advising others in the organization about writing, graphics,printing, and binding methods

• Providing authors with writing, editing, and researchassistance

• Preparing a writing style manual for the organization

• Helping technical people with their speeches andpresentations

• Producing slide shows, films, and videotapes

• Writing content for the Web

You do not need a degree in science or engineering to write oredit technical publications. Although many full-time technicalwriters were scientists and engineers first, the majority came fromthe humanities, and the ranks are full of former English teachers,editors, journalists, and writers. The would-be technical writerhas three basic employment options: full-time, contract, and free-lance work.

Full-time technical writers hold staff positions with scientificand technical organizations. A technical writer at a large companymight work in a group solely devoted to producing manuals, pro-posals, or product literature. A technical editor at a trade journalworks with contributing authors, preparing their manuscripts forpublication. A small industrial manufacturer might hire onewriter to handle all its technical communications.

T E CHN I C A L WR I T I NG • 1 3 3

The best place to find out about these jobs is the Sunday help-wanted section of your largest local daily newspaper (look underTechnical Writers, Writers, or Editors). As with any other profes-sional position, you apply by sending a letter of application and aresume to your prospective employer. The one difference is thatthe resumes of many technical writers stress descriptions of thetypes of publications they have handled rather than a strictchronological listing of past employment by job title and com-pany. A sample technical writing resume appears at the end of thischapter.

Contract work is an attractive alternative to full-time employ-ment. It offers the regularity of nine-to-five business hours with-out chaining the writer to one job with one organization.

When an organization needs extra technical personnel, it cancontract their services through a temporary-employment con-tractor. These employment contractors provide scientists, engi-neers, technicians, and technical writers on a temporary basis for days, weeks, months, and sometimes years. The temporaryemployees work at the organization’s place of business but arepaid by the employment contractor.

To get contract assignments, send several copies of your techni-cal writing resume to the employment contractor. You can findthese contractors listed in the Yellow Pages under EmploymentContractors, Temporary; Temporary Help; Technical Writing Ser-vices; or Editorial Services. The contractor will keep your resumeon file and call you when an assignment comes in that matchesyour background and qualifications.

Beginning technical writers can expect to earn $15 to $35 perhour; an experienced writer can make $40 to $60 per hour. (Youcan earn even more if you have experience in an unusual or ahighly specialized technical field that is in great demand.)

Freelancing offers even more freedom than contract work. As afreelancer, you won’t be locked into the corporate structure andthe Monday-through-Friday workweek. Freelancers can sleepuntil noon if they want to.


Every year, a quarter of a million people in the United States gointo business for themselves. If you want to join them, you need todo a few things first:

1. Put some money in the bank. It takes time for any newbusiness to show a profit. Before you leave the security ofyour job for the uncertainties of freelance life, you shouldhave enough money saved up to live for at least six monthswithout any income.

2. Decide exactly what you want to do. What services willyou offer your clients—writing, editing, graphics andprinting? Are you strictly technical, or will you takeassignments in other areas? You must decide what yourbusiness is—preferably before you start it.

3. Promote yourself. Now that you are on your own, youmust go out and get clients. Freelancers, like industrialmanufacturers, need sales literature—a brochure or resumethat describes your business, the services you offer, yourbackground and qualifications, and your fees. To getassignments, you could mail this brochure with a coverletter to organizations that could be potential clients. Youmight also promote yourself through publicity andadvertising in technical magazines.

4. Set your fees. As a freelance writer, you receive nobonuses, medical benefits, company insurance policies, sickdays, or vacation. Therefore, your hourly rate must behigher than what you would get as a full-time employee.The going rate for freelance technical writers ranges from$15 an hour for beginning technical editors to $75 an hourand up for experienced industrial and high-tech writers.

If you understand the basics of science and technology and candemonstrate an ability to write and think clearly, you should haveno trouble making a good living as a technical writer, whetherfull-time, contract, or freelance. Today the technical fields are


booming, while the writing skills of college graduates are declin-ing. Therefore, people who can write well on technical subjects arein demand. As a rule, technical writers earn slightly less than sci-entists and engineers, but more than writers and editors in non-technical fields.

Estimating a Technical Writing JobOne of the greatest difficulties in technical writing is determininghow much to charge. If you are on staff, you have a salary, so whatto charge for a data sheet, manual, or report isn’t an issue: you’repaid by the week, not by production.

Technical writers who work as contract writers perform thesame work as staff writers but are not employees of the company.They are temporary workers paid by the hour or by the day. Wehave already discussed the rates. Because contract workers arecompensated on a per-diem basis, they don’t usually have toworry about estimating writing fees for any given task, and theirpay is not tied directly to production—although a contract techwriter who does not produce his or her fair share of work will belet go faster than an under-producing staff writer.

Independent technical writers (freelancers) and some quasicontract technical writers are required by employers and clients togive some sort of estimate for the time and cost of writing a par-ticular project. Estimates can be presented as a fixed project price,a per-page rate, or an estimated project fee based on estimatednumber of hours times the hourly rate.

Writing projects come together in three stages. First, researchand study to learn the subject. Second, create an outline. Then,finally, settle into writing and rewriting. Each of these activitiesrequires time, and you must learn to estimate the amount of timeneeded. Here are some guidelines for preparing an estimate.

When estimating writing jobs, remember there are alwaysdelays. You can’t charge for them, but the customer will not getaround to approving the manuscript as promptly as you need it,


you’ll wait days for vital information, and you’ll often find your-self sitting idle on that project. (The best answer is to have morethan one project going. If you’re also writing fiction, turn the timeto finishing that story, novel, or screenplay. A writer can always usetime productively.)

The first step in estimating a job is doing preliminary researchand study. This involves gathering whatever information the clienthas available and discussing the project with the company’s tech-nical people in some detail. Gather enough material during yourfirst interview to estimate the length of the project and theamount of time needed per page. This is done prior to making thesale or getting the assignment unless your client prefers payingyou by the hour.

Never quote a job on the spot unless you have enough experi-ence at estimating projects to be reasonably certain of your accu-racy. Take the research materials home and study them until youare conversational on the subject. This shouldn’t take more than afew hours, since you haven’t done complete research.

Next, do a preliminary outline. It won’t be accurate because youhaven’t enough detail, but don’t worry about that. What you aretrying to do is get a feel for how many pages will be involved ineach major subject of the manual. After you’ve done a few pro-jects, you’ll find you can usually be accurate to within three to fivepages. Remember to define the number of illustrations that will berequired in each section and allow for the space they’ll take up inthe page estimates.

Now consider the degree of difficulty. How much time will youneed to absorb the subject, organize it, prepare a glossary, andwrite the manual? Figure between one and four hours per page asa base rate. If the subject is simple but lengthy, an hour or two perpage may do it. If it’s a very technical subject, it may take you twoto four hours per page.

The rule is: the longer the writing project, the fewer hours perpage you will average. Short projects will come well up to the four-hour mark. Projects of one hundred pages or more will often


come in at one and a half hours or less, even when technicallydifficult.

Keep in mind that you will spend several days at the client com-pany doing research and handling manuscript review meetings.Allow two to four full days for this on a hundred-page manu-script. Highly technical subjects may require more. In addition,you’ll spend anywhere from one to three weeks doing nothing butstudy before you even submit an outline to the client.

Your final consideration is purely personal. What are your abil-ities? How long does it take you to learn, and once you’ve learned,how many pages per day can you produce? At a conservative esti-mate, you’ll probably do two rewrites (I have done as many as sixon a single project).

To accurately estimate time and cost for a project, do prelimi-nary research and study, do a rough preliminary outline, and esti-mate the total number of pages needed, including text,illustrations, and glossary. Then estimate the number of hours perpage you will average on that subject. Next, multiply your hourlyrate ($25 to $50 per hour) by the estimated number of hours perpage, and quote that as a firm per-page rate. Also quote the esti-mated number of pages in the job and the estimated total price(number of pages times the page rate). Be very sure you quotethese last as estimates; your client should understand that he orshe will pay the page rate, and the final fee will be based on theactual number of pages in the final draft.

For example, an estimated hundred-page manual at a firm rateof $100 per page would have an estimated total price of $10,000.But if the project totaled only ninety pages on the final draft, theclient would pay $9,000.

There is a simple alternative, if you’re nervous about missingthe estimate. Persuade your client to pay you by the hour. You’llhave to keep and submit accurate time records, but doing a fewhourly rate projects allows you to gain experience before commit-ting yourself to an estimate.


Be honest with your clients. If you’ve already got a project,explain that you’ll start theirs during idle time on your currentproject, and put them next in line for completion (unless you’vealready promised that to someone else).

Most companies demand a performance schedule and expectyou to keep it. Often there is a projected timetable for each phaseof the project. If you want repeat business from a company,promise only what you can deliver. Anything else weakens yourchances of doing future work for that company—and will possi-bly destroy your reputation in your local market. Executives inthese companies pass the word around about their bad experi-ences with suppliers. It takes long, hard work to build a good rep-utation. One false promise can tear all of that hard work down andput you in a worse position than when you started.


SAMPLE RESUMEJohn Doe Technical Writer100 Summertown Drive Industrial CopywriterAnyplace, USA Training Specialistphone 000-0000

TECHNICAL WRITING EXPERIENCE9/95–present.Ace Chemical Company, Boonton, New Jersey.• Polymer mixing manual—produced installation, opera-

tion, and maintenance manual for a polymer mixing sys-tem used in injection molding operations. I hadcomplete responsibility for the organization, data gather-ing, and writing of this manual through the printingstage, and I developed illustrations to explain theory ofoperation, wiring, and parts location. Customers foundmanual to be interesting, accurate, and easy to follow.

• Other technical literature—although I am responsiblefor writing technical manuals from scratch, I also preparetechnical papers, press releases, and product literature.For example, I edited and supervised the production andprinting of a technical paper on the performance ofmotionless mixers.

6/92–9/95. Lightning Electronics Corporation, Paterson, NewJersey.• Shipboard radar manual—wrote a theory of operation

manual on the W-120 shipboard fire control radar sys-tem. My responsibilities included setting up productionschedule for typing and illustrations through the reprostage.

• X-100 radar brochure—wrote and produced a glossy,four-color, twelve-page sales brochure on the X-100 airtraffic control radar system. Brochure describes capabili-ties, performance criteria, and operation of this airportsurveillance radar.

• Product information sheets—wrote product informationsheets on the WX-200 modular shipboard fire controlsystem,TCCS air traffic control communications system,X-100-AR air route surveillance radar, and other elec-tronic systems.

ENGINEERING EDUCATION9/88–5/92. B.S. in chemical engineering, University of

Rochester, Rochester, New York.

RELATED ACTIVITIES7/92–present.Associate member, American Institute of

Chemical Engineers.


3/95–present. Freelance writer. Publication credits includearticles in Science, Books and Films, Baltimore City Paper,and the Rochester Patriot.

REFERENCES AND PORTFOLIOWill be pleased to submit upon request.



C H A P T E R N I N E

Writing forElectronic, Visual,

and NontraditionalMedia

“As a scriptwriter, you have to give up your reliance on wordsto tell the story. Oh, you’ll still write a lot of words, but mostof them will be used to describe the pictures the audience willsee on the video screen. In a script, you tell the story withpictures.” —Barry Hampe, Video Scriptwriting

In this chapter we will cover, in brief, a miscellany of primarilyaudiovisual media: television, film, the Internet, comedy, andcomic books.

Careers in Television for WritersA word repeated over and over by successful television people issacrifice. You have to be willing to start in a dull job with longhours and low pay—and stick with it awhile—before you canmove up. As Barbara Walters once explained: “Whether it’s awoman or a man who’s getting anywhere, if you are ambitious,you don’t give up when the job is grubby and boring. I’ve hadsome boring jobs. If you really do want it, you’ve got to be avail-able to work very long hours—women and men—you have to

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work longer and harder than anybody else. You have to be avail-able that Saturday. You can’t go home at five o’clock, especially inthis business. If something comes up and you’ve got to travel,you’ve got to be able to do it.”

In a survey made a few years back, television executives wereasked to identify the primary considerations they took intoaccount when hiring employees. Seven qualifications led the list:experience, personality, attitude, ability to speak and write clearly,skill in operating station equipment, awareness of the station’srelationship with its audience, and the ability to think.

If you’re still in school, you might consider tailoring your stud-ies to the television industry. Does your school have a campustelevision or radio station? Get involved with it as an extracurric-ular activity. And instead of slinging hash or sitting in a lifeguard’schair this summer, see if you can get an internship with a local sta-tion in your hometown or college town.

College isn’t a prerequisite to working in the television industry(a high school degree is), but we highly recommend it to anyonewho is planning to go beyond the lower levels. Nowadays, manypeople in the higher network positions even have earnedadvanced degrees.

Pick the course of study that will best prepare you for your cho-sen career: English, history, journalism, or communications fortelevision news; business administration for sales or corporatemanagement. Most stations today use computers to manage sales,programming, and promotion, so computer courses can makeyou more marketable.

More than two hundred colleges and universities offer degreesin television broadcasting. Hundreds of others offer a wide varietyof related courses. Check the schools in your area to see what theyoffer. If you’re out of school and already working, taking a coupleof courses at night school may fill in some of the gaps in yourknowledge.


Getting Your Foot in the DoorThe first step in trying to get a job in television is the same as inany other business. You write a resume, print copies, and sendthem out to potential employers with a cover letter. Then you fol-low up by phone and mail and hope someone is interested enoughto give you an interview.

Unless you’re an actor or an on-air personality, don’t send yourphoto with the resume. Don’t use fancy borders, colored papers,or oddball designs. The resume should highlight your experi-ence—especially any experience in broadcasting, cable television,audiovisual production, sales, writing, marketing, or any otherfield related to the job you’re seeking.

The resume should describe your experience, while the coverletter persuades the reader to give you an interview. A cover letteris your opportunity to sell yourself to the employer.

Where do you send your resume and cover letter? To local sta-tions, networks, independent producers, educational stations,cable television—wherever you want to work.

The best source of names and addresses is Broadcast and CableYearbook; another good directory is Television Factbook. Othersources of information are described in the Appendix. If you’re inschool or have recently graduated, the campus placement bureaumight be able to uncover additional leads.

You can also learn where the jobs are by reading industry tradejournals and by attending conferences and seminars. Even if achance meeting at a reception or luncheon doesn’t lead to work,you may make a contact that could pay off sometime in the future.

Be aggressive in your letter-writing campaign. If your responserate is one in twenty, you will get two responses if you send outforty letters, but you will get five responses if you send out a hun-dred. If you want to be a researcher, writer, or associate producerfor a network-produced show (news, feature, or soap), don’t go

WR I T I NG FOR E L E C T RON I C , V I S U A L , A ND NON T R AD I T I ONA L MED I A • 1 4 5

through personnel. Instead, write directly to the executive pro-ducer of the show because the producer is the one who decideswhom to hire. Personnel merely screens candidates. The produc-er’s name will be listed in the closing credits of the show you’reinterested in.

If you want to get involved in the production of prime-timeentertainment shows, go to the independent production companythat produces the show, not the network that broadcasts it. Again,you’ll find the production company listed in the closing credits.

When sending any cover letter, take the time to find out thename of the person you want to read it. Address your letter to thatspecific person. Never use a form letter or a letter that begins with“Dear Television Executive” or “Dear Sir or Madam.”

Your persistence will pay off and lead to interviews. The successor failure of the interview depends largely on the personal chem-istry between you and the interviewer. “The first thing we look foris a good attitude,” says Bruce Whigham, placement manager forCBS. “And during the interview we can tell. We want somebodywho makes the company look good.”

To Whigham, a good attitude means a willingness to make per-sonal sacrifices. “Somebody who has aspirations but is willing tomake sacrifices—that’s what gets my attention,” says Whigham.He points out that at CBS, “security guards, secretaries, and mailroom people have college educations in communications. Theytake these positions just to get in the door.”

The hard part is getting in. Once you’re in, it’s easier—althoughstill by no means easy—to move around and up. Insiders haveaccess to those valuable listings of job openings. And the networksprefer to promote from within in many instances.

If a full-time job eludes you, you might try for a spot withABC’s or NBC’s vacation-relief programs. From March to Octo-ber, these two networks hire temporary help to relieve vacationingstaffers. The requirements for working vacation relief are lessstringent than for full-time employment; a year’s experience with


a cable or educational station can qualify you to work vacationrelief on a network news program or daytime soap opera. Best ofall, CBS hires NBC and ABC vacation-relief people for full-timejobs because they have already been trained by the competition.

Whatever the job, don’t be afraid to start at the bottom. Take anentry-level position as a clerk or typist. Start at a small station andgo on to bigger markets. Work at a job that doesn’t thrill you if itgives you a chance to get the job of your dreams.

“You don’t make jumps from Butte, Montana, to New York,”Whigham points out. “You make gradual moves from market tomarket.”

Pay attention to the way your station or network operates—how things are done, who holds the real power, where the jobs are,how new openings are filled. Be aware that no two employers arealike in this industry. NBC does things differently than CBS.WPIX does things differently than WOR. “Every station has careerpaths—predetermined training and advancement procedures thatfollow a specific pattern,” says Whigham. “You just have to knowhow they operate.”

If you have a chance to step in and help out when there’s extrawork, do so. It’s a good way to get noticed and appreciated. Byproving that you are able and willing to handle emergencies andwork long hours, you will endear yourself to those who are in aposition to promote you.

Television is as difficult to break into as any field in this book,yet you don’t need greatly specialized skills or knowledge tosucceed. Persistence, ambition, and aggressiveness are at least asimportant as experience, education, and technical know-how.

And if at first you don’t succeed, keep at it, as did Ted Koppel,host of ABC’s “Nightline.” “I couldn’t get a job in broadcastingright away,” he explains. “I looked extraordinarily young, and sopeople were able to overlook the great potential there. But I knewI was pretty good and would be able to do it. This industry neverhas been, and I guess never will be, overpopulated with brilliance.”


There are also opportunities to freelance in TV. “The freelancewriter moves from show to show, selling scripts,” writes J. MichaelStraczynski in The Complete Book of Scriptwriting. “On balance,television writers are the highest-paid practitioners of the literaryprofession in history.”

The money is often good, says Michael, but rarely phenomenal.“If you can sell two one-hour scripts per year, which is a prettygood average for a freelance writer, that’s about $40,000 a yearbefore taxes. The odds of hitting six figures aren’t great.”

ScreenwritingLet’s say your dream is to write a screenplay and have it made intoa movie. How do you go about it? First, you need to learn the craft.College courses and how-to books in screenwriting can get youstarted. The Writer’s Guild has some handy publications onscreenplay format and screenwriters’ fees. Second, you need toknow how to sell your screenplay. Screenplays are bought or con-tracted for by producers and motion-picture studios. But thesepeople won’t read your material unless you have an agent. A com-plete listing of script agents can be found in Literary Market Place,an annual directory published by R. R. Bowker.

How far you want to develop your screenplay before approach-ing an agent is up to you. A script starts as a premise—a one- ortwo-sentence description that sums up what the film is about. Thepremise can be developed into a treatment, a fifteen- to twenty-page prose description of the plot of the story. A finished feature-length film script will run anywhere from 90 to 120 typewrittenpages. If you have contacts in the business, you may be able to sellthem the bare bones of an idea over lunch or cocktails. If you’re newat the game, write the whole script and sell the complete package.

According to producer Art Linson, at least 175 movies are pro-duced each year. “There are twenty thousand screens out there,and every week they have to be fed,” he notes.


Aside from college courses and how-to books, there’s no formaltraining available for aspiring screenwriters. The best way to learnis to hunt down some published scripts (many film scripts arepublished in book form and available at bookstores) and studythem. And, of course, you should write and rewrite your ownscreenplays until you feel they’re good enough to sell. ScreenwriterRosemarie Santini says journalism is good training for screenwrit-ing because it teaches you to condense a lot of facts into a tightstory.

If you succeed at screenwriting, you can earn considerablesums. A large studio will pay upward of $250,000 for a singlefeature-film script. A few scripts have sold for seven figures. Beaware, though, that just because you sell a script doesn’t guaranteeit will be made into a film; many studios buy hundreds of scriptsa year but produce only a dozen or so. “Most Hollywood writersmake money writing stuff that never goes to camera,” Santinilaments.

Writing for the InternetIn the United States, there are now 110 million Internet users, with41 percent of Americans having Internet access. But the Internet isnot a gold mine for writers. Why not? Because the Internet is tech-nology driven, not content driven, although content is an essentialelement.

The dot-com billionaires are never writers who wrote greatcopy for a website. They are either technical experts or cleverentrepreneurs. Their innovations can be for E-commerce sites(most of these eventually flounder; more than two hundred dot-coms failed in 2000) or useful applications for E-businesses (theseare more likely to endure).

On the Internet, programmers, designers, and entrepreneursrule. Venture capitalists and investors throw money behind newtechnology or new business models. Time magazine picked Jeff


Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, as its Man of the Year in 1992,even though his company lost a small fortune every year.

In the online world, technical proficiency and entrepreneurshipare valued, but words are not. The view is that anyone can writewords. Writers, along with HTML coders, are considered by manyto be the wage slaves of the new economy—a dime a dozen andworking cheap.

Another problem is that writing, or “content” as it is known on the Internet, is often treated as a cheap commodity by onlinebusinesses. In the old model of printed publishing, informationwas produced as books and articles and sold to the reader for a fee.In the new model of the Internet, content is published on websitesand given away for free for a variety of purposes: as a public ser-vice, to promote a viewpoint, to market goods and services, and toattract traffic to those websites.

The idea of publishing and giving away free content is not new:drug companies, for example, have long been publishing and dis-seminating free patient information booklets (such as Coping withDepression) to promote prescription drugs targeted at the condi-tions described in the booklets. But the Internet has certainlyaccelerated this trend. And if content (writing) is given away free,it has low perceived value and generates no direct revenues. There-fore, companies are loathe to pay writers top dollar to produce it.

Since the dot-com crash of 2000, working as a content writerfor a website or other online company is no longer seen as a greatopportunity. Instead the real action seems to be writing onlinecopy for the more traditional companies that are described in thisbook: public relations firms (Chapter 6), ad agencies (Chapter 5),corporations (Chapter 7), and magazines that post a lot of contentonline (Chapter 3).

Rarely are writers hired by these firms to do only online copy.More commonly, you are hired as a writer, period, and you do acombination of online and offline writing.


Writing Comic BooksComic books are a relatively small niche market that employswriters. My college chum, Andy Helfer, went to work at DCComics immediately upon graduation and has been there eversince—more than two decades. When I asked him about careeropportunities for writers in the field, he was fairly negative.

“DC does not hire staff writers,” says Andy. “Freelancers writeall our comics. Most writing is done on a work-for-hire basis;copyrights and trademarks are usually held by DC.” Rates forwriting comic books start at approximately $60 per page and can sometimes increase, with experience and quality, to aroundtwice that.

Writers can be hired as staff editors. Editors write lettercolumns and hire and supervise the work of freelancers. Salariesfor assistant editors start at around $25,000. A senior editor canearn $45,000 a year or more.

“Getting into comics at this point in time is sort of like decid-ing to open up a buggy whip factory—it’s an idea whose time hascome and gone,” says Andy. “The entertainment industry is shift-ing far away from us. Our audience has gotten old. Comic shopshave become hangouts for forty-year-olds who still live in theirmothers’ basements. We have no other mode of distribution, andthe kids stay away in droves.”

Breaking in is difficult. While no formal credentials arerequired, DC looks for writers from other entertainment media,such as film or TV. “We like the idea of finding a writer with a pro-motable angle, which of course affords us easier access to licensingin other media, such as the movies.”

What advice does Andy have for an aspiring comic writer whowants to try to break in? “Editors don’t want to read scripts,” saysHelfer. “Find an artist through the Internet newsgroups who iswilling to work for free, and produce a comic with your writing


and his or her drawing. Once completed, the finished comic canbe submitted to editors as a photocopy.” Andy recently bought aminiseries from just such a submission.

Humor WritingIf you are self-motivated and have a “funny bone” you can explorea career writing jokes for stand-up comics. Like fuel that runs acar, new and fresh jokes are the sustenance that keeps comics andtheir careers flourishing. They can never get enough of them. Butthey have to be great jokes. No filler or “bombs” allowed here.

Not only do comedians such as Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld,and Adam Sandler write their own jokes, but they also purchasematerial from freelancers. They don’t want the public to knowthis—but they do. Other comics do as well, especially performerswho work on television. Television eats up material faster thansharks near chum. Did you know that in the early years of theircareers, Jay Leno and David Letterman actually wrote material forJimmy “J.J.” Walker?

That’s why there is always a need for a terrific “gag” writer (suchas the “Hollywood Squares” writer Bruce Vilanch, who punchesup jokes for Whoopi Goldberg and the Emmy Awards.) And onceyou get proficient at it—and word gets out—there’s a strongchance other comedians might want to work with you.

But be forewarned: comedians can be a desperate, competitivebreed of entertainer. If you write surefire “killer” jokes for onecomedian, he might want to keep you all to himself. Comedians,in general, want their brethren and public to think that they’regeniuses who came up with their great jokes all by themselves.We’ll discuss writing for “stars” later in the chapter, but first youhave to get your feet wet. And it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Just as in writing sitcoms, jokes have their own structure, too.It’s a craft, and you have to learn it. An excellent book on the nutsand bolts of writing jokes is Gene Perret’s How to Write and Sell


Your Sense of Humor. Perret is an Emmy Award–winning comedyveteran who has written for Bob Hope and the “Carol BurnettShow.”

In writing jokes, you want to get to the punch line using theleast amount of words possible. This is a rule of thumb. Excep-tions of course are the jokes with the long setup: “This topless nunwalks into a biker bar. . . .” Here a long premise is needed to set upthe punch line, which most likely will come very quickly. Remem-ber in writing a story type of joke you are using a long premisewith the hopes of painting a picture in the audience’s mind. Theaudience is going along for the ride—so don’t disappoint. Audi-ences as a rule don’t want to think too much and demand instantgratification. Get to the punch line as quickly as possible.

You should write on a variety of topics that are of interest toyou. But most importantly they have to be of interest to the audi-ence. If you don’t think it’s funny, then the audience won’t. Perretsays, “Writing comedy is a seat of the pants thing.” And he’s right.After a while, you’ve just got to go with your gut.

Don’t overanalyze your jokes too much. Just write. Show yourwork to your friends and family (except jokes about them). Getthe consensus of which ones are funny. If they don’t fly, lose them.“Comedy writers wrestle with insecurity, competition, dry times,and an ever-changing, media-wise audience,” writes Tony Soltis inWriter’s Digest. “The bottom line is, funny doesn’t come easy.”

And, above all, don’t defend the ones you discarded. Just moveon. In fact, a better way to see if you’ve “mined some gold” is toactually perform them in front of family and friends or at an openmike night at a local comedy club. You’ll know immediately if thematerial works.

If you see a particular comic on television who you think isfunny, study the performance, focusing on the material and style.Figure out why you think it’s funny and what the audiences laughsat. Does the comic lash out at society’s injustices? Is the humorself-deprecating? Each comic has a unique “voice”—a certain


hook or some intangible that makes him or her stand out. It maybe the comic’s outlook on life or the “character” or personacreated. Either way, the public relates to these comics for a reason.

Next, try to find out when that comedian is going to appear atyour local club. Watch the performance and try to meet after theshow. Explain that you’re not only a fan but also a comedy writer.Ask if he or she is interested in buying some jokes from you. Mostcomics are nice and approachable and won’t mind looking at yourmaterial. And better yet, if you worked on specific jokes for thisparticular persona, the comic will be even more flattered andmore apt to look at “what you got.”

Hint: if the comedian has some notoriety and is doing tele-vision on a regular basis, there’s a strong chance he or she isgetting paid decent bucks. You don’t want to approach the open-ing or middle acts at the comedy club. They can’t afford to buymaterial yet. But the headliner who’s a draw at the club can. If theentertainer likes your material, you might receive a commission to write some jokes “on spec.” If the jokes are usable, they’ll sell.Simple as that. And don’t be afraid to ask what arena to concen-trate on. The usual favorites are kids, family, sex, dating, politics.

Realize that this performer will try to get you cheap. It’s thenature of the beast. You’re hungry—and it shows. As a beginner,you can expect $25 to $50 a joke. When you get more clients andget more established and comics start to use your material on TV,you can charge more, especially if the joke you sold killed on “LateNight with David Letterman.”

Keep in mind that you might end up writing fifteen to thirtyjokes and sell only three. If you do, you are lucky. Comedians area picky bunch. When the comic buys a joke from you, it belongsto the comedian. You lose all rights to it, and you can’t sell it toanother comic.

Once you’ve written for some established comics and are con-fident and feel ready for the big time, you may want to write forbigger-name stars. Then you have to contact “their people,” andsee if the stars accept freelance submissions of jokes.


Stars are all members of the American Federation of Televisionand Radio Artists or the Screen Actors Guild, both listed in theAppendix. Contact the star’s union and ask for the star’s agent orpublicist’s name and phone number. If you call the agent, be awarethat they usually don’t want to be bothered and will most likelygive you to the publicist or the client’s manager.

Once you contact the publicist, briefly explain your intentions.Remember: you’re not a fan now. You are a professional comedywriter, so act accordingly. With luck, they will lead you down thecorrect path to sell comedy material to their clients (if indeed theyare buying).

You might get a sort of “cheat sheet” telling you the type ofmaterial the star is looking for. But before you submit any jokes,you will be asked to sign a release form. It states that if the starbuys the material, he or she owns it.

All submissions are usually done via E-mail or fax. You proba-bly won’t get a chance to meet your client in the beginning. Ifthings go well and you prove yourself, you just might get a callfrom the star personally.



C H A P T E R T E N

Freelance Writing

“I am so ill-rounded that the ten things I love to do are: write,write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, and write.Oh, I do other things. I even like to do other things. But whenasked for the ten things I love, that’s it.” —Isaac Asimov

The Self-Employment OptionSome careers offer more opportunity for self-employment thanother professions. Writing is one of them. Others include typing,word processing, graphic design, accounting, medicine, computerprogramming, interior design, and law.

Other careers and occupations have limited opportunity forself-employment and usually require you to work for an organi-zation. These include chemistry, investment banking, purchasing,marine biology, art history, teaching English, and managing.

Most writers consider self-employment at some point in theircareers. Some treat it as a new career. For others, it’s a way to gen-erate revenue between full-time jobs. Or after hours.

What about you? Does freelancing beckon? Before you makethe transition from corporate to self-employment, consider thepros and cons carefully.

Pros and Cons of FreelancingThere are many advantages to being self-employed. These includethe freedom to:

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• Work at home

• Live in whatever part of the country you want to

• Dress in casual clothes

• Sleep late

• Keep nonstandard office hours

• Take vacation whenever you want to

• Take as many sick days or personal days as you need

• Do projects you enjoy

• Reject projects that don’t interest you

• Be your own boss

• Enjoy tax deductions others don’t

• Occasionally make a lot of money on certain projects

• Exercise or shop during the middle of the day, when healthclubs and stores are less crowded

• Have the radio, TV, or stereo on all day, if you wish

• Build a considerable portfolio of writing samples

• Avoid office politics

• Avoid commuting

• Minimize paperwork and administrative tasks

• Not be ruled by the dictates of a boss or corporate culture

• Spend more time with your family

There are also disadvantages. As a freelancer, you:

• Don’t receive a regular paycheck

• May not qualify for mortgages or other loans in amountsyou would qualify for if you had a full-time job

• Have to constantly market and sell yourself

• Have to negotiate fees, advances, and royalties

• Give 10 to 15 percent of your earnings to any agents or salesreps who represent you

• Don’t get benefits such as health insurance, expenseaccounts, or company-sponsored retirement accounts

• Pay for office space, equipment, and supplies out of yourown pocket


• Have to travel to visit some clients at their offices

• Deal with slow-paying clients and some clients who don’t pay

• Motivate yourself to work when no one is telling you to

• Cope with isolation and loneliness

• Pay the salary of a secretary or typing service when youneed these services

• Juggle the demands of multiple clients, assignments, andpriorities

• Keep up with computer technology and learn the latestsoftware

• Get involved with nonwriting aspects of running a freelancebusiness, such as bookkeeping and taxes

When to Go FreelanceIs there a best time to try freelancing? Maybe. But if you wait forthe “perfect time” to freelance, you may reach retirement beforeyou ever do it.

When it comes to making the transition from corporateemployment to self-employment, there is always a reason to delay:an upcoming raise, a year-end bonus, a promotion due you, or acurrent assignment you want to finish.

It will never be the ideal time to quit your job and give up yourcomfortable office, salary, and benefits. For this reason, manywriters who dream of making the transition from staff to free-lance never do. And this is perfectly okay.

The freelance life is exciting but also uncertain. You do not havethe comfort and security of knowing for certain that you willmake X amount of money this week or this month. On a smallscale, freelancers are risk takers, trading the certainty of a pay-check for the uncertainty of freelance work.

Freelancers may have no allegiance to an employer, but there isalso no employer with an allegiance to you, the freelancer—justclients who hire you on a project-by-project basis. In fact, theterm comes from the Middle Ages; free lance was used to describe

F R E E L AN C E WR I T I NG • 1 5 9

skilled warriors who had no allegiance to a particular monarchybut would work as mercenaries for whoever would pay their fees.

An ideal time to try freelancing is when you have been laid offor fired from one job. Instead of getting another full-time job, whynot try freelancing? Freelancing can pay some bills and keep youbusy until you find another job. And, if the freelancing goes reallywell, you can continue with it and stop searching for a conven-tional job.

Other than being the victim of corporate restructuring ordownsizing, there is no ideal time to go freelance. A lot dependson your tolerance for risk and your income requirements.

Ultimately your decisions as to whether and when to try free-lancing are driven by an examination of the risks and rewards. Youbalance the benefits and perks of the job you have now with thegreater potential income and freedom of freelancing. You weighhow afraid you are to quit your job against how dissatisfied youare with it.

Getting StartedHow do you make the transition from corporate employment toself-employment? Here are some initial steps to take:

• Moonlight. If you can get away with it, do some freelancewriting on the side. This will give you a feel for freelancingas you build a portfolio of samples and earn spare-timeincome. Don’t moonlight so much that you put yourself injeopardy of losing your day job.

• Set up a writing office. Most writers work from home. It’sa good idea to set up your home writing office before yougo freelance. That way, all equipment and systems will be inplace, and you won’t feel overwhelmed at the beginning.

• Buy some equipment. If you can afford it, buy thesoftware, fax machine, modem, printer, or computer you


need while you still have a regular income. But if you havequit your job, and cash flow is uncertain, you may behesitant to spend the money. This equipment will maximizeyour productivity and earnings. While writers can get bywith minimal office equipment, having modern equipmentincreases productivity.

• Choose a company name. This is the name under whichyou will do business. For freelance writers, you can simplyusing your own name, such as “Carol Jones, Writer/Editor.”Some writers use corporate-sounding names such as WordSmart Communications or PCM Editorial Services. Othersadd “and Associates” to the name to convey the image of afirm rather than an individual.

• Open a business checking account. Business funds shouldbe kept separate from personal funds. To open a businessaccount, you will need to file a certificate of doing businesswith your local municipality. The forms can be purchased ina stationery or office supply store. Submit three forms forapproval—one to keep on file at city hall, one for yourbank, and one for your files.

• Get your business cards printed. Also have envelopes andletterhead printed. Start with five hundred copies of each.Stationery can be simple—your name, address, phone, andfax number. Underneath your name, put a simpledescription of what you do. Possibilities include freelancewriter, writing services, writing and editorial services,writer/consultant.

Creating a Business PlanMost writers have no idea how much effort they must exert toearn a given amount of money. Many do not even have an incomegoal. If you don’t know how much you want to make, or what youhave to do to make it, you’ll have a difficult time financially.


Here’s how to create a simple plan for your freelance writingbusiness:

1. Determine the amount of money you want to earn thisyear. The average freelance writer in the United Statesdoing editorial or literary writing earns about $25,000annually. According to Cam Foote, publisher of thenewsletter Creative Business, the average advertising andcorporate freelance writer earns $50,000.

2. Determine how much you must make to reach your annualincome goal. If your goal is $50,000 a year, and you workfifty weeks a year, you must make $1,000 a week, $200 aday, $4,167 per month. Knowing what you must earn eachday, week, or month tells you whether you are on track tomake your goal.

3. Determine your average project fee. Project fees will vary,of course, but how much will you earn for each project onaverage? If your average fee per article is $1,000, you mustwrite and sell one article per week to achieve your $50,000income goal. But if you specialize in annual reports andcharge $10,000 per project, doing just five assignments willmeet your $50,000 income goal for the year.

4. Determine the level of sales and marketing activity neededto make your sales goal. If you must write and sell onearticle a week, and your sales closing rate is one assignmentfor every five query letters, then you must write and sendout five query letters a week, or two hundred and fiftyqueries a year.

Only when you have worked out these numbers for your ownfreelance business will you have a realistic idea of the effortrequired to earn a living as a freelance writer.


Types of AssignmentsFreelance writers handle many different types of assignments. Youcan write articles for newspapers, magazines, and newslettersunder your own byline. You can write screenplays and scripts formovies and television. Freelance writers also produce and sellessays, short stories, poems, plays, novels, and nonfiction books.

Publishing is just one of many industries that use freelancewriters. Most industries do. Staff and freelance writers handleassignments in banking, pulp and paper, cosmetics, fashion,travel, chemicals, metals, telecommunications, and computers, toname just a few areas. There are dozens more. One writer I knowspecializes in writing about collectibles (for example, the porce-lain Elvis doll and Franklin Mint Civil War chess set); anotherwrites only about nuclear medicine; a third focuses on the inter-active video industry.

Writers are needed to produce everything from annual reportsand advertising copy to press releases, proposals, sales letters, andsoftware manuals. There are dozens of other assignments, includ-ing booklets, pamphlets, brochures, catalogs, invoice stuffers,posters, training programs, employee handbooks, and newsletters.

You can take on the types of assignments that interest you mostor pay the best. Or you can do what comes your way. Some free-lance writers do a combination of both. Even if you pursue onemarket or area of specialization, other opportunities will comeyour way, and you have to decide whether to take them on or turnthem down.

Specialist or Generalist?“Should I be a specialist in a particular industry or type of writ-ing, or should I be a generalist, handling what comes my way?”


This is a common question among beginning freelancers. Theanswer—that you can do both and that they are not mutuallyexclusive—surprises most.

Richard Armstrong, a Washington, D.C., freelance writer, hasthree specialties: speech writing, circulation promotion, anddirect-mail fund-raising. But he also writes press releases, articles,ads, and other materials for clients.

Remember my writer friend who specialized in nuclear medi-cine? She also handles diverse assignments ranging from fine-artsforgeries to political campaign literature.

You can specialize in one, two, or more areas but also handlegeneral assignments at the same time. Why not? It works!

If you start as a generalist, you will notice that you begin tobuild experience in various specialties. Embrace those that inter-est you and begin pursuing more assignments in these areas.

Every freelance writer, in addition to being a generalist, shouldhave at least one or two specialty areas. Writers specialize either bysubject matter (gardening, science, computers, careers, banking)or by type of assignment (direct mail, annual reports, public rela-tions, manuals).

Why specialize? Specialists have an easier time getting assign-ments. All else being equal, the client or editor will hire the expe-rienced writer over writers who don’t know the topic or format.Specialists generally command higher fees and face less competi-tion. One study in Adweek magazine, for example, showed copy-writers specializing in high tech earned $10,000 a year more thanthose who did general advertising.

Selling Your ServicesNumerous freelance writers make a living writing articles fornewspapers and magazines. Some of these writers also turn outbooks for publishers. In selling to this type of market, you mustcome up with ideas for “products” (books and articles), write anoutline or proposal for the article or book you want to write, and


find a publisher who will pay you to do it. You are selling yourideas first and yourself second. The basic tools for selling yourwriting in this manner—query letters, outlines, proposals—arediscussed in Chapters 2 through 4 on book, magazine, and news-paper writing.

Many freelance writers focus primarily on business, corporate,and technical writing, selling their writing services to ad agencies,PR firms, small businesses, and corporations. In selling to thistype of market, you do not come up with ideas for marketingcampaigns or ads and try to find a sponsor for them, as in free-lancing for magazine or book publishers.

Instead, you send out promotional materials offering your ser-vices as a writer for hire to potential clients. You are selling your-self and your expertise, and nothing else. Clients, if they decide tohire you, will tell you what the assignment is and what they wantyou to write. If, by chance, they do want ideas from you, they willpay you a consulting fee to generate these ideas; corporate clientsdon’t expect you to sit around and propose ideas for free, as mag-azine editors and book publishers do.

Where do you find potential clients and publishers? TheAppendix provides references you can turn to for lists—includingnames, addresses, and websites—of potential clients and employ-ers. Contact them with ideas that fit their publications, and stressto corporate clients how your capabilities meet their needs.

Negotiating Your FeeHow much do you charge? How do you negotiate a higher fee orrespond if the prospect says, “Your price is too high”?

In editorial work—writing for books and magazines—the edi-tor will usually make you an offer. You can accept the offer as pre-sented or ask for more money. It’s up to you. If you are writingbooks, you can get a literary agent to represent you. The agent willhandle all fee negotiations with the publisher, freeing you fromthis unpleasant and sometimes awkward task.


When writing articles, you can always ask for more money. Butare you prepared to turn down the job if the editor won’t paymore? If not, accept what they offer until you are in a position—financial and psychological—where you are willing to walk awayif they don’t meet your price.

For business assignments, clients will ask you what it costs. Askthe client if he or she has a budget or at least a dollar figure inmind. This will enable you to determine whether you can offer aprice that meets that range.

Another strategy is to ask other freelancers what they charge forsimilar work; many would be happy to share this informationwith you. Or you can log onto websites such as Salary.com orSalaryexpert.com.

You also learn what to charge by going to meetings and quotingprices when you have no idea what to charge, then seeing howprospects react. You rapidly learn what is considered too low, toohigh, and acceptable for a particular type of project.

When you and the client agree on a fee and deadline date, get itin writing. Magazines and book publishers will send contracts.Corporate clients may send purchase orders or ask you to confirmthe fee, deadline, and terms in a simple letter of agreement. Writeup such a letter and get their signatures on it.

Handling ProblemsWriters, as a rule, are introverted people who dislike confronta-tion. Therefore, they get upset when problems with editors, pub-lishers, or clients occur.

Unfortunately, problems can occur. There is no business that is problem free, including freelance writing. If there were, mostpeople would probably be doing it!

The key to handling problems is to avoid getting upset or tak-ing things personally. Writing—and the evaluation of a piece ofwriting—is highly subjective. At times, what you give the clientwill not be what he or she expected. Some clients get upset at this,


especially if you are working on a tight deadline. When they com-plain or criticize, it’s not to hurt your feelings or to be difficult.They’re just concerned about whether you understand the prob-lem they’ve presented and what they are looking for.

Also, many people in business today are more time pressuredthan in years past. This forces them to be quick and abrupt inmany of their dealings, to the point of what may seem like rude-ness. If someone is short with you, remember he or she may beunder a lot of pressure from someone else on this project and isn’tdeliberately trying to give you a difficult time.

You don’t have to agree with the clients or editors who criticizeyour work; you merely have to acknowledge that you heard andunderstood their points of view. If a client says, “This isn’t clear tome,” don’t argue that it is clearly written. Instead, find out whatthe client thinks is unclear and what points need to be added forclarification.

The biggest mistake freelance writers make is to be prima don-nas. Client satisfaction depends as much (or more) on how youtreat the client as on how good your writing is. Clients do notwant to deal with writers who are difficult, fussy, argumentative,or who get angry when asked to do revisions. Be pleasant, under-standing, and professional at all times—even when you disagreewith the client. This is one of the keys to freelance success.

Expanding Your Freelance BusinessThe single greatest problem for freelance writers, as well as othersoffering professional services of all kinds, is the limitation of time.There are only so many hours in the week you can work. Once allthat time is taken up with writing projects, you can’t take on anymore work until these jobs are done. Therefore, freelance writersfrequently are offered more business than they can handle and, asa result, are forced to turn away many lucrative assignments.

One solution is to subcontract some of the work to other free-lancers. Writers who subcontract to other writers report they


generally give the subcontractor 50 to 80 percent of the projectfee, keeping 20 to 50 percent as compensation for getting thework, assigning it, supervising, editing, and dealing with theclient.

Another solution is to go beyond being a solo practitioner andform a small writing firm, ad agency, or PR firm. You can have apartner or hire employees.

I know several writers who formed agencies of this type andincreased their incomes by having other writers work for them.The pro is that you can potentially earn more money; the con isthe headache of having a company and managing and motivatingemployees.

The Two Best Sources of New BusinessFreelance writers tend to get excited when they get a call from apotential new client or a publisher they have never written for.That’s understandable: the new is usually more exciting than theold. But, while you will need a steady stream of new clients to keepyou busy, the most profitable business is repeat assignments fromexisting clients.

The tendency is to focus on getting new clients. But don’tignore your current and past clients as a source of lucrative busi-ness. Send them a quarterly newsletter or postcard mailing. Clipand mail articles of interest—either your own work or otheritems. Pick up the phone and call every couple of months. Sendyour new book or samples of your latest manuals.

“Is this necessary?” you may be asking. “After all, they alreadyhave my phone number, and they know me. If they need me,they’ll call.”

Sometimes, yes. But the fact is, clients and editors deal withmany writers. Every week, they get promotions and proposalsfrom new writers saying, “Hire me.” The writer they have heardfrom recently may get the assignment instead of you, simplybecause that writer’s name is foremost in the editor’s mind. To


compete, you periodically have to remind your clients and editorsof your existence, so when they think of a writer for a new project,they think of you first.

The second most profitable source of business is referrals: hav-ing a satisfied client give your name to colleagues who are poten-tial clients for your writing services.

There is an art to getting referrals. Entire sales training pro-grams and seminars have been presented on this topic, so I cannotadequately cover it here.

The key to getting referrals is doing excellent work: only satis-fied clients will give you referrals to other potential clients. Doyour best for every client, meet your deadlines, be pleasant andagreeable to work with, and charge what you said you wouldcharge. This in itself will lead to many referrals.

Selling Your Writing via Mail OrderThere are three basic methods of making money as a freelancewriter:

1. Write your own words and sell them to publishers. As we’vediscussed, you can get contracts to write books for pub-lishers or articles for newspapers and magazine editors.

2. Write other people’s words. This encompasses all forms ofcorporate and commercial freelance work, where you writecopy on assignment for a client. Assignments range fromghostwriting speeches for busy executives to writingbrochure and catalog copy.

3. Write your own words and sell them directly to theconsumer. This option encompasses all forms of mail-ordermarketing and self-publishing. You write what you want towrite, then pay to have it duplicated as a book, pamphlet,report, video- or audiotape, CD-ROM, E-book, or someother medium. You sell copies directly to readers through avariety of methods, typically via mail order or the Internet.


Many writers swear by self-publishing. However, many othersswear at it. For each self-publishing success story, where someonepublished his or her own book and got rich when it became a best-seller, there are dozens with carton upon carton of unsold booksgathering dust in a garage or spare bedroom.

The reason is that, while these writers may know how to write,they may not have the time, knowledge, skills, or temperamentrequired to market books and other mail-order information prod-ucts. Anyone can write a manuscript and pay a printer to typesetit and print it in book form. It is quite another thing to know howto market the book and sell thousands of copies while making aprofit.

When you study the mail-order book ads and dream of makinga similar killing, keep in mind that nine out of ten mail-orderproducts fail to make money. Most break even or lose money forthe entrepreneur. Ads and direct mailings can be expensive. Often,a self-publisher will invest thousands in a space ad or mailer andnot recover a fraction of the cost in sales. It happens all the time.

Writing and selling information products by mail is such acomplex and vast subject that I cannot adequately cover it here. Ihave written a book on mail-order selling, called How to Start andRun a Profitable Mail Order Business. Many other useful bookshave been written on this topic, including Dan Poynter’s The Self-Publishing Manual.

For most freelance writers, I recommend self-publishing andmail-order selling as a supplementary source of income. It is quitepossible to earn an extra $1,000 to $5,000 a month or more sellingyour writings direct via mail order, starting with only a smallinvestment.

You might do better, and even get rich, but think of this as along-term goal, not an immediate or even likely result. Most bigmail-order information entrepreneurs are well capitalized.

When should you self-publish versus selling your work to a tra-ditional publisher? Let’s look at some guidelines:


• Information, especially how-to, technical, and reference,sells well via mail order. If your writing is mainlyinformative, self-publishing might be for you. If yourwriting is mainly entertaining, you’re probably better offselling to magazine editors and book publishers.

• Direct marketing is especially effective selling to niche orvertical markets. Therefore, you might consider placingbroad, general works with traditional publishers, and self-publish information aimed at small niche markets.

• A book titled How to Get the Job You Want would sell well in bookstores and probably should be aimed at a regularpublisher. A book titled Getting into Training: A LucrativeCareer Option for Teachers would be too narrow for amainstream publisher but could be sold via mail orderthrough ads in teacher magazines.

• Products sold via mail order must offer a powerful benefit,excite the audience, and contain information readersperceive they cannot get elsewhere. Hot topics includemoney, success, relationships, sex, and starting a business.Esoteric, literary, and academic subjects do not normally sell well via mail-order ads or mailings.

• Some writers are more obsessed with the writing andprinting of their words than with the selling. If that’s you,leave the distribution and sales to a traditional publisher. Iknow too many writers who, addicted to self-publishing,deplete their savings accounts publishing book after book.They are thrilled when they receive the books from theprinters, and that’s when their interest ends. They startwriting the next book, and the previous books never sell.

A good approach is to try to sell your work to a magazineeditor or book publisher first. Then consider self-publishingwhen a traditional publisher is not interested in the work.

• Self-publishing is a viable option for works that are too long for a magazine article, but too short to fill a regular


book. These manuscripts would range in length from fourthousand to forty thousand words. Such works can be inex-pensively self-published in a variety of formats includingbook, booklets, special reports, manuals, E-books, andaudiocassettes.

To Sum UpMany writers dream of the freelance life: working at home in oldclothes and slippers; no commuting; peace and tranquillity; free-dom from office politics and hassles.

There is, of course, a flip side. Freelancers get no sick days, nobenefits, no pension, no steady paycheck, no paid vacation. Theymust provide for their own retirement funds, office equipment,office space, supplies, and insurance.

What is best for you? If freelancing sounds appealing, why notgive it a try? If you don’t like it, or things don’t work out, there aremany other career options for writers, as outlined in the previouschapters. Writing is a skill for which there is ongoing, continualdemand. Staff or freelance, you can make a decent living in a writ-ing career.

Often the writing job we dreamed of turns out to be anythingbut a dream job. Many writers start in one area then switch toanother because of convenience or the need for greater income.Then, lo and behold, they discover a true calling in this new formof writing! Be open to the twists and turns your career holds instore for you. Writers rarely follow a straight and narrow path.There are more curves and bumps on the road to writing successthan in other fields. But the ride can be exciting. Good luck!


A P P E N D I X

Resources

Here are books, periodicals, organizations, websites, and otherresources that may be useful to you in your pursuit of a writ-ing career, organized by chapter.

Chapter One: The Writing Business

BooksBarzun, Jacques. Simple and Direct: A Rhetoric for Writers.

HarperCollins.Bradbury, Ray. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity.

Capra Press.Bunnin, Brad, and Peter Beren. The Writer’s Legal Companion.

Perseus Books.Zinsser, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing

Nonfiction. HarperCollins.

PeriodicalsWriter’s Digest 4700 East Galbraith RoadCincinnati, OH 45236 www.writersdigest.com

The Writer21027 Crossroads CircleWaukesha, WI 53186www.writermag.com

1 7 3


Organizations American Society of Journalists and Authors1501 Broadway, #302New York, NY 10036www.asja.org

The nation’s leading organization of freelance writers.

National Writers Union113 University Place, Sixth FloorNew York, NY 10003www.nwu.org

The only labor union that represents freelance writers in all genres,

formats, and media.

Websiteswww.aar-online.org

The website for the Association of Authors’ Representatives. If you

are looking for an agent who doesn’t charge fees, check out the list of

member agents and their areas of specialty.

www.awaionline.comAmerican Writers & Artists Institute. Home-study courses in desktop

publishing, direct-mail copywriting, and travel writing.

www.awoc.comA free newsletter, plus freelance writers will find money-making tips.

www.bly.comMy website. An example of a freelance writer’s website. Click on For

Writers Only to read free articles on the writing business.

www.careerjournal.comThe executive career site for the Wall Street Journal provides general

career information.

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www.coffeehouseforwriters.comProvides community forum for critiques, online workshops, and

resources.

www.dreamwater.net/art/nycwritersAn online community for New York City writers.

www.freelancewrite.about.comLinks to resources relating to jobs, business writing, contracts and

grant writing.

www.groups.yahoo.com/group/workforwritersA “list” (forum) for writers to find leads for jobs and assignments.

www.parapublishing.comMaintained by Dan Poynter, the king of self-publishing, this site

provides extensive information on self-publishing and promotion.

www.salary.comData for national salary averages in different jobs and professions.

www.salaryexpert.comSalary data by city, state, and job position.

www.writers.netLinks to writers, editors, and writing resources.

www.writersmarket.comThis database provides access to thousands of magazines that

purchase writing.

www.writersweekly.comThe largest-circulation freelance writing E-zine on the Internet. This

is a free E-zine packed with paying writing opportunities, warnings

for writers, and E-books that could help make you a successful writer.

RE SOUR C E S • 1 7 5

www.writerswrite.comComprehensive site offering the Internet Writing Journal magazine,

research tools, links to writing seminars, organizations, and contests.

www.writingfordollars.comBimonthly E-zine with writing tips and paying markets.

www.writingformoney.comOnline newsletter on how to succeed as a freelance writer.

www.yudkin.comA great site on how to make sell more of what you write.

Chapter Two: Book Publishing

BooksAppelbaum, Judith. How to Get Happily Published. HarperCollins.Bly, Robert. How to Get Your Book Published. Roblin Press.Poynter, Dan. The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print,

and Sell Your Own Book. Para Publishing.

PeriodicalsBook WorldThe Washington Post1150 Fifteenth Street NWWashington, DC 20071www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/print/sunday/bookworld

Chicago TribuneSunday Book SectionTribune TowerChicago, IL 60611www.chicagotribune.com/features/books

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Kirkus Reviews770 BroadwayNew York, NY 10003 www.kirkusreviews.com

Library Journal360 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10010http://libraryjournal.reviewsnews.com

The Los Angeles Times Book Review202 West First StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012www.calendarlive.com/books

The New York Review of Books1755 Broadway, Fifth FloorNew York, NY 10019 www.nybooks.com

The New York Times Book Review250 West Fifty-Seventh StreetNew York, NY10019 www.nytimes.com/books

Publishers WeeklyReed Business Information360 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10010 www.publishersweekly.com


DirectoriesBooks in PrintR. R. Bowker630 Central AvenueNew Providence, NJ 07974www.bowker.com

Literary Market PlaceInformation Today143 Old Marlton PikeMedford, NJ 08055www.literarymarketplace.com

OrganizationsAmerican Booksellers Association828 South BroadwayTarrytown, NY 10591www.bookweb.org

Educational ProgramsNew York UniversitySchool of Continuing and Professional Studies2 University PlaceNew York, NY 10003www.scps.nyu.edu

Columbia Publishing CourseColumbia University2950 Broadway, MC 3801New York, NY 10027www.jrn.columbia.edu/academics/programs/publishing

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University of Denver Publishing Institute2075 South University Boulevard, D114 Denver, CO 80210 www.du.edu/pi

PublishersHarry N. Abrams, Inc.100 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10011www.abramsbooks.com

Addison-WesleyOne Jacob Way Reading, MA 01867 www.aw.com

Avon Books1350 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10019www.harpercollins.com

Ballantine Publishing Group299 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10171www.randomhouse.com/BB

Bantam Dell Publishing Group1540 BroadwayNew York, NY 10036www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell

Berkley Publishing Group200 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.penguinputnam.com


Crown Publishing Group299 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10171www.randomhouse.com/crown

Doubleday Books1540 BroadwayNew York, NY 10035 www.randomhouse.com/doubleday

E. P. Dutton2 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.penguinputnam.com

Facts on File460 Park Avenue SouthNew York, NY 10016www.factsonfile.com

Farrar, Straus & Giroux19 Union Square WestNew York, NY 10003 www.fsgbooks.com

Grolier/Scholastic555 BroadwayNew York, NY 10012www.grolier.com

Grove Atlantic841 BroadwayNew York, NY 10003www.groveatlantic.com

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Harcourt Trade Publishers525 B Street, Suite 1900San Diego, CA 92101www.harcourtbooks.com

HarperCollins10 East Fifty-Third StreetNew York, NY 10022www.harpercollins.com

Henry Holt and Company115 West Eighteenth StreetNew York, NY 10011www.henryholt.com

Houghton Mifflin215 Park Avenue SouthNew York, NY 10003www.hmco.com

Lippincott Williams & WilkinsEast Washington SquarePhiladelphia, PA 19705www.lww.com

Little, Brown and Company1271 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020www.twbookmark.com

Macmillan General Reference300 Park Avenue SouthNew York, NY 10010 www.gale.com/macmillan


McGraw-Hill1221 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020 www.mcgraw-hill.com

William Morrow & Company1350 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10016www.harpercollins.com

W. W. Norton500 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10110www.wwnorton.com

Oxford University Press198 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.oup-usa.org

Penguin Putnam375 Hudson StreetNew York, NY 10014www.penguinputnam.com

Includes: Price/Stern/Sloan, Viking Press, New American Library.

Pocket Books1230 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020www.simonsays.com

Random House1540 BroadwayNew York, NY 10036www.randomhouse.com

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Reader’s Digest BooksReader’s Digest Road Pleasantville, NY 10750www.rd.com

Scholastic555 BroadwayNew York, NY 10012www.scholastic.com

Simon & Schuster1230 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020www.simonsays.com

St. Martin’s Press175 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10012www.stmartins.com

Ten Speed PressBox 7123Berkeley, CA 94707www.tenspeedpress.com

Time-Life Books777 Duke StreetAlexandria, VA 22314www.timelife.com

Warner Books1271 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020www.twbookmark.com


John Wiley & Sons111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030www.wiley.com

Workman Publishing708 BroadwayNew York, NY 10003www.workman.com

Selected Employment Agencies ThatSpecialize in Book Publishing

Helen Akullian Agency280 Madison Avenue, #604New York, NY 10016

Bert Davis Associates400 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10017www.bertdavis.com

EEI Communications66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 200Alexandria, VA 22314www.eeicommunications.com

Lynne Palmer Executive Recruitment342 Madison Avenue, Suite 1921New York, NY 10173www.lynnepalmerinc.com

Roth Young of Chicago1100 West Northwest HighwayMount Prospect, IL 60056www.rothyoung.com

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Websitewww.bookzonepro.com

Offers ways to target your advertising to publishing professionals.

Chapter Three: Magazine Writing

Books Daily, Charles. The Magazine Publishing Industry. Allyn & Bacon.Pattis, William. Opportunities in Magazine Publishing Careers. VGM.

OrganizationAmerican Society of Business Publication Editors710 East Ogden Avenue, #600Naperville, IL 605603www.asbpe.org

Chapter Four: Writing for Newspapersand Newsletters

DirectoriesBacon’s Publicity Checker332 South Michigan AvenueChicago, IL 60604www.bacons.com

Bacon’s publishes annual directories of media sources in the

following categories: TV and radio, newspapers, and magazines.

Bacon’s will also provide pressure-sensitive mailing labels or handle

the printing and mailing of your press releases at a reasonable rate. I

use Bacon’s for my clients all the time and am extremely satisfied

with both the price and the results.


Gebbie All-in-One DirectoryBox 1000New Paltz, NY 12561www.gebbieinc.com

A directory with thirty thousand listings covering newspapers,

magazines, radio, and TV in a single volume. Listings are also

available on CD or mailing labels.

International YearbookEditor and Publisher770 BroadwayNew York, NY 10013 www.editorandpublisher.com

Comprehensive annual directory listing the publishers and editors at

more than 250,000 U.S., Canadian, and foreign newspapers.

The Pocket Media GuideMedia Distribution Services307 West Thirty-Sixth Street, Eighth FloorNew York, NY 10018www.mdsconnect.com

One of the largest full-service press release distribution services, MDS

features a computerized database of 150,000 editors, reporters, and

broadcasters at more than forty thousand media outlets in the

United States and Canada. Call for details and a copy of the guide.

Power Media SelectsBroadcast Interview Source2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 540Washington, DC 20007www.expertclick.com

Includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and profiles of more than

three thousand of the most influential print and broadcast media

contacts. Updated every six months. This book is selective

(“influential” media), compared to Bacon’s, which is comprehensive.

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Major Feature Syndicates and Wire ServicesAssociated Press/AP News Features50 Rockefeller PlazaNew York, NY 10020www.ap.org

King Features Syndicate235 East Forty-Fifth StreetNew York, NY 10017www.kingfeatures.com

Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services435 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1500Chicago, IL 60611www.krtdirect.com

Los Angeles Times Syndicate202 West First Street, Tenth FloorLos Angeles, CA 90012www.latsi.com

National News Bureau2019 Chancellor StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19103www.nationalnewsbureau.com

New York Times Syndication Sales Corp.130 Fifth AvenueNew, York, NY 10111www.nytsyn.com

United Feature Syndicate200 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.unitedfeatures.com


Universal Press Syndicate4520 Main StreetKansas City, MO 64111www.amuniversal.com/ups/index.asp

United Media (Newspaper Enterprise Association200 Madison Avenue, Fourth FloorNew York, NY 10016www.unitedmedia.com

OrganizationsAmerican Society of Journalists and Authors1501 Broadway, Suite 302New York, NY 10036www.asja.org

Newsletter and Electronic Publishers Association1501 Wilson Boulevard, #509Arlington, VA 22209www.newsletters.org

Chapter Five: Careers in Advertising

BooksArlen, Michael J. Thirty Seconds. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Chronicles the making of one of the thirty-second commercials in

AT&T’s “Reach out and touch someone” campaign. An entertaining

inside look at the world of big-league advertising.

Bly, Robert W. The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guideto Writing Copy That Sells. Dodd, Mead.

A guide to writing effective ad copy, plus advice on career

opportunities in copywriting.

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Caples, John. How to Make Your Advertising Make Money.Prentice-Hall.

Caples, master of the hard sell, reveals secrets and techniques for

creating advertising campaigns that get results.

Cummings, Barton A. The Benevolent Dictators: Interviews withEighteen Ad Agency Greats. Crain Books.

Insights into the lives of eighteen industry leaders and how they ran

their great agencies.

Eicoff, Alvin. Or Your Money Back. Crown.Eicoff is one of the masters of the late-night mail-order TV

commercial.

PeriodicalsAd Forum80 Park AvenueCommercial Suite 3Hoboken, NJ 07030www.adforum.com

A portal to the advertising, marketing, and communications

industry.

Advertising Age711 Third AvenueNew York, NY 10017www.adage.com

This twice-weekly news magazine is one of the two top industry

publications (the other being Adweek). Advertising Age contains

in-depth coverage of newsworthy events in advertising; the midweek

edition features a special magazine section that focuses on a specific

area of advertising. Recent magazine sections have profiled computer,

retail, direct response, grocery, and fashion advertising.


Adweek49 East Twenty-First StreetNew York, NY 10010www.adweek.com

Adweek is Advertising Age’s main competitor. Adweek is smaller,

slimmer, more compact than Advertising Age, and it comes out only

once a week. (To make up for this, Adweek recently purchased Ad

Day, which it publishes on Thursday to compete with Advertising

Age’s Thursday edition.) Adweek offers readers a blend of news,

features, how-to articles, and lively columns. I subscribe to both

magazines but prefer Adweek for its concise format that lets me get

the news in less time.

BtoB360 North Michigan AvenueChicago, IL 60601www.btobonline.com

Covers breaking business-to-business news; provides case studies of

marketing, sales, and E-business successes; focuses on issues such as

online and offline advertising, E-mail marketing, direct marketing,

CRM, and sales management.

Direct Marketing1120 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10036www.the-dma.org

Direct Marketing is for readers involved in direct-response

marketing—direct mail, mail order, telemarketing. Every issue is

loaded with how-to articles on various facets of copywriting. I

subscribe to Direct Marketing and recommend it even if you’re not

involved in direct mail or mail order. Published monthly.

190 • A PPEND I X

DM News19 West Twenty-First StreetNew York, NY 10010www.dmnews.com

A newspaper-style tabloid. Coverage is similar to Direct Marketing,

but articles are briefer and more oriented toward late-breaking news

rather than general information. DM News also publishes several

helpful how-to articles in each issue. Published twice a month.

Sales and Marketing Management770 BroadwayNew York, NY 10003www.salesandmarketing.com

A monthly magazine for sales managers and marketing managers,

Sales and Marketing Management runs informative articles on all

facets of marketing—including advertising. Most of the articles are

brief and instructive.

Target Marketing401 North Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19108www.targetonline.com

Deals primarily with the mailing-list aspect of direct marketing. It

will give copywriters a good overview of direct marketing as well as

specific tips on creative direct mail that works. Published monthly.

OrganizationAmerican Writers & Artists Institute245 Northeast Fourth Avenue, #102Delray Beach, FL 33483www.awaionline.com

Correspondence course in copywriting.


Chapter Six: Careers in Public Relations

BooksYale, David. The Publicity Handbook. NTC Business Books.Yaverbaum, Eric, and Robert Bly. Public Relations Kit for

Dummies. IDG.

DirectoriesAll-In-One PR DirectoryGebbie PressP.O. Box 1000New Paltz, NY 12561www.gebbieinc.com

Lists more than twenty-two thousand PR outlets in nine fields: daily

newspapers, weekly newspapers, farm publications, TV stations,

AM-FM radio stations, consumer magazines, business and financial

papers, trade publications, and outlets in the black press and radio.

Bacon’s Publicity CheckerBacon Publishing14 East Jackson BoulevardChicago, IL 60604www.bacons.com

Two annual volumes; not sold separately. Both give detailed

information about each publication (location, circulation, issue

dates, kinds of releases used, and executive staff members).

Burrelle AnnualsBurrelle Company75 East NorthfieldLivingston, NJ 07039www.burrelles.com

Excellent local references. Volumes include New York State, New

Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, New

England, Greater Boston, Special Groups (minority, ethnic).

192 • A PPEND I X

The Encyclopedia of AssociationsGale Research Company27500 Drake RoadFarmington Hills, MI 48331www.galegroup.com

Three volumes. A comprehensive and definitive listing of 13,300

trade associations, professional societies, labor unions, fraternal and

patriotic organizations, and other voluntary member groups. Entries

include association, location, membership, size, objectives, activities,

and publications.

O’Dwyer’s Directory of Corporate CommunicationsJ. R. O’Dwyer and Company271 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.odwyerpr.com

Annual. A guide to twenty-four hundred companies and three

hundred trade associations that are public-relations intensive.

Entries include company name, address, telephone, sales and

business activities, as well as names and duties of principal public

relations personnel. Also gives names and addresses of outside public

relations counsel, if any. See also O’Dwyer’s Directory of Public

Relations Firms, which lists more than twenty-nine hundred

individual firms with addresses, phone numbers, principles, numbers

of employees, and areas of specialization.

Selected Public Relations PeriodicalsBulldog5900 Hollis Street, Suite R2Emeryville, CA 94604www.infocomgroup.com

Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter271 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.odwyerpr.com


PR Newswire810 Seventh Avenue, Thirty-Fifth FloorNew York, NY 10019www.prnewswire.com

Provides comprehensive news targeting, distribution, and

measurement services on behalf of organizations worldwide who seek

to reach the news media, the investment community, and the general

public.

PR Tactics and StrategistPublic Relations Society of America33 Irving PlazaNew York, NY 10003www.prsa.org

AssociationsPublic Affairs Council (PAC)2033 K Street NW, Suite 700Washington, DC 20006www.pac.org

Its members are corporate public-affairs executives who want to

encourage the business community to be active in public affairs. The

council provides public-affairs training seminars, workshops, and

counseling for corporations beginning public-affairs programs. Meets

semiannually. Publications include materials on public affairs and

Directory of Public Affairs Officers, published annually.

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)33 Irving PlazaNew York, NY 10003www.prsa.org

A professional society for people in public relations in business,

industry, government, trade and professional groups, and nonprofit

organizations. Offers continuing education programs and an

executive referral service. Publications: PR Tactics, Strategist.

194 • A PPEND I X

Ten Major Public Relations AgenciesBurson-Marsteller866 Third AvenueNew York, NY 10022www.bm.com

Bozell & Jacobs Public Relations40 West Twenty-Third StreetNew York, NY 10010www.bozell.com

Carl Byoir & Associates380 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10017

Offices around the world.

Daniel J. Edelman120 South LaSalle StreetChicago, IL 60603

Also New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, and Frankfurt.

Hill and Knowlton466 Lexington Avenue, Third FloorNew York, NY 10017www.hillandknowlton.com

Offices around the world.

Ketchum Communications6 PPG PlacePittsburgh, PA 15222

Manning, Selvage & Lee (MS&L)79 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016www.mslpr.com


Robert Marston and Associates485 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10022www.marstonpr.com

Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations309 West Forty-Ninth StreetNew York, NY 10019www.ogilvy.com

Rogers & Cowan1888 Century Park East, Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90067www.rogersandcowan.com

Websitewww.bookmarket.com/directories.html

Chapter Seven: The Corporate WorldFor directories, see The Encyclopedia of Associations and O’Dwyer’sDirectory of Corporate Communications listed under “Chapter Six:Careers in Public Relations.”

BooksBlake, Gary, and Robert Bly. The Elements of Business Writing.

Alyn & Bacon.Kelley, Joseph. Speechwriting: The Master Touch. Stackpole.Layton, Marcia. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Terrific Business

Writing. Alpha Books.Poe, Roy. The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters.

McGraw-Hill.

196 • A PPEND I X

Chapter Eight: Technical Writing

BooksBlake, Gary, and Robert Bly. The Elements of Technical Writing.

Alyn & Bacon.Berry, Thomas Elliot. The Most Common Mistakes in English

Usage. McGraw-Hill.Follett, Wilson. Modern American Usage. Hill & Wang.Morrisey, George L. Effective Business and Technical Presentations.

Addison-Wesley.Morrisey, George L. Loud and Clear: How to Prepare and Deliver

Effective Business and Technical Presentations. Addison-Wesley.Strunk, William Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style.

Macmillan.U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual. U.S. Government

Printing Office (GPO).

PeriodicalTechnical Communication, Intercom, and ProceedingsSociety for Technical Communication901 North Stuart Street, Suite 904 Arlington, VA 22203www.stc.org

Chapter Nine: Writing for Electronic,Visual, and Nontraditional Media

BooksBly, Robert. The Online Copywriter’s Handbook. McGraw-Hill.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime

Time Network TV Shows. Ballantine Books.An alphabetical guide to every prime-time network show that aired

from 1946 to the present. A must read for trivia buffs.


Brown, Les. Television: The Business Behind the Box. HarcourtBrace Jovanovich.

Highly readable account of the television industry and the networks’

competition to be number one in the ratings.

Carter, Judy. The Comedy Bible: From Stand-Up to Sitcom—TheComedy Writer’s Ultimate How-To Guide. Comedy Workshop.

Dunne, John Gregory. Monster: Living Off the Big Screen.Random House.

Goldman, William. Adventures in the Screen Trade: A PersonalView of Hollywood and Screenwriting. Warner Books.

Kael, Pauline. Deeper into Movies. Little, Brown.A collection of movie reviews from one of the best-respected movie

critics in the country.

PeriodicalsAmerican CinematographerThe American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)1782 North Orange DriveHollywood, CA 90028www.theasc.com/magazine

Monthly magazine on film production and cinematography.

American FilmAmerican Film InstituteJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsWashington, DC 20566www.afi.com

Monthly magazine for film professionals, teachers, and enthusiasts.

Back Stage770 Broadway, Fourth FloorNew York, NY 10003www.backstage.com

Weekly newspaper of the entertainment industry.

198 • A PPEND I X

Boxoffice MagazineRLD Publishing Corp.155 South El Molino Avenue, Suite 100Pasadena, CA 91101www.boxoff.com

Monthly magazine about the motion-picture industry. Aimed at

theater owners, film producers, directors, and financiers.

Broadcast EngineeringBox 12914Overland Park, KS 66212www.broadcastengineering.com

Monthly. For owners, managers, and top technical people at TV

stations. Technically oriented articles.

Cineaste304 Hudson Street, Sixth FloorNew York, NY 10013www.cineaste.com

A quarterly magazine on the art and politics of the cinema. For

students, enthusiasts, and people who make or distribute films.

Daily Variety5700 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 120Los Angeles, CA 90036www.variety.com

Reports daily on news and events in TV, theater, and film.

DGA MagazineDirectors Guild of America7920 Sunset BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90046www.dga.org

Covers TV and film news relevant to industry professionals.

Bimonthly.


Film CommentFilm Society of Lincoln Center70 Lincoln Center PlazaNew York, NY 10023www.filmlinc.com

Bimonthly magazine for film buffs.

Film and VideoPBI Media701 Westchester AvenueWhite Plains, NY 10604www.pbimedia.com

Emphasizes commercial production for production companies, ad

agencies, equipment houses, and actors.

Fimmaker Magazine501 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1714New York, NY 10017www.filmmaker.com

Quarterly.

Film QuarterlyUniversity of California PressBerkeley, CA 94720www.ucpress.edu/journals/fq

Quarterly. In-depth analytical articles on the style and structure of

films.

The Hollywood Reporter5055 Wilshire BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90036www.hollywoodreporter.com

Daily. Complete coverage of the entertainment industry, with special

focus on the financial aspects of show business.

200 • A PPEND I X

Journal of BroadcastingBroadcast Education Association1771 N Street NWWashington, DC 20036www.beaweb.org

Quarterly.

MillimeterPrime Media 9800 Metcalf AvenueOverland Park, KS 66212www.millimeter.com

Monthly. Features articles on the film industry.

Premiere1633 BroadwayNew York, NY 10019www.premiere.com

Monthly magazine for and about people in the film industry—

executives, producers, directors, actors, and others.

Ross Reports Television and Film770 BroadwayNew York, NY 10003www.backstage.com/backstage/rossreports/index.jsp

Detailed information on script and casting requirements of

continuing television programs.

Show Business Weekly141 East Forty-Fifth StreetNew York, NY 10017www.showbusinessweekly.com

For performers, producers, technicians, directors.


SMPTE JournalSociety of Motion Picture and Television Engineers862 Scarsdale AvenueScarsdale, NY 10583www.smpte.org

Monthly technical journal on motion-picture and TV production.

Television International MagazineBox 2430Hollywood, CA 90028www.smart90.com/tvimagazine

For management and creative members of the TV industry.

Published every two months.

Television QuarterlyNational Academy of Television Arts and Sciences111 West Fifty-Seventh Street, Suite 600New York, NY 10019www.emmyonline.org

Quarterly.

TV GuideP.O. Box 900Radnor, PA 19088www.tvguide.com

Weekly TV listings plus articles about people and TV shows.

Weekly Variety5700 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 120Los Angeles, CA 90036www.variety.com

For entertainment professionals.

202 • A PPEND I X

DirectoriesGuide to Film and Video ResourcesHarvard University Film Study CenterCambridge, MA 02138www.filmstudycenter.org

Lists film-production companies.

International Motion Picture AlmanacQuigley Publishing Company159 West Fifty-Third StreetNew York, NY 10022www.members.aol.com/quigleypub

Annual directory of the film industry. Lists producers, distributors,

services, agents, organizations, and unions.

Pacific Coast Studio DirectoryP.O. Box VPine Mountain, CA 93222www.studio-directory.com

Quarterly directory listing production companies, representatives,

agents, unions, guilds, organizations, and associations.

State of the Television IndustryBIA Financial Network15120 Enterprise Court, Suite 100Chantilly, VA 20151www.bia.com

Lists addresses and names of management personnel in TV stations,

production companies, and ad agencies.

OrganizationsAlliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers15503 Ventura BoulevardEncino, California 91436www.amptp.org


American Federation of Television and Radio Artists East Coast National Office260 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016West Coast National Office5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Ninth FloorLos Angeles, CA 90036-3689www.aftra.org

American Women in Radio and Television1595 Spring Hill Road, Suite 330Vienna, VA 22182www.awrt.org

Boston Film/Video Foundation1126 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02215www.bfvf.org

Provides equipment and information to independent video artists.

Center for Media Arts226 West Twenty-Sixth StreetNew York, NY 10001www.nycmediaarts.org

Seminars and career-placement services in television.

Communications Workers of America501 Third Street NWWashington, DC 20001www.cwa-union.org

Contract Services Administration Trust Fund15503 Ventura BoulevardEncino, CA 91436 www.csatf.org

Training programs in television-related fields.

204 • A PPEND I X

Directors Guild of America7920 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90046www.dga.org

Two-year internships with various TV programs.

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences111 West Fifty-Seventh StreetNew York, NY 10019www.emmys.com

Trade association for television professionals.

National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians 1776 Broadway, Suite 1900New York, NY 10019www.nabetcwa.org

Union representing film and tape personnel, broadcast technicians,

and newswriters.

National Association of Broadcasters1771 N Street NWWashington, DC 20036www.nab.org

National Association of Educational Broadcasters1346 Connecticut Avenue NWWashington, DC 20036www.lib.umd.edu/NPBA/subinfo/naeb.html

Television Bureau of Advertising3 East Fifty-Fourth StreetNew York, NY 10017www.tvb.org


Women in Communications355 Lexington Avenue, Seventeenth FloorNew York NY 10017www.nywici.org

Career counseling for women in broadcasting and other

communications industries.

Writers Guild of America, East 555 West Fifty-Seventh Street, Suite 1230New York, NY 10019www.wgae.org

Writers Guild of America, West 7000 West Third StreetLos Angeles, CA 90048www.wga.org

The Big Three: CBS, ABC, NBCCBS51 West Fifty-Second StreetNew York, NY 10019

CBS owns two radio networks, five TV stations, thirteen radio

stations, a toy company, a musical-instruments company, and the

world’s largest record company, CBS Records. It’s also a major

publisher of books, music, and magazines, as well as a producer of

feature films.

ABCAmerican Broadcasting Companies1330 Sixth AvenueNew York, NY 10019

ABC describes itself as “a diversified communications,

entertainment, and information company.” Its businesses include

broadcasting, TV and radio stations, magazine publishing, feature-

film production, and tourist attractions.

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NBCNational Broadcasting Company30 Rockefeller PlazaNew York, NY 10020

RCA owns NBC as well as Hertz and RCA Records and manufac-

tures a variety of products, including TV sets, satellites, video

cassettes, integrated circuits, telex equipment, and defense systems.

Other Major Television MarketsThere are TV stations in just about every region of the country.And starting at a local station is a good way to get experience andprepare for a career in the big time.

The twelve major markets in the United States offer opportuni-ties at nearly one hundred good-size stations. Check the directo-ries listed in this Appendix for stations in the following cities:

New York Dallas–Fort WorthChicago St. LouisLos Angeles PhiladelphiaSan Francisco Minneapolis–St. PaulDetroit BostonAtlanta Washington, D.C.

TrainingEven if you’d rather be a TV anchor, writer, story editor, or pro-ducer, a technical understanding of how television broadcastingworks is helpful. You should be familiar with the general operationof transmitting and receiving equipment, as well as with federalbroadcasting regulations and practices. Here are some schoolsthat offer technical training in broadcasting:

Columbia College-Hollywood18618 Oxnard StreetTarzana, CA 91356www.columbiacollege.edu


RETS Technical Center965 Commonwealth AvenueBoston, MA 02215www.retstech.com

Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts19900 West Nine Mile RoadSouthfield, MI 48075www.specshoward.com

TESST Electronic School4600 Powdermill RoadBeltsville, MD 20705www.tesst.com

Video Technical Institute1806 Royal LaneDallas, TX 75229

Organizations and Other Film-IndustryResources

Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers15503 Ventura BoulevardEncino, CA 91436www.amptp.org

A trade association representing producers and studios.

American Film Institute AcademyCenter for Advanced Film Studies501 Doheny RoadBeverly Hills, CA 90210www.afi.com

Internship program in feature-film production.

208 • A PPEND I X

American Museum of the Moving Image35 Avenue at Thirty-Sixth StreetAstoria, NY 11106www.ammi.org

Internship program in film.

Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers304 Hudson Street, Sixth FloorNew York, NY 10013www.aivf.org

Support services for independent filmmakers.

Association of Talent Agents9255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 930Los Angeles, CA 90069www.agentassociation.com

Guild for Hollywood agents and managers.

Boston Film/Video Foundation1126 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02215www.bfvf.org

Provides equipment and information to independent filmmakers.

Career Planning Center1623 South La Cienega BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90035

Offers a seminar in careers in the film industry.

Contract Services Administration Trust Fund15503 Ventura BoulevardEncino, CA 91436www.csatf.org

Training programs in film-related fields.


Film @ International House3701 Chestnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19104www.ihousephilly.org/ARTS/film.html

Filmmaking workshops.

New School for Social Research66 West Twelfth StreetNew York, NY 10011www.newschool.edu

Courses in filmmaking.

New York Foundation for the Arts155 Avenue of the Americas, Fourteenth FloorNew York, NY 10013www.nyfa.org

Placement program for artists in film.

New York UniversityDepartment of Cinema Studies, School of the Arts721 Broadway, Sixth FloorNew York, NY 10003 www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/cinema

Degree programs in cinema studies.

Northwest Film Study CenterPortland Art Museum1219 Southwest Park AvenuePortland, OR 97205www.nwfilm.org

Internships and courses in filmmaking.

210 • A PPEND I X

Sherwood Oaks Experimental College7095 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 876Los Angeles, CA 90028www.sherwoodoakscollege.com

Programs in filmmaking.

University of CaliforniaTheater Arts Department405 Hilgard AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90024

Degree programs in film production, scriptwriting, and criticism.

University of Southern CaliforniaDivision of CinemaSchool of Performing ArtsUniversity ParkLos Angeles, CA 90007

Academic program leading to a career as a film executive or

independent producer.

Women’s Interart Center549 West Fifty-Second StreetNew York, NY 10019www.ncrw.org/digest/interart.htm

Workshops in filmmaking.

Comic Book PublishersDC Comics1700 Broadway, Seventh FloorNew York, NY 10019www.dccomics.com

Marvel Comics10 East Fortieth StreetNew York, NY 10016www.marvel.com


Chapter Ten: Freelance Writing

BooksBly, Robert. Secrets of a Freelance Writer. Henry Holt & Co.Collins, Maryclaire. How to Make Money Writing Corporate

Communications. Perigee.Davis, Paul. How to Make $50,000 a Year or More as a Freelance

Business Writer. Prima Publishing.Flynn, Nancy. The $100,000 Writer: How to Make a Six-Figure

Income as a Freelance Business Writer. Adams Media.Holtz, Herman. How to Start and Run a Writing and Editing

Business. John Wiley & Sons.Kopelman, Alex. National Writers Union Guide to Freelance Rates

& Standard Practice. National Writers Union.Parker, Lucy. How to Open and Operate a Home-Based Writing

Business. The Globe Pequot Press.Sorenson, George. Writing for the Corporate Market: How to

Make Big Money Freelancing for Business. Mid-List Press.

Websitewww.freelancesuccess.com

Weekly online newsletter and Web forum for freelance writers.

OrganizationAmerican Writers & Artists Institute245 Northeast Fourth Avenue, Suite 102Delray Beach, FL 33483www.awaionline.com

212 • A PPEND I X

About the Author

Robert W. Bly is a full-time freelance writer specializing inbusiness-to-business, high-tech, and direct marketing. Bobhas written more than fifty books, including The Online

Copywriter’s Handbook (McGraw-Hill), The Elements of Busi-ness Writing (Alyn & Bacon), The Elements of Technical Writing(Alyn & Bacon), The Copywriter’s Handbook (Henry Holt &Co.), and Secrets of a Freelance Writer (Henry Holt & Co.).

Thousands of writers have attended his popular seminars—“How to Write a Nonfiction Book and Get It Published” and“How to Make $100,000 a Year as a Freelance Writer.” His articleshave appeared in such publications as Amtrak Express, ComputerDecisions, Cosmopolitan, New Jersey Monthly, Parent Paper,Successful Meetings, and Writer’s Digest. He has been a featuredspeaker at writers’ conferences nationwide.

Bob has held a number of writing-related jobs. He was a tech-nical writer for Westinghouse Electric Corporation and a com-munications manager for Koch Engineering. As a freelancer, hehas handled writing assignments for more than one hundredclients, including AT&T, IBM, ITT, Medical Economics, ReedTravel Group, Leviton Manufacturing, Associated Air Freight, andChemical Bank. For more information, visit www.bly.com.


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