Meeting Expectations
Publishing is an industry that involves a range of different experts, working together in harmony. Even with the ease of modern online publishing; it still usually takes a number of different people to write, edit, prepare a layout, publish and market any publication. Unless all facets of publishing are done well, it can be extremely difficult to turn a profoit on any publishing project.
Anyone who works in the publishing industry needs to be educated to appreciate the work of everyone they are working with. They need to learn to work to specification so that their work is coordinated and the effort of each one, compliments the effor of all others.
Own Your Work, but Not Too Much
Writers have a tendency to take ownership of their work; wanting to write what they want to write, rather than what a publisher may want them to. A writer with a successful style of writing, or interesting and successful topics of writing then decides to do something totally different, and write in a different way, may not be what the publisher wants. The successful writer should be aware of the commercial aspects of what they are writing. If you give them what they expect (or want), they keep employing you; but if you don’t, you reduce your chances for ongoing work.
Deliver the Amount of Work Required
If an employer wants 500 words, you need to produce around 500 words for them - more is not better. 1000 words might satisfy the writer, but may lead to the employer never giving return work. If they have space for 500 words and time to edit 500 words, they may not appreciate having to waste time editing it down to 500 words or asking you to redo it. So if a publisher asks you to write 500 words on the climate in New Zealand, that is exactly what you should give them.
A professional writer will need to be able to work to a certain level of output. The level will depend on what you are doing. For example, an article writer may be employed to write 10,000 words a day on a variety of different topics. An author may be required to write ten pages a day. A blog writer may have to write ten blogs a day of 500 to 700 words. Some writers working as part of their job may be required to produce a certain level of writing, for example, a blog a week or two “tweets” a day on twitter; or five comments a day on Facebook. The requirement will depend on what you are being paid to do. This can be very much like working in any other high pressure business environment. The person paying for your writing is not concerned about your ‘artistic temperament’, so you will need to always have a professional approach and realise that the expectations on a writer in relation to work efficiency, are like those for any other job.
Deliver the Quality Expected
Producing a lot of words in a short period, is not going to earn you an income if the publisher or employer is faced with above average costs to proof read and edit the material. Also, if what you are writing is not very good, it will not likely sell or gain you work as a writer. So it is not just about speed, but about the quality of the work you produce. Your repeat work will only be as good as your last performance.
Do not fall into the trap of assuming you are a good writer because your friends and family say you are – listen to comments from the editors that you have submitted your work to. You can learn a lot by staying cool and taking positive criticism on-board. At the end of the day you will not sell your work if your writing skills are not proficient and you have not developed the ability to be an effective communicator.
Deliver the Work in the Correct Format
Every publisher or employer has unique expectations. They will have their own style guide that will include what font to use, what size font to use, how they do their paragraphs, and so on.
A style guide, also known as a style manual, is the standards for writing and design documents set by a particular organisation or publisher. For example, The Times may have a different style guide to Random House publishers. The standards set by the style guide are called the “house style”. Any writer should check with the organisation they are writing for as to the style guide. These style guides may be accessible on-line or hard copy available to prospective writers for that publication.
Deliver on Time
Writers who supply work in advance of deadlines will earn a reputation as being dependable, and that will translate to more work opportunities. Writing is a business, so editors and publishers need to know that they will get the work they want, in the style they want, when they want it.
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