I Read Your Article, and May I Suggest . . .
Observations that make a difference
As a writer and reader, I constantly learn through experimentation. Each time I am informed, with kindness, that my writing is not a good fit and provided comments, I record the comments. When the next article is denied entrance into the elite club of publication, I again record the comments. We cannot change what we do not acknowledge.
My lofty goals for writing used to be to make money, get famous, garnish a book deal. Isn’t everybody’s? When that didn’t happen the first month, I revised my aspirations to become the best I can be by responding to the feedback.
In my quest to improve my craft, I read. To be truthful, I started reading and commenting on other’s writing with ulterior motives, a desire to be noticed, read and followed. This strategy worked, not because others discovered me but because I started to observe what held my attention and encouraged me to follow others. Also, I noticed the annoyances that interrupted my reading.
Well, I am not famous, yet. But I am making more money and getting noticed. Last month, the journal GRAND! published one of my stories and another was featured on a podcast.
Simplify
As I am writing the first draft, I drool words on the paper and then return to simplify the piece, so it gains focus. Currently, the introduction is 325 words. I imagine the word count will diminish by the final draft. Note: After revision, the introduction consisted of 214 words.
It has taken me awhile to realize everyone doesn’t think I am as witty as I believe and that I do not have to explain in detail the obvious. I now assume the reader can infer and has the ability to understand the point of the narrative.
Lists should end
People enjoy lists thus the abundance of articles with titles that begin with numbers.
- 10 Most Evil Women
- 10 Gross Things You Can Find on Your Body
- 10 Top Celebrity Deaths that Never Happened
With practice, I’ve learned to simplify my lists. There was a time the list above would have been longer. Then I realized I never read those long lists. It seems three is the magic number in most cases: three wise men, three little pigs, three blind-mice. Keep lists short enough to make the point.
Images
The phrase, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” may be correct in theory, but people do just that. Pictures lure readers to pull books off the shelf and to place them back. Choose images that entice the browser and inform about the content. Always cite the source of the image, even if you took the picture yourself. Lucia Siochi wrote a clear tutorial, Your Go-to Guide for Quick and Easy Image Attribution, with Samples to help understand the requirements.
Format
The criteria should be followed perfectly as outlined by the publication. Do not write a coherent, interesting piece of writing to have it buried in a pile of manuscripts, lost on the internet, or thrown into the trash because the formatting is wrong.
Earlier today I read an insightful article that deserves to be read by others but has an incorrectly formatted title. In this case it was submitted to a publication on Medium. The title was not in title format and the subtitle was non-existent. Unfortunate, because no matter how great the content, it had no chance of curation.
Punctuating poetry
Simple suggestion. Use punctuation purposefully. While reading a verse, I received whiplash because the author insisted on placing a period at the end of every line, interrupting the natural flow. Punctuation in this genre should add to the rhythm and meaning by adding emphasis, creating a double entendre, or forcing the pace. Be intentional.
Audience awareness
Thoroughly understand the audience of the publication by reading the material they distribute. Just because they say political articles are accepted does not mean your personal political views will be appropriate. Editors provide specific details of what they desire. Their time and your energy is wasted when you do not adhere to their guidelines.
Titles
Crafting the perfect title still stymies me. However, resources exist to support and refine this skill. Recently I adopted the practice of using a headline analyzer to evaluate the effectiveness my titles. It provides feedback based on words count, power words, common and uncommon words and sentiment. It then provides an overall score. An author can revise repeatedly to refine until they are satisfied.
For most of us, becoming rich and famous doesn’t happen overnight. For some it may not occur. However, through observation, applying feedback and ongoing dedication, we all can develop our ability to communicate in writing and become noticed.