BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Meeting in Washington, DC,
the Construction Writers Association (CWA) heard a full morning of
presentations designed to polish members' skills.
Getting the Story Started
The panel included Kirk Landers, editorial director of Better Roads;
Greg Sitek, editorial director for the Associated Construction
Publications; and Rod Sutton, editor-in-chief of Construction Equipment.
The best place to look for article ideas, according to Landers, is
consumer magazines. "Most of us in trade magazines tend to be too focused
on expository writing and forget how to slant and package and make things
exciting," Landers explained. Another great source for article ideas is
journalism contests, according to Landers, who has screened the Neal Awards
competition for more than 10 years. "This is a significant investment on
our part. We're a very small company," he said. "But it pays off because we
see how other people are doing things."
Mingling with industry officials at association meetings goes a long
way, Landers recommended. "They're a great place for me as an editor to
find out what is going on." Landers also makes it a point to scour research
materials that are published every year.
Other suggestions made by Landers include:
-- Write "killer" headlines, even before the conception of a story
-- Review old issues of your magazine, looking for missed opportunities
and poorly written stories
-- Maintain a "hyperbole list" -- a running collection of all things
greatest, fastest, biggest, etc. Any " ... est" is automatically
interesting.
-- Make a list of 10 industry leaders every year. Contact them and
"Google" their names in search of story angles. Talk to as many people
as you can and talk about what's going on in the industry. Ask them,
"What keeps you up at night? What do you see occurring 10 years down
the line?"
Sitek recommended story outlines, calling them "road maps." A good
outline, he said, can save time and effort while building to a conclusion.
The outline should be limited to one piece of paper so that when you look
at it, you have a picture of the article.
On the topic of staying current, Sitek noted the importance of reading;
specifically, books that are on the best seller's list. "You don't really
want to write for a small audience," he added. "The more people that read
your stuff, the better."
Sutton offered advice on how to write great "ledes" and "enders." "I
don't put an introduction on the outline," Sutton said. "I go right into
writing, and the reason I do that is that most of the time you'll find your
lede buried in the first two or three paragraphs."
Anecdotes are great ways to start stories. So are human-interest
angles. "You tell this kind of humanizing story, and it grabs people,
hopefully to read the rest of your article," Sutton said. Another way to
grab readers' attention is to surprise or humor them. "If you can surprise
them with something they're not expecting when they're reading about
construction equipment, you're going to hook them."
Regarding conclusions, Sutton said they have to tie up the story.
"You've got to spend as much time on the ender as you do the lede," he
continued. And what's the best type of conclusion? "The best way to end a
story, in my mind, is with a really strong quote," Sutton said. "These are
challenging. The key is it has to be strong."
Perfecting the 30-Second Pitch
Mike Manion, Mid-Atlantic Regional Market Director of Vistage
International, led an interactive session, helping attendees practice
introducing their organizations or services. When it comes to engaging a
contact, Manion instructed, you need to get their attention, put them at
ease, and show the benefits of what you are offering. Stop thinking and
talking about yourself and focus on the other person's interests.
Manion added, "Be concise and get to the point. What they want is a
real human being, speaking a language they use every day. They don't want
to hear the party line. They will not respond. Don't be superficial, and
add some "meat" to your pitch. "This might be a concrete fact that proves
what you do does work," he said.
Show candor, he concluded. "You have to be real, and you have to be
real honest. If you can't speak very candidly and tell them things that
they need to hear but might not want to hear, you will lose many potential
clients."
How to Be (or Hire) a Contract Writer
The panel included M.D. (Doc) Morris, a freelance writer and contract
editor; Mark Sprouls, a contract writer who works with Caterpillar; Johnny
Campos of Caterpillar; and Jim Parsons, a freelance writer.
Campos, a trade press relations employee with Caterpillar and a former
contract writer, said his company seeks writers who have prior industry
knowledge. However, he noted, "It's much easier to teach someone who knows
how to write about the construction industry than it is to show an engineer
how to write a press release."
Inevitably, many of Caterpillar's contract writers are former
employees. "So that makes for an easy transition," added Campos. "Once
hired by a company such as Caterpillar, the biggest advantage is the easy
access to valuable resources."
The difference between a contract writer and a freelancer writer,
according to Morris, is that a magazine will direct a contract writer while
a freelancer will have to be much more autonomous. "If you're a freelance
writer without a regular contract, you have to come up with the ideas and
sell them to the editor," Morris stated. "Get an idea that's viable and
write a summation of what the whole thing is about."
Parsons said, "I've had very few contract writing relationships.
However, I've had several clients that I've worked for the entire 12 years
I've been freelancing. You do have to market, but you also need to be able
to do a good job. You need to be able to continually understand editors'
needs and hone your skills as a writer."
"Freelancers that work regularly for an organization, be it a magazine
or a vendor, are actually contract writers whether they sign a contract or
not," Sprouls advised. Meanwhile, there seem to be more people trying to
hire a contract writer than become one, Sprouls added. For those editors
looking for a contract writer, the best way to approach the hiring is to
treat it "as if you were hiring an office temp. Test them out."
The Construction Writers Association, founded in 1958, is a non-profit,
non-partisan, international organization for professional journalists,
writers, editors, photographers, marketers and publicists serving the
information needs of the construction industry. In addition to its
journalism, photography, marketing communications and website awards
programs, CWA provides educational meetings and networking opportunities
for its members. For more information, visit the Construction Writers
Association website at http://www.constructionwriters.org.
SOURCE Construction Writers Association
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Related links:
http://www.constructionwriters.org/
CONTACT:
Sheila Wertz, Executive Director of the
Construction Writers Association, +1-847-398-7756, fax
+1-847-590-5241, office@constructionwriters.org
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