Professional Feature Writing Bruce Garrison (2)

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.This demands that you know about what you write for a specialized magazine.A beginning feature writer need only look at the latest edition of the Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, issued each April, to find out which newspapers are published in their region or area.Similarly, the annual edition of Writer's Market, published each fall, gives a complete look at the magazine markets that buy freelance feature work.And, of course, it goes without lengthy explanation that you can simply pull out the local telephone directory yellow pages, especially if you reside in a metropolitan area, to see which publishers maintain offices in your community.Various specialized subjects have increased their visibility in the past decade.The growing number of separate and larger business sections in newspapers and business magazines means new and more writing opportunities as well.As the Business Press Educational Foundation (n.d.) says, business stories focus on supercomputers, genetic engineering, manufacturing in space and other unlikely business topics because these activities are financed by businesses andPage 29are the work of privately funded laboratories of corporations, not the federal, state, or local governments."The results [of these stories in the business press], moreover, promise to have major impact on existing industries and, perhaps, bring entire new industries into existence.It explains why these developments are getting even more diligent attention from the business/industry press than from the mass media" (p.1), the foundation has stated.There are more than 3,000 business publications in the United States alone, presenting a growing market for writers.There are other examples.You could make many points about the growth in sports publications, computer publications, and even a rebirth of some general interest publications, such as Life, in the past decade.These changes, of course, mean better opportunities for feature writers at present and in the future.And for the beginning feature writer, these publications are probably more accessible than established consumer magazines or daily newspapers.There are many excellent approaches to feature writing that you will discover.Certain specific features and subjects that are getting inadequate attention or no attention might draw greater readership.Some publications are reexamining how they define and present news in light of dramatically changing markets and readers.Modern readership research has given editors and publishers new insights into more effective ways to serve readers.Features are one of the approaches.Magazines have always had high, if not dominant, feature content, but they are learning new ways to use and present features.Newspapers are becoming more magazinelike in their use of features.A Career as a Feature Writer?Wendy M.Grossman, a metropolitan Londonbased freelance writer who specializes in science writing about subjects such as computers and the paranormal world, was raised in New York City.She is author of net.wars, a book published in 1997, but she says did not think she would necessarily wind up a writer regularly contributing to such publications as The Daily Telegraph in London, New Scientist, Wired, Personal Computer World, and PC Magazine (UK edition).But she was not sure what she would do with her life.Sound familiar? She explains she evolved into a freelance science writer and foundereditor of Britain's Skeptic magazine in one of Europe's largest cities through a chance series of decisions."I went to a private school in New York City and then to Cornell University, where I was an English major simply because that gave me the most freedom to take anythingPage 30I wanted," Grossman (1998, personal communication) explained."I had a fair bit of science: a year each of high school chemistry and physics; two years of high school biology; lots of math through calculus.I also studied both French and Spanish.At Cornell, I did another year of biology and 2 years more of math (I was originally going to be a math major, but quit when I found I was losing interest), plus a year of German, a lot of theatre arts, and so on."After finishing college, she did not go into a typical 9to5 corporate office routine.In fact, she did just the opposite.She became a musician."I was a folk singer for 6years and traveled a lot," she says of her days performing in the United States, Canada, and most European countries with her banjo, guitar, and concertina.She added:While this sort of background won't get you any kind of a "good job," in some ways it's ideal for a journalist.Unless you know absolutely definitely and for sure what you're going to write about, having a varied background keeps your options open.It means when you're inevitably asked to write about something you know nothing about, you actually do have a place to start.What background will best prepare you for work as a writer, especially a feature writer? Jack Hunter (1983), who is a freelance writer and writing coach of Jacksonville's Florida TimesUnion and the nearby St.Augustine Record, says careers based on good writing are a combination of good journalism, good business, and art.And, at the same time, he says such background is good for you.This motivation to excel, combined with the satisfaction excellence can generate, may help you decide if you are destined for a career in feature writing.Ask yourself the question that many editors have asked over the years: Do you have what it takes to be a writer? It will not be glamorous or easy.Writer's Digest columnist Art Spikol (1986a) has rated the characteristics of good writers and polled editors for their priorities for favorite writers.Take his test of "writeability" by ranking from 1 (most important) to 11 (least important) the following items:Ability to work with othersAppearanceIntegrityLove of writingProfessionalismQuality of writingSelfassurednessSelfmotivationTalentWriting styleVocabulary and grammarPage 31Spikol's priorities are a bit different from the list created by asking several dozen editors of nationally distributed magazines [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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