The moment the idea of pitching a piece of writing to an editorial board comes, many are confused about where, when and how to start? The importance of writing and publishing an article, online or offline, is beginning to root deep in people’s opinion. Getting an article published is one of the efficient ways of proving one’s credibility and to position oneself as an expert in their field. Before starting to write one might be wondering – In what way is an online publication different from an offline publication. Can we publish the same article both online and offline? The answer for this is actually there is no much difference between online and offline writing but of course the difference do exist in terms of language (interactive/informative), audiences targeted, information that need to be conveyed. But how will someone know which way to focus.
Before writing… Do Read…
Writing the base content is same for both online and offline writing. Before beginning to write, always read the publications guidelines. Reading doesn’t mean just sliding through the article without understanding anything; it means going through every line, understanding it, looking at the editorial column, checking out the guidelines for writers, knowing better about the publication as this will help in writing an article that fits the publications guidelines and reduces the chance of rejection.
Go through the guideline properly and then follow them closely. If the guidelines read that photographs are not required, then please do not send it just because it will make the article look good. This simply means that the guidelines were not read properly or they were not followed, and might increase the chance of rejecting the article.
Be sure of the target audience…
Knowing the audience who reads this publication or who might be interested in this topic of concern is very important. This is not as easy as it seems, as the target audiences changes for an offline and online writing. At times, the article should be re-written for an offline and online publications, as required.
Precise… but to the point
Article should always be quick to read and to the point with maximum information that fulfills the need of the article and explains the writers idea. Article should be full of energy and glimmer that grabs the editor’s attention first and then the readers. An article too long, too short, too flowery, too much of space left might be very disappointing to the editor and especially to the writer. Always remember that the writer has to impress the editor in few seconds, within which he needs to gain the editor’s attention.
Finally remember that any publication would expect the writer to follow all their guideline. They will always be hunger for interesting, good written topics and topics that might increase their sales. Read…read…and read the guidelines and follow them. The writer should make sure that his contact numbers are easily available to the editor for future use.