You can make your editor’s day! In this episode of the Writing Momentum podcast, Chris and Gena discuss their favorite 5 ways to stand out and make your editor happy. Whether you're a new writer looking to break into the industry or an experienced writer wanting to take your skills to the next level, this podcast will provide you with practical insights and strategies to help you WOW your editor and succeed as a writer!

LINKS:

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Hey.

Hey, and welcome to the Writing Momentum Podcast.

I'm Christopher Maselli, and I'm here with my wife Gena.

How's it going, Gena?

It's going good.

I'm glad to be here.

Yeah.

All right let's go.

We're gonna talk about how to stand out and wow your editor.

It can be a challenge to feel like, Hey, how can I make sure that I don't

lose a regular gig with this editor.

And the best way to make sure you keep that gig is to really

make yourself stand out among other writers to really wow them.

And this is something that I think is a bit of a it's a, it's an art, isn't it?

I think it is.

And I think, first of all, I wanna define what kind of editors are we talking about?

We're really talking about if you have an editor who has hired you to do a marketing

piece, Or to write some emails, to write.

What about a magazine article?

Magazine articles.

Those are the, any kind of editor that has hired you to do a job for them.

That's the person that we're talking about.

So this covers, I wanna clarify that because this covers a lot of

different types of writing here.

It sure does.

It could even cover book writing.

And, if you're writing for an editor and you have one book that you're

giving to them, you wanna make that experience as positive as possible,

because quite often they want to do more than one book with you, right?

They're looking for writers that are good to work with and by presenting

yourself as someone who's professional and can really stand out using some

of the things we're gonna talk about today, you can be that go-to person for

that editor and that's a key component of making this into a writing career.

Yes.

And we are talking, in the capacity that Chris is talking about here that

is talking about traditional publishing, but even if you've got an editor that

you have hired you want to, some of what we're talking about today is going to

help you in that relationship because again, if you find a really good editor,

you want to be someone that person wants to work with, even if they have hired you

or that you're, even if you have hired them, you want to make sure that you keep

that communication open and that it's a positive experience so that they'll wanna

work with you on your next book as well.

Yeah and typically like any of us, if we enjoy something, if we

enjoy working with someone, we'll probably do a better job, right?

Because we're gonna be more aware of what we're doing, and so that

definitely means that this matters no matter how you're doing it.

So yeah.

So let's jump into this.

Let's jump in.

And just talk about how we can stand out.

What's the first way that you would say above all else, that you

can stand out and wow an editor?

The, this is so simple, you guys, but here it is.

Make your deadlines.

If you say you are going to have something to an editor, on a

certain date, you get it there.

Now we all have things that come up.

In fact, I'm saying this, and even last week, I missed a deadline by a day,

and I was very apologetic to my editor to say I didn't get that in on time.

I'll have it there first thing tomorrow.

And oh yeah, by the way, here's the next thing that's not due for a couple of days.

I really try to go the extra mile to make sure and really we say extra mile.

I'm saying that, but that's not even the truth.

That's the bare minimum of what you're doing.

If you make your deadlines, you'll be doing the bare minimum that

actually will make you stand out because there's a lot of writers

that never make their deadlines.

And I too, I am challenged sometimes with making deadlines because I'm very busy,

but I know after working with editors, which ones have built in extra time for

my writing, that they, I know they're asking for it a little early, but I

still go back to them and I'll say, Hey, can I have a few more days with this?

And then I know that when they receive it, it's gonna be extremely clean.

It's gonna be just what they're looking for.

Because I've worked with those editors before.

I would probably hardly ever write to an editor that I'd not worked with before

and just ask for extra time, right?

Because that's starting off on the wrong foot.

Usually it's gonna be someone that I have a relationship with that I might

say, Hey, can I have a little extra time?

And they don't care at that point because they know that what they receive

from me is gonna be good, that it's gonna be what they're looking for.

So there is a definite dance there.

Yes, and I would also say that as you've built up that equity with that editor

from past experience, they're more forgiving because they know that's not

the way you just normally do business.

That's right.

They know that they can count on you, and that this is an exception.

The other thing I would say on that is if you need an extension, make

sure you give your editor as much time as possible if you know you're not

gonna make your deadline on Friday.

And you know that on Monday or Tuesday, then go ahead and let them know because

you know it's that expectation thing.

If your editor is sitting there on Friday morning, or Friday at five o'clock and

they're looking for your piece to be there and it doesn't show up and instead they

get an email that's says, or a text says.

Can I have more time?

Says, oh yeah, I need more time.

That's not gonna land as softly as it would have if they had received

that request on Monday or Tuesday.

If you said, you know what, I'm running a little bit late.

Can I have the weekend?

I'll have it to you first thing Monday morning.

In fact, when you log in, it's gonna be there and then you do it.

And here's just a little pro tip for those of you who are keeping score.

When you are setting your deadlines up with an editor, if they ask for a piece

to be turned in on Friday by 5:00 PM at that point, ask them if you can have

it in on Monday at 8:00 AM instead.

Because here's the thing, to them, it's the same.

They're going home on Friday at 5:00 PM and they're not going to look at their

computer again till Monday at 8:00 AM.

So it's the same deadline essentially for them, but it builds

in an extra couple days for you.

So I always try to make sure that I have my deadline is 8:00 AM the next morning

instead of 5:00 PM in an evening, because that just builds in a little extra time if

you need it, and it softens it a little.

All right.

The next thing you want to do, and this goes along a little bit with that last one

we just talked about, is you want to learn the style guide and formatting preferences

of any place that you're writing for.

You want to know how they write their articles, how they format their

articles, what they're looking for in a piece that comes in, because if you

can turn in something that it looks exactly like what they're looking for,

where they don't have to clean up even just the formatting of the manuscript.

Because you know that, oh, at the bottom of the manuscript, they want

three quotes pulled out, for instance.

That will set you apart.

You are saving that editor time and they are going to love you for it, aren't they?

They are.

And I would even go a step further with that.

On that note, let me just say first we have editors, I have editors that I've

worked with who really don't care about say the type of font that I submit.

In fact, when I receive things from one editor, it could be Helvetica,

it could be Arial, it could be Calibri, it could be whatever.

So that tells me that editor doesn't really care.

We have other editors that are old school.

And they want it Times New Roman 12 point font.

They want it

one inch margins.

One inch margins.

They want it double spaced.

They don't, they, you don't play around with it.

They want it.

So that is such a simple way to communicate that you are a professional.

By turning it in the way that they expect it.

That's just one of those subconscious things that will communicate

your professionalism to them.

That you're someone who can be trusted.

Yeah, and you can ask them for that.

You can ask them if they have a style guide, ask them if they can

send you a previous article that they might have in a Word document.

And when you do that, you'll see how they ended up formatting it cuz they'll

send you one through that's been through what's called final copy, right?

It's been through that final stage before it goes to be laid out and for print.

And when you have that, you're then able to start your document where

they ended with their last final copy.

And that really, really helps.

I love doing that.

Yeah.

And if you, if the, if you don't have that, then better to default

to those old school preferences.

And more than anything, make sure that every time you turn a

document in, it looks the same.

Don't one article use Times New Roman and the next one, use Arial.

Make them always look the same.

Gena and I for Writing Momentum, we have certain layouts and even colors.

Sometimes like the headings, sometimes we'll put in a slightly different

color, like a dark blue instead of a black, because that's just

something we've established over time.

We've found that it makes editors, that makes it easier for them to read it.

And they know when they get a document from us, it's going to look like that.

And so automatically, without even knowing who it's from, they can

look at a document and know, Hey, that came from writing momentum.

That came from Chris and Gena.

And by establishing yourself like that, it really, it sets you apart.

I would also - talk about articles.

I had a situation one time where I had written an article, I'd been hired

to write an article for a magazine.

And I wrote the article.

One way.

I wrote it more like a feature.

And when I sent it in, the editor responded to me and said, we really like

to have points that people can follow.

Steps that people can take.

And so that was a clue to me that they wanted a how-to article.

They wanted something that was like, step one, do this, step

two, do this, step three, do this.

And so I was able to change that article from a feature into that how-to format.

But it also clued me in that every time I write for that magazine, I

need to write it in how-to format.

Also looking at the way that you format your how you construct your

articles or your blogs or whatever.

You need to look at what they do in the past and that's when it is so

helpful to go ahead and get their magazine and or look at their website

or whatever, and really look at how are they writing their pieces?

And sometimes that depends on the editor.

Sometimes you get an editor and you may work with a couple different

editors at a company and one editor really wants it one style and another

one is a little more flexible.

So you, that's a bit of that dance where you have to figure that out.

But just be mindful of that.

Take a look at what they've done in the past and so that you can make sure

that you're constructing your piece.

To work for their organization.

And when you look at what they've done in the past, you can do.

What is our next point, which is over-deliver.

When you look and see, for instance, if you're looking through their magazine

and that almost every article has poll quotes, you know what you can do as

the author of an article, you can pull out three or four poll quotes for them.

Put them at the bottom of the article.

Now someone in house usually does that.

But you are now saving them time.

You are over-delivering.

There's a lot of times for children's material I will over-deliver

by adding a little activity.

If it's a short story, I might, or let's say I do some solve it yourself mysteries.

Often if I do a solve it yourself mystery, many times I'll do a little activity

that's like a breaking a code kind of thing, when you do that, it over-delivers.

They didn't expect to get an activity and they may not use

it, but they might use it.

And they'll usually actually pay you extra for it too.

But even if they don't, they like having that extra thing.

They like having the poll quotes, they like having artist direction.

If you've got that, anything that you can put in there that

helps them is a good thing.

And again, if they don't use it, no harm, no foul.

They still like having that extra material.

Yes, and I'll even if I am writing an article and they want, maybe

they just assign me the article.

A lot of times if I find something really good in there, I'll include a sidebar.

If they ask me for one sidebar, I might over-deliver by giving two or

three so that they've got options.

This really helps your editor because also what they can do is they can keep

those sidebars in their storehouse.

Yes.

So that if they have something that doesn't come through and they've got a

half a page that they've gotta fill, they can look through their storehouse and all

of a sudden they've got this extra sidebar that maybe they can use somewhere else.

Or maybe they can add.

And an artist may also really appreciate that because the artist is saying,

oh I know I need to do this article plus a sidebar, but the one, this

one's too long, but you know what?

This one will really work.

So you're giving them options, which makes everybody's job easier.

Yeah.

Over-deliver, what's the next one, Gena?

Welcome feedback.

And I will say this as, leave the diva at the door.

Here you go.

When you are writing for someplace you are helping them produce their

magazine, their website, their whatever.

You have to be willing to accept feedback.

For instance, when I told you about that one article that I wrote

for that company and they came back and they said, we really.

I really want this to be a step by step.

I had to go back in and rewrite that article as a how-to article

was steps toward a particular goal.

I welcomed the chance to do that.

It really wasn't that hard.

It was something that I could go in within an hour or two and rework the

article cuz it was really already there.

But it just helped them and it let them know that I was easy to work with.

That I was willing to work with that.

With them and what their needs were.

Yeah.

That really, it sets you apart because so many times it's easy as someone

who writes something to feel offended when they wanna make a big change.

Or even little changes that you think are silly.

It's easy to wanna push back a bit.

It's easy to just feel like, eh I don't wanna work with them anymore.

And they recognize that.

They see that they have writers who won't work with them, who won't make

those changes, who aren't happy about it, who make their life more uncomfortable.

And sometimes it's not even the editor's call, right?

Sometimes it's someone else in that big publishing system that's making

that call, and they just, they're the ones who have to deliver the bad news.

So the best thing you can do is go with the flow.

Just say, Hey.

That's part of the business.

Like when I write an article, I know full well it may need

to be changed and that's okay.

And I have some clients that sometimes I'll write things for and

they'll change quite a bit of it.

I don't get offended.

I just figured, hey, they paid me for the first draft, right?

They paid me for that first little bit.

And if I can help change it into exactly what they're looking for, that's fine.

I'm happy to do it.

And they recognize that and because that, You'll keep getting more jobs

because they're not looking for people.

They've got enough troubles in their day-to-day interactions that they

don't want to have to be fighting with a freelance writer, right?

They want to have someone that they can just trust who's willing to go with

the flow, and that doesn't mean that.

If you have agreed to a certain payment for something that you need

to put in five times the amount of work for that item for nothing, right?

If they didn't communicate well what they wanted, you can have that conversation.

But I'll tell you, Gena and I often work into our rates at least one revision

because we have had it over the years.

We've done this enough to know that, you know what?

Things will come back all the time.

Sometimes it's because they change their mind.

Sometimes it's because you just had an off day.

Whatever it is, things will come back.

So we work in a revision with almost everything we do now, if they

want multiple revisions, because suddenly after seeing the article

they realize, oh, wouldn't it be cool if we did something different?

That's a little bit different because now they're asking for a different article.

And you can work that into the conversation.

And generally you can come to a meeting of the minds on that, but overall,

yeah, leave the diva at the door, go with the flow and you'll have a more

successful career pleasing your editors.

And yes, I would also say to that, make sure you recognize that you

are in this for the long haul.

This is not just a one and done piece that you are hopefully writing for.

Whoever it is you're writing for.

But this is a relationship that you can nurture for the long

haul and that there are more jobs that are coming down the line.

So keep that in mind as well.

Now, there are going to be times when you're in this business long

enough that you may work with somebody that you're like not

gonna work with that person again.

We've definitely had those times too.

That will happen.

You finish the job.

But you finish the job to the best of your ability, and then you walk away

with a clear conscience and with a professional with your professionalism

and your professional reputation intact.

As best you can.

Yeah.

And here's a couple things to keep in mind.

First of all, word gets around, editors work together.

And so if you have a bad experience with one editor, it's possible another

editor's gonna find out about that.

But say the reverse is also true.

You, if you're a good writer that works with an editor,

that news is gonna get out too.

Plus, a lot of times editors change positions and if they go to a new

magazine, they'll bring you along with them as one of their resources,

which is our next point, isn't it?

Yes.

And that is, you are a resource.

Recognize yourself that way.

You are a resource for whatever organization or company

that you're working for.

So even if you're an author in a traditional situation

you are a resource for them.

You are producing a product that they believe represents their brand.

And so you wanna make sure that you are recognizing that about yourself, that

you are there to help them be successful.

They're helping you, you're helping them.

It's that give and take relationship in that.

So recognize that and be thinking about that when you are interacting with them.

We said in the last point, leave the diva at the door.

I hate to say you're a tool, but you're a resource for them

to help them be successful.

So you just want to be mindful of that.

And then finally, just a little bonus here, send gifts to your

editors around Christmas time when it's the holidays send a gift.

It can be hard sometimes to think, goodness, aren't

they paying me to do this?

Why should I send them something to spend money on that?

It's just about nurturing the relationship.

If you set yourself apart by sending a box of cookies around Christmas

time, that will be remembered.

It just will it, it helps forge that relationship.

And here's the truth, if you get paid hundreds of dollars for an

article and it costs you $50 to send cookies, isn't that a good exchange?

It absolutely is.

And it will probably in the long run, get you more jobs with that client.

And I've known people that have sent those gifts around Thanksgiving too.

Just to show thankfulness.

So I think it just shows gratitude.

And really, that's not just a writing tip, that's just a professional tip, just

to be thankful and show gratitude toward your editors, your clients, your whoever.

Show that gratitude and just let them know that you are thankful for them.

We hope that you are now standing out, wowing your editors.

Put these things into practice.

Think of a way, is there one of those things that you can

do that maybe you haven't done?

Have you not received a style guide from an editor?

Have you not over-delivered or have you not sent gifts?

What can you do as a result of this?

We just challenge you to think about that.

And then please go ahead rate, review, subscribe and share.

Let other people know about this podcast if it's helped you, and

let other writers know, because that's how we get the word out.

And just really helps.

And definitely let us know as you've listened to this podcast, let us know if

you have something to add to the list.

Something that you do to wow your editors.

Let us know what that is.

Or if you're an editor, let us know how your writers have wowed you in the past.

Oh, we'd love to have, we'd love to hear that.

And we will share that with everyone to let them know too.

Remember, we're not in this alone, right?

We need editors.

We need to work with one another.

And that's what this is all about.

And we also, as writers, we need one another because why Gena?

Together we have writing momentum.