My client’s editor had supplied her with one of the resources she wanted the writer to include, so my client put that one first in the list.

The bad news was, that product didn’t really fit in with the others; it was weak, but the writer included it because the editor insisted.

I suggested my client re-order the items in the list so that she’d lead off the article on a strong note, and she asked me how I normally order my list articles. A great question! I thought about it, and realized that I do have a few rules of thumb I use to create a strong list article or query.

Judge Them

When I write a list article (or a pitch for one), typically there are a few really strong items and few weaker ones. I can tell one from the other by instinct at this point, but you may want to ask a friend to read over your article and let you know which items made her say, “Wow! I never knew that.” Those are the strong ones.

The weaker ones are the points that your reader may have heard before, that you didn’t manage to get good quotes for, or that simply don’t have that “wow” factor.

Bracket Them

I make it a point to start off and end my article or query with the stronger items. That way, the article gets off to a good start, and goes out on a high note. People tend to remember the first things and the last things they read, so you want those points to be awesome.

Mix Them Up

After deciding on strong items to start and end the list with, in between those I alternate stronger and weaker points. So the order would be strong-weak-strong-weak-strong. That way even if a reader has already heard one of your tips or is not interested in a point, the article is saved, in her eyes, in the very next paragraph. This keeps interest high.

You definitely don’t want to lead with three strong points and then end with three weak ones — what a letdown! — or have several weaker items in a row. You risk losing the editor’s — and the reader’s — interest.

Put It in Second

I got this tip from a writer friend of mine: If the editor suggests you include something in your list, put it second. If you put it first, it looks like you didn’t do your job because the editor came up with the best item in the article. If you put it last, it looks like you’re dissing your editor’s suggestion and only grudgingly including it in your article.

Picky points, to be sure, but writing a successful article is all about the details. You need to understand rhythm and flow, and use subtle tricks to get the reader interested and keep him reading until the end.

How about you — do you ever think about how to order the items in your list article or article pitch? What rules have you come up with? [lf]

Much of the time, these writers are making the deadly mistake of over-researching. They’re spending hours collecting files full of articles, bookmarking relevant sites, reading books, and interviewing countless sources.

And the time-suck doesn’t stop there: Because these writers have so much research, they have trouble going through it all and deciding what to put in their assignment. Or, even worse, they spend too much time trying to cram all their research into the assignment lest they waste it.

If this is you, stop! It’s too hard to make a decent income if every assignment takes twice as long as it should because you’re over-researching.

Here are my tactics for getting the work done without overdoing the research:

Start early.

Start your interviewing and research as soon as you get the assignment. This will allow you time to go back for more info later if you need to.

Do the bare minimum.

Read enough online that you have a general understanding of your topic, and interview just enough sources: My rule of thumb is one source for every 500 words plus one; so if the piece is to be 1,000 words, I interview three sources.

End the interview right.

At the end of every interview, I ask the source, “Is it okay if I get back to you as I’m writing this piece if any questions come up?” They always say yes.

Write the article.

Write the article using my tips in My Trick for Writing Difficult Articles. Whenever you run across a spot where you need more info, mark it to come back to later.

Fill it in.

Now, go back through your article and do the research needed to flesh out your piece. Chances are, it will require only a little web surfing or a few additional questions e-mailed to your source — not the reams of data you would have collected had you tried to do all your research first.

If you need much more, you can always find another source to interview. The benefit to interviewing sources later in the process is that you have a much better idea of what you need so you can target your questions better.

Don’t freak out.

Remember this: If you don’t get enough research, you can always go back for more.

Are you an over-researcher? If not, what are your tips for getting just enough information? Share your experiences in the comments below. [lf]

Have you ever wondered how some freelance writers seem to shoot to success?

Here’s how it happens.

I know because it happened to me.

Once upon a time (in a decade far far away), I was a starving songwriter living in Los Angeles. Then I entered a couple of essay contests and won them.

The next thing I knew, I was writing features for the L.A. Reader (R.I.P.) and the Los Angeles Times real-estate section.

I was terrified and excited all at the same time. This article-writing thing seemed really fun. And it paid money, a nice change from my songwriting life.

I had no idea what I was doing.

I had been writing prose for about five minutes.

How did I go from there to a six-figure freelance writer?

One word: Mentors.

Two incredibly generous editors at these two publications took me under their wing and taught me how to be a reporter. From scratch.

They liked my writing. They thought I had potential.

I was willing to work my rear end off for cheap, and was thirsty to know
more.

I’d come in the day after a Reader piece of mine came out and say, “I see you changed my lede from this here to that. Why?”

He loved that.

When I started, it took me six weeks to write a 600-word feature for the Times. I kept asking if I shouldn’t know more about real estate, maybe be a former Realtor or mortgage broker. I felt really in over my head.

“Perish the thought!” said my editor. “Those people can’t write. You’re funny!”

The Reader editor helped me write a 3,000 word feature for the first time. My first draft was 10,000 words long.

For reasons I’ll never understand, this generous man was willing to show me how to sculpt it into a compelling feature that fit in the paper.

I did mention I had no idea what I was doing, right?

After he helped me and the story came out, I sold a one-year movie-rights option on that story for $10,000. True story. (No, it never did become a movie, darnit.)

Without these two mentors, I might have floundered around for years and years, slowly figuring out how to write an article on my own.

I might have just given up.

Mentors help you keep the faith that you can do this.

Mentors are your career’s rocket fuel.

Ask any successful writer you know how they got started and somewhere in the story, there will be mentors.

If you’re struggling to launch your freelance writing career right now, ask yourself: Where are your mentors?

You need to find knowledgeable people who believe in you and will help you develop as a writer.

They will cut years off your ramp time.

It might be a college writing professor, or a magazine editor, or a marketing manager, or a professional writing coach.

But if you want to speed up this process, get to where you make a living at writing, and cut the agony factor down, you need a mentor.

Looking to launch your freelance writing career in 2012?

Join the Freelance Writers Blast Off 2012 for Newbies on January 17 to learn from two longtime writing professionals how to choose your writing niche, explore potential markets that want your writing, market yourself, and run your freelance business. We now offer three levels of the Blast Off to match your budget: You can audit the course, participate in the webinars, or participate in the webinars and get phone mentoring sessions with Carol and me.

http://www.therenegadewriter.com/?p=3547

A lot of the query first drafts my Write for Magazines students write, and Letters of Introduction I see from my mentoring clients, are well-written and boast great content. They offer up impressive credentials, contain stellar ideas, and include everything a query letter or LOI needs.

Except personality.

What I see a lot is writing that’s dry and business-like. This is especially common among newer writers, as they overcompensate for their lack of experience by using big words where small ones would suffice, overdoing the passive, and underusing contractions —… Click here to keep reading...

A lot of the query first drafts my Write for Magazines students write, and Letters of Introduction I see from my mentoring clients, are well-written and boast great content. They offer up impressive credentials, contain stellar ideas, and include everything a query letter or LOI needs.

Except personality.

What I see a lot is writing that’s dry and business-like. This is especially common among newer writers, as they overcompensate for their lack of experience by using big words where small ones would suffice, overdoing the passive, and underusing contractions — so they come off as stiff and formal.

Think about it: When you read most magazines and websites, the language is typically conversational, even upbeat. When you write a query or LOI, you want the editor to be able to envision your writing in her magazine. So here are some tips for livening up your writing:

1. Use Contractions

I often read credentials paragraphs that say, “I am a writer in Apex, NC, who has written for X, Y, and Z. I am a fast writer and I have won several awards for my writing.”

Stiff!

Now try it with contractions: “I’m a writer in Apex, NC, who’s written for X, Y, and Z. I’m a fast writer and have won several awards for my writing.”

See the difference?

2. Steal from Your Target Market

Read through some back issues of the magazine you’re targeting and lift any words of phrases they use. For example, when I pitched Redbook with “The Better Orgasm Diet,” I noticed they use lots of short, snappy words, so I wrote in one of my tips, “Ditch the caffeine and nix the alcohol.” Result = sale! (It was one of my first national sales.)

3. Get Personal

Don’t be afraid to put some of yourself into your query or LOI. For example, if the magazine you’re pitching is your favorite publication and you’ve been reading it faithfully for the last ten years, you can always mention that in your credentials paragraph. (As long as you don’t go overboard…you don’t want to come off as a slobbering fanboy/girl.) If the topic you’re pitching has personal significance to you, let the editor know.

You can also start queries with personal anecdotes when appropriate. For example, one of my recent students led in with the story of how she has trouble shopping for Mother’s Day cards because, well, her mom wasn’t that great. What a lede!

4. Make Them Laugh

Are you a funny gal/guy? Unless you’re writing about cancer or terrorism, feel free to let it show. I knew one guy, who wrote for Mental Floss, who would start off his queries with a joke, and another writer — who had cracked some pretty impressive publications himself — ended one successful pitch about a blues singer with, “And if you don’t buy my story, I just don’t know what I’ll do.”

In my LOI, I often tell editors that “I’m fast, easy to get along with (no diva here!) and professional.” And my business card says, “My clients think I’m swell.” Humor can really help lighten up what could otherwise sound like a desperate sales pitch. It says, “I’m good enough that I’m not afraid to show you who I really am.”

5. Talk to a Friend

If you’re having trouble losing the formal tone, try rewriting your query or LOI as if you’re talking to a friend. Chances are you wouldn’t write to a friend as if you were writing a memo to your boss’s boss about Friday’s lunchtime meeting.

In short — if you want to make more sales, be yourself.

What are your tips for letting your personality show in your queries and LOIs? Please share them in the Comments below. [lf]

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Originally, I was charging $140 per hour and $75 per half-hour for phone mentoring. But as a wellness coach, I offer a package of three 45-minute sessions, which is the way many coaches structure their pricing. To keep my writer mentoring consistent with my wellness coaching, I’ve decided to offer a package of three 45-minute phone mentoring calls for $300 per month.

I believe that offering a package of three calls will let me better help my clients and give them ongoing motivation and accountability.

Interested? Here’s what a few clients have said about my writer mentoring:

“The phone mentoring session was amazing! Linda answered all of my questions, and she gave me a lot of great advice on how to work more efficiently. She really helped me to get unstuck. Just a few days later, I landed an assignment with Spry magazine. I was thrilled. I would recommend the phone mentoring session to any newbie freelance writer.”
—Gail Short

“You’re good! I talked to you on what? Tuesday? And have a positive response (copied and pasted below) by Thursday! Holy cow, that’s the fastest any advice I’ve ever received has worked.”
—Karen Scott

“In just a half hour session, Linda distilled years of information in a way that was instantly accessible. I started getting paying assignments in just ten days after following through on just one of many suggestions! Although I am a seasoned writer and have had my name in print, getting insider tips from someone in the know is invaluable.”
—Yael Grauer

If you need help with the basics of freelancing, idea generation and honing, motivation, accountability, overcoming fear, and more, consider using my mentoring services. You can get more info on my mentoring page, and e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to get started.

Thanks, and I look forward to helping you reach your freelance dreams! [lf]