Be available and adaptable
In the lead up to the publication of your piece, make sure you’re on hand to help with any final questions or edits running up to the piece going live. This will help the process run far more smoothly and make sure that everything goes up on time.
Victoria Richards told us: “Make yourself aware of when the piece will run, and be on hand for edits or questions in the hours running up to it (sometimes we have to contact people at short notice to check something and it might be last minute).
Don’t take any edits personally
We understand that it may feel frustrating when one of your favourite sentences or paragraphs is removed in the final edit, especially if the piece is from a first person angle, but this process is less about you or your abilities, and more about ensuring the piece will speak to readers of the publication.
Natali Simmonds told us: “Sometimes sentences need to be changed or cut because they’re in the wrong voice or superfluous. It’s important to not take things personally. Editors love to work with writers who understand that.”
Generally, any edits that are made are generally not a reflection of your writing abilities or ideas; rather they are to ensure that your piece is the best possible fit for the intended target audience and tone of the piece is likely to be very set in stone across the publication for consistency.
“I would gently suggest that unless you’re Madonna (!) you shouldn’t be demanding copy approval – or headline approval. We just can’t and don’t do that. It’s never that great if you have to battle with a writer over a headline or edits (e.g. grammar) that are made in-house… or the way we choose to sell a piece. I expect writers to be proud and to want to stick up for their writing, but it isn’t helpful to be combative and doesn’t go down well. Writers need to trust that we know what we’re doing to sell a piece to the very best of its ability. Saying all of that though, we’re very happy to talk anything through, especially if it’s a personal or sensitive piece – which requires careful handling! Always!”
Victoria Richards, Voices Editor of The Independent.
Share your work!
Once the piece is live, you’ll be feeling proud (rightfully!) and likely want to share your work on social media and we would definitely encourage this. It could help get more eyes on your article (in turn, increasing the views and making it more likely for you to get that second commission), and you can also acknowledge and tag your editor by doing this on Twitter. Having written commissioned pieces as a freelance writer myself, I’ve had follow-up interactions with my editor on Twitter from doing this. Show off all of your hard work!
Victoria Richards agrees: “We love it when people promote their work! Please tweet it!”
Tie up any loose ends
Maintaining a relationship with an editor continues after your piece has been published. Once you’ve shouted about your piece on social media, it would be a nice idea to email your editor to thank them and tell them that you enjoyed working with them. You’re much more likely to be remembered this way – in the industry in general, this is good practice to get into, as a little politeness and acknowledgement of someone’s help and support goes far when it comes to first impressions! Editors will want to continue working with someone who’s polite.
Make sure you also tie up the loose ends when it comes to your piece quickly, such as invoicing and payments, so the entire process from commission to post-publication runs as smoothly as possible.
Nsisong Asanga said: “Get clear about the terms, payment processes and methods.”
