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Writers who are new to the business of publications-for-pay
sometimes find it hard to accept rejection.
All writers in all fields should take rejection
as a positive thing, not a negative one. It doesn’t mean that if
your work is rejected, then you are not good. It’s all a matter of
being appropriate, that’s all.
Publications always have a niche market in mind
even before they launch them to the public. Who are their readers?
Their content should, of course, reflect the interests and concerns
of their target readers, and these are reflected via the issue’s
themes or focus. Some writers, especially the new ones, sometimes do
not recognize that they should conform to the thematic framework of
the publication they intend to write for. As writers, it is our main
obligation to know the audience of these publications.
Some publications may also have certain writing
styles they want to utilize in keeping with their image. This is
called a “style guide.” Youth-oriented magazines, for example,
allow a slang tone in their articles while general lifestyle
publications might require a colloquial tone of writing. Glossies
that aim to be in the league of international publications require a
more formal tone in their articles similar to the likes of Time or
Newsweek. Writers who want to break into certain publications should
do their homework and study each publication’s guidelines.
With the boom of the Internet, writers are
sometimes confused on why they have to adjust to this “new”
medium when they say it’s just like writing for the print
publications. That’s actually a wrong mentality to maintain.
Online publications, by their very nature, rely heavily on the
catchiness of the first paragraph and even the title. Some writers
also don’t understand that most of their article’s content
should already be contained in the first two-thirds of their web
article. Articles that will require Internet surfers to scroll down
their web pages too much or click to the subsequent pages most times
lose their audience, unless they get really hooked in the article.
This is why shorter articles work online, unlike in print where the
length sometimes may not matter too much, because the reader already
bought and has the publication in their hands and could refer back
to it at their own leisure. Print writers shouldn’t find it hard
to adjust to writing for online publications if they just open their
minds to newer rules.
As a writer, we should always do our homework
and research on the things we are unsure of. Dialogue with editors
also helps in this endeavor. So be more alert, new writers, to avoid
being rejected in the first place.
Happy writing.
Comments? Suggestions? E-mail libay.scribevibe@gmail.com.
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