Name: Desiree French

Age: 47

Location: Washington, DC

What is your specialty or focus?
Business, real estate and profiles. And the more the three can be commingled in assignments, the better. I enjoy writing personal and corporate profiles because they allow me to create portraits of individuals and companies that highlight all the disparate parts that make them tick, admired, or even envied. These days, most of my work centers on the public policy aspects of real estate, as well as community and downtown development, which have a lasting impact on residents, businesses, visitors, and local economies. Most intriguing to me are the optimists, skeptics, and the entire cast of characters involved in bringing a development to life, or killing it.

What's the latest thing you've worked on?
I have association, corporate, and government clients for whom I work doing everything from articles to speeches and corporate communications. Recently, I co-authored a book for the Urban Land Institute entitled Leadership Legacies: Lessons Learned from Ten Real Estate Legends. It was a wonderful opportunity to profile such celebrated developers as Trammell Crow, Charles Fraser, and Sam Zell, all visionaries and very unique personalities with unbridled drive.

What has been your most difficult assignment and how did you deal with its challenges?
I can think of one assignment in particular that was more frustrating than difficult. When ghostwriting a magazine piece for an association officer, I couldn't understand why a policy wonk at the group didn't want to share names and information with me, particularly since his boss and the association officer, both very busy men and difficult to reach, had approved the story. The article was about a new mortgage vehicle, and this person had the names of participants who were instrumental in putting the vehicle together - but he didn't want me to contact them. After going back and forth, it became clear to me that this was a case of CYA, cover your a--, and this guy was never going to give me what I needed. He feared the story, which focused on his program, was premature and was looking for a way to derail it. Despite an extremely tight deadline, I bypassed him and found at least one participant myself. It's always a challenge drawing information from reluctant interviewees who may be critical to a story. The trick is to find a way to circumvent them, keep the story alive and still meet your deadline.

What's the best or most helpful thing that an editor has told you?
Many years ago as a reporter for the Boston Globe, my editor Lincoln Millstein told me to challenge editorial changes that impede the overall effectiveness or tone of a story. He was right. If you don't speak up and question misdirected edits, you lose ownership and, possibly, readers.

What's the worst writing or freelancing advice you've ever gotten?
I was told to hire a law firm to review my contracts. Unless you're Stephen King, I don't think this is necessary. The expense can be mind-boggling, to the tune of $250 to $300 an hour in Washington, DC! There are less expensive options. For example, professional writers' groups such as the American Society of Journalists and Authors offer plenty of information - on their Web sites, at seminars, etc. - on the dos and don'ts of contract negotiations.

Is writing about real estate very different from other topics you have covered?
Yes, in some respects. Of course every industry has its own lingo and terminology and real estate is no exception. There was a brief time many years ago when I covered the arts and lifestyle features. In comparison, I would say writing about real estate is a bit more technical, depending on the subject, and there might be less room to be colorful, depending on the publication. Having a business background can help with covering such beats as mortgage finance and the business side of real estate, such as REITs, or real estate investment trusts. But I'm convinced anyone can master just about any subject if they're gung ho and willing to take the time to learn.