Q: I've used Mediabistro.com for the last four years, since the magazine for which I was a senior editor went out of business. Since then I've been a freelance editor and writer. It's clear to me that my work life would be greatly enhanced if I could use my editing/writing skills online, but I don't know what I need to learn to make that happen. Can someone tell me what rudiments I need to master? I've heard people say that I need enough HTML to put stories on the Web and enough Flash to turn photos into slide shows, but I bet you know better than anyone else. Once you've told me what I need to know, can you recommend any schools or books? I am a total neophyte, and need to get this stuff under my belt soon. Thank you so much!

I wanted an expert to answer your question, so I turned to Lorie Parch, mb instructor and web editor extraordinaire. She's currently teaching mb's eClass: Writing and Editing for the Web, Circa 2006. She brainstormed an answer with Dana Rousmaniere, who has more than 10 years experience working as a writer, editor, producer, and content manager for online publications. She and Lorie together are currently teaching the eClass: How to Launch a Content-Driven Website. Anyway! Find their helpful answer below.

A: You're not alone: We all use the Web constantly, so it's familiar (how did we ever live without it?), but writing and editing online can feel like entering a whole new world. In some ways, it is (and we'll talk about those more below). But the truth is that, first and foremost, you need to be a solid reporter and writer (or a good editor), applying the same standards and ethics you apply to anything you've done that's appeared in print. That may sound obvious, but the truth is that those skills and experience are far more important than where your work appears. They're also crucial for the Web as a whole to overcome the stigma it still retains, in spite of all the ethics scandals at print publications in recent years.

So what do you need to know to write or edit online? When you're an editor or writer at a Website, most often you're hired to do just that: edit or write (sometimes both; Website staffs are still notoriously lean compared to print and broadcast). No one expects you to be a tech whiz. Our experience has been that knowing a little HTML will take you a long way; tech folks we've worked with confirm this. When you know a little HTML (and trust us, it's not hard to learn - you can take a weekend class and learn everything you need to know, but if you're on staff at a site, you'll pick it up as you go), you can make easy fixes to your stories - correcting typos, tweaking a
hed, etc. - without having to bug a tech person to do it. So a little bit will take you a long way. And you'll likely pick up other things - like a bit of Flash from designers, among other things - as you go, too. In most cases, you won't need to be proficient in anything except Word to get a job at a site.

As with any job, though, the more you know the more valuable you are, so if you're tech-savvy, go ahead and make the most of it. If you want to learn more about various Web technologies, including HTML, XML, AJAX, SQL, and Javascript, check out the free tutorials at w3schools.com and the blog Stopdesign. If you're interested in learning about usability (how users use Websites; a huge topic), go to Jakob Nielsen's site and read any of his books, all of them bibles of Web usability.

Good luck!

Lorie Parch & Dana Rousmaniere