We’ve all seen it. An actor, pop star, or politician writes a memoir, and beneath that person’s name on the cover is another in small type: “with (whomever)”. People who don’t write for a living usually need some assistance from someone who does when they take on a project this daunting. So if you’re a writer, how do you get that gig? We talked to a few co-authors of celebrity memoirs to find out how they got hired. Ultimately, there seem to be three main ways to go about it: be a known expert on said person (i.e. write an article about them for a magazine), get hired based on the merits of previous celebrity memoirs you’ve written, or win a Pulitzer Prize.

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Hard Work And a Little Serendipity

A previous relationship with the celebrity is extremely helpful, especially if this is your first time on this kind of project. Aliya S. King, co-author of R&B artist Faith Evans’ Keep the Faith, is a prime example of how a little serendipity can play a huge role. As a contributing writer for Vibe , King was assigned to write a story about Evans. Over the course of the interview, the two women hit it off like old friends. It helped that they were close to the same age, had grown up in the same area (Orange County, N.J.), and even knew some of the same people. Several years later, when Evans decided to write a book, she tracked King down. It came as some surprise because the article that King ended up writing was balanced but didn’t always portray Evans in a flattering light. “We didn’t stay in contact at all between the story being published and her deciding she wanted to write a book,” King says. But Evans had been impressed enough with their rapport that she knew exactly who she wanted for the job when the time came. King already had an agent at that time, so her agent and Evans’ agent worked out the numbers. Evans didn’t yet have a publishing contract, but King helped her write a proposal, and they soon found a home for the book.

“I had interviewed Hulk [Hogan] a couple of times… After my most recent interview, I said to his publicist, ‘I’ve never met someone who’s so ready to write a book before.'”

Although King had never published a book before this one, she had some experience with the genre. Before starting on the project with Evans, King had actually written a book proposal for a different celebrity memoir, which was never published (she declined to name the celebrity involved in the aborted project). That first project came to her after she had written a proposal for a book about the history of hip-hop magazines. An editor at Harper Collins was impressed with her writing but wasn’t interested in that particular book. However, when he was approached by a celebrity with a book idea, he suggested King as a co-writer. Ultimately, the unnamed celebrity decided not to go through with the book. “I learned a lot about the process because I actually wrote that entire book. At the time I was heartbroken because there was a lot of drama, but it was a lot of good practice.”

Mark Dagostino, co-author of My Life Outside the Ring with Hulk Hogan, writes for People and got into the co-authoring business through a route similar to King’s. However, in this case, Dagostino had the idea for the book and approached the subject himself. “I had interviewed Hulk a couple of times,” Dagostino says, “and followed the Hogan family for the better part of four years, and after my most recent interview — in which he really opened up about his life, and Nick’s situation, and his marriage, and how he wanted to put the past behind him and approach life with a different attitude — I said to his publicist, ‘I’ve never met someone who’s so ready to write a book before.'” Dagostino and his agent took the liberty of writing the full book proposal and then presenting it to Hogan and his management, who loved the idea.

The Hogan memoir is Dagostino’s first book, but like King, he has had other opportunities that either fell apart or just didn’t work out. But ultimately, he is pleased things happened the way they did. “This book had a real story, with some real meat on it, and was coming after a time of crisis in Hulk’s life. And I’m glad that my first venture turned out to be something really substantial and not something fluffy.”

One Star Client Leads to Another

After working with Faith Evans, King was approached by other famous people, including notorious drug lord Frank Lucas. Lucas was working with the same literary agent that represented Evans, so when Lucas decided to write a memoir, King’s name naturally came up. Her book with Lucas is coming out in 2010. In addition, King has two other co-authoring deals on the table that also came about as a result of her work with Evans.

Wall Street Journal columnist Jeff Zaslow attended the “last lecture” by cancer-stricken Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch because he thought it would make for an interesting column. The column was accompanied online by a four-minute video excerpt of the lecture. “Hundreds of thousands of readers ended up forwarding that column and video to friends and relatives,” Zaslow says, “helping to spark worldwide interest in Randy and his lecture. The morning that my column appeared, publishers began expressing interest in a book.”

“Hero of the Hudson” Captain Chesley Sullenberger read The Last Lecture, and when he started looking for a collaborator for his own book, he asked Zaslow if he was interested. Zaslow in turn was quite taken with Sully’s story, and the result was Highest Honor, which debuted in October 2009 at No. 3 on the New York Times bestseller list.

“You have to be very good at interviewing. But you also have to be able to write from another person’s point of view.”

Our final paragon of the celebrity memoir is Ron Powers, who co-wrote True Compass with the late Senator Ted Kennedy. How did Powers get that gig? Well, we weren’t able to get in touch with him before press time, but we can speculate that it might have something to do with being a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist. He also fits our second category, having also co-authored books with James Bradley (Flags of Our Fathers) and Robert Morgan (The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot).

Befriend the Dealmakers

So what have we learned here? To land a celebrity memoir deal, it helps if you are famous yourself or already know someone who is. Seriously though, as a long-term plan, it’s a good idea to try to land some celebrity interviews in national magazines. It’s unlikely that you will get this kind of book deal without some relevant experience. But hold on: Unless Victoria Beckham agrees to let you hawk her life story out of your trunk, you’ll need the backing of a publishing house. So, start researching the power players now and get on their radar.

Literary agent Dan Strone from Trident Media Group has handled many of these types of books including those by actress MacKenzie Phillips and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. He says that he almost always is involved in finding collaborators for his clients, and that he has a small stable of writers he calls on. Some have co-authored other books, and some are introduced to him in other ways and just seem like a good fit. “Most of them,” he says, “come from the magazine world. A background in journalism is important. You have to be very good at interviewing. But you also have to be able to write from another person’s point of view.”

Attorney Robert Barnett, who represented former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s book Going Rogue, as well as Dick Cheney’s upcoming book, adds that in the end, it is the client’s choice who he or she works with on such an intimate endeavor. He says, “Potential collaborators should make themselves known to editors, agents, and attorneys. […] I receive applications from many candidates each year.” Barnett recently worked on a project where there were more than 40 candidates. He also reminds us that credited co-authors are not the only game in town. Sometimes collaborators are hired to ghost write (uncredited), write a first draft, polish up a finished manuscript, or to do research. “Most of the collaborators I work with are very experienced,” he says, “but the aspiring collaborator has to start somewhere.”

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M. David Hornbuckle is a freelance writer and editor who lives in New York City. He is the author of The Salvation of Billy Wayne Carter & Other Stories.

As the Hispanic population in the United States grows rapidly, so does its purchasing power. There will be 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. by next year — that’s 16 percent of the U.S. population, according to Magazine Publishers of America. By 2011, the buying power of Hispanics is projected to reach $1.2 trillion, MPA says. Hispanics in the U.S. are buying more of everything — including magazines. An estimated 75 percent of Hispanic adults read around 10 magazine issues a month and even prefer magazines more than any other form of media.

As a result, the number and circulation of Spanish-language magazines has spiked. The demand has significantly boosted sales of Spanish-language editions of U.S. women’s magazines, where readership has been one of the highest in the Spanish-language magazine market. For freelancers who can report and write in Spanish, this means greater opportunities to influence a large and important audience.

Harper’s Bazaar en Español, a joint venture between the Hearst Corporation and Editorial Televisa, was one of the first Spanish-language women’s magazines to meet the new demand when it launched in 1979. Deborah Uranga, Harper’s Bazaar en Español‘s editorial coordinator in Mexico, says the spinoff, like the original, is “for all women who love fashion, beauty and luxury.” Eleven years later, in 1990, Marie Claire México y América Latina and Cosmopolitan‘s Spain edition were launched, followed by Glamour México and Glamour Latinoamérica. The first Spanish-language issue of Glamour, the result of a deal between Condé Nast Publications and Miami-based Ideas Publishing, hit newsstands in 1998. Maria Juliana Garzon, editorial coordinator for Glamour, says that both editions “get to the heart of what women want: Individuality, confidence and empowerment to make smart choices [and coverage of] a mix of in-depth issues on beauty, fashion, travel and entertainment, relationships, career and health,” familiar subjects in most women’s magazines.

While Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Glamour in Spanish share similar editorial missions with their English-language counterparts, the former magazines serve a readership based mostly outside the United States. Still, all four magazines invite U.S. freelance writers to contribute content.

Break in with an unusual angle
Any U.S. writer with a great idea can break into Harper’s Bazaar, Uranga says. Like their English-language versions, Spanish-language magazines are looking for fresh angles on issues that appeal to their market — mostly young, Hispanic women — and original stories. Cosmopolitan, for example, recently accepted a story pitch on the “new” secrets to success. Marie Claire published a first-person story about adopting a baby from Haiti.

Laura Villarreal, deputy editor for Marie Claire, encourages submissions to sections like the five-page “Reporte Global,” which tracks events around the world; the six-page “Apertura,” which contains more photos than text; and the two-page “Yo lo viví,” which recounts women’s life experiences. While writers are free to pitch to any section, acceptance rates for these pages are highest.

“At Harper’s Bazaar in Spanish, we try to expose the emerging talents of all of Latin America […], but we don’t focus only on Hispanic figures. We try to be global.”

Ana Aulina, head of documentation for Cosmopolitan, says freelancers typically get assigned stories related to work, money and for the “Real Life” section. Stories related to sex, health, beauty, fashion, nutrition and cooking are written in-house. Garzon says that freelancers usually get assigned profiles, along with diet and relationship stories. Freelancers can break into the magazine by pitching ideas to the sections “Primera Fila”, “Cine,” ” Columna Glamour,” “Tu Mundo Nutrición,” and “Tu Mundo Psicología.”

Stories recently pitched and published at Cosmopolitan include “The New Secrets to Success,” which quoted Spanish experts and “Low-Cost Christmas,” which includes a list of cheap places to shop in Spain and tips to save money during the holidays. Freelance-written stories at Marie Claire include September’s “The Escape of Desire,” about women’s weakening libidos; October’s “I Have a Multiracial Family and I’m Not Angelina,” written in first-person by a woman who adopted a baby from Haiti; and November’s “The Other Berlin,” which includes eight testimonials from women who grew up in Berlin before and after the wall was destroyed. Glamour recently accepted and published “The Magic of Sex.”

Master the pitching vernacular
These magazines ask for clips and pitches in Spanish, with the exception of Cosmopolitan (which accepts English clips and pitches, too). All sections of Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire are open to freelancers. All four magazines prefer pitches by email. Cosmopolitan‘s lead time is two months; Marie Claire‘s is two to three months, and Harper’s Bazaar‘s lead time is three months.

Shape your story for a Latin American audience
Most of these mags’ audience is in Mexico, and U.S. freelancers should keep in mind what resources are accessible to Mexican and other Latin American readers in terms of retailers and merchandise, Uranga says. Freelancers should also be aware that the coverage in these magazines reflects U.S./Latin American differences in culture, habits and lifestyles, Uranga says. While Spanish-language magazines cater to Latin-American readers, Uranga says her magazine does not focus solely on Hispanic trends and achievements. “At Harper’s Bazaar in Spanish, we try to expose the emerging talents of all of Latin America. We report on what’s happening from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina, but we don’t focus only on Hispanic figures. We try to be global, giving Hispanics special recognition when they deserve it.”

Understand the magazine’s goals
While the English- and Spanish-language versions of one magazine may have similar agendas, not everything that would appeal to a Glamour reader in the U.S., for instance, would interest a reader in Latin America. Both Uranga of Harper’s Bazaar and Garzon cite readers’ interest in luxury and upscale brands, a factor that Garzon says separates Glamour readers in the U.S. from those in Latin America. “Many upscale brands that in the U.S. would not normally [target] Glamour readers as part of their [marketing] plan do include our readership audience as part of their campaign,” Garzon says. The Spanish-language editions of Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Glamour use material from their English-language editions that is relevant to its Latin-based market. The October edition of Glamour, for example, ran an interview with Russian model Sasha Pivavorova by Alessandra Steinher that also appeared in Glamour UK. Villarreal says it is common to purchase articles and photos from the English-language Marie Claires, or sell them some of the Latin American content. Spain’s Cosmopolitan borrows heavily from other editions of its magazine, Aulina says.

Know the competition
To know your audience better, know what magazines these publications are compared to. Also keep in mind that pitching an article inspired by a story in an English-language magazine won’t work — according to editors, their readers pick up magazines in English, as well. Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour in Spanish compete with magazines that appeal to similar tastes, regardless of language. Harper’s Bazaar en Espa__ol compares itself to other magazines covering high fashion, whether it’s written in English or Spanish, Uranga says. Marie Claire‘s competitors are Elle and Glamour, Villarreal says. Aulina says Cosmopolitan competes with Spanish editions of Glamour and Vogue, along with Spain-produced Woman and Ragazza. Garzon cites Allure, Lucky and Spanish-language women’s magazine Vanidades as Glamour México and Latinoam_?rica‘s main competitors.

The breakdown
Find a copy: To get familiar with the magazines’ content and differences in writing style and tone, browse copies in newsstands or online. Harper’s Bazaar can be found in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Chicago. Marie Claire is also sold in cities with a large Hispanic population, such as L.A., New York and Miami. Glamour is distributed in Miami. Cosmopolitan‘s Spain edition is not available in the U.S. For writers who don’t live in these cities, both Glamour and Cosmopolitan publish content on their Web sites.

Circulation and frequency: Harper’s Bazaar en Español: Annual circulation of about 275,000 in Latin America and the U.S.; eight issues/year with two special editions in October and March.
Marie Claire: Circulation of about 115,000 in Mexico and the rest of Latin America; 12 issues/year.
Cosmopolitan in Spain: Circulation of 132,000 for its regular-sized edition and 95,000 for its pocket-sized one; 12 issues/year.
Glamour: Annual circulation of about 380,000 (about 43,000 of those copies are exported to the U.S.); 12 issues/year, with a special Mexico edition on style in November.

Percentage of freelance-written content: Freelance submission acceptance rates at Spanish-language women’s magazines are comparable to their U.S. counterparts — writers have about the same chance of getting their story published in Spanish as they are in English. At Harper’s Bazaar, about half of all story proposals are accepted and about 30 percent of the magazine’s content is written by freelancers. Both Spanish-language editions of Glamour use freelancers for about 20 percent of their content, although Glamour México has more content than Glamour Latinoamérica. Marie Claire also depends on freelancers for about 20 percent of its content, while less than 10 percent of Cosmopolitan is freelance-written.

Pay rate: Varies, but significantly lower than pay rates at the English-language editions. Many of these magazines pay by the page, with the exception of Marie Claire. Harper’s Bazaar pays $150 per page. Uranga could not estimate how many words are typically on one page. Villarreal says Marie Claire‘s rate is lower than the average $1-$2/word usually given at the major English-language women’s publications, but still higher than the rate at most magazines published in Mexico. For feature stories, Marie Claire pays between $500-$1,500. Cosmopolitan pays about 125 euros a page, depending on the story. Twenty-five percent of this amount is deducted if invoices are not accompanied by a Spanish residency certificate or tax relief form.

Contact info:

Harper’s Bazaar en Español

Av. Vasco de Quiroga 2000

Santa Fe, Mexico

CP 01210

+52 555 2612600

FirstInitialLastName AT editorial DOT televisa DOT com DOT mx

[No Web site]

Direct pitches to editor-in-chief Toni Salamanca: tsalamanca AT editorial DOT televisa DOT com DOT mx

Glamour México y Latino América

800 Brickell Ave, Ste. 901

Miami, FL 33131

(305) 371-9393

FirstInitialLastName AT condenastamericas DOT com
www.glamourlatam.com

Direct pitches to editorial coordinator Maria Juliana Garzon: mjgarzon AT condenastamericas DOT com

Cosmopolitan Spain

Albasanz 15

28037 Madrid, Spain

FirstInitialLastName AT gyj DOT es
www.cosmopolitan.com.es

Direct pitches to articles editor Brenda Chavez: bchavez AT gyj DOT es

Marie Claire México y Latino América

Av. Vasco de Quiroga 2000

Edificio E, Piso 3

Santa Fe, Mexico

CP 01210

+52 555 2612600

[No Web site]

Direct pitches to deputy editor Laura Villarreal: lvillarreals AT televisa DOT com DOT mx OR editor Monica Martinez: mmartinezgom AT editorial DOT televisa DOT com DOT mx

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Anna Bitong is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

Alas, travel writers do not spend their days flitting from one glamorous spot to another, swathed in luxury and commanding vast salaries. More often, the life of a travel writer might involve a four-hour delay in a cheerless airport, followed by a cramped ride next to a screaming baby or a struggle to communicate the need for hot water to an unhelpful hotel staff.

So why do we do it? First: because we love to travel. Second, because we want to inspire others to explore the amazing and wonderful world beyond their familiar hometowns. If we’re good at what we do, we may be treated to a perk often better than the paycheck: the press trip.

Press trips allow public relations professionals to introduce writers to their clients, and in return, possibly generate some news around those clients’ offerings. The perks of a press trip come in all shapes and sizes — upgraded airline tickets, luxury hotel rooms, free meals and fabulous dinner guests. With all these freebies thrown at you, how can you keep a story simple, objective and honest? It’s not always easy, but with a little focus and adherence to the proper protocol, you can produce a thorough piece and enjoy a little adventure along the way. The Objective of a Press Trip: Keep it Objective

The point of a press trip might be to introduce a new service, remodeled hotel, or upcoming event. Once in a while, tourism boards will stage press trips that are inclusive of flights, hotels and meals as a way to generate interest in the destination. The purpose is to get press, and as a reporter, you have the right to tell the story as you see it — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Travel is subjective: Your view of something will always be different than that of the passenger seated next to you. Your audience deserves the truth, however, and that includes the truth of who sponsored your journey. But, is it fair to take a service or product for free when others have to pay for it? Well, technically, you’re working for it.

“If you stay focused on your readers — and [are] soaking up every detail that may be relevant to them — it’s pretty easy to remain objective,” said Tom Johansmeyer, a travel blogger for online travel sites including Gadling and Luxist. “The first thing I look for on a trip is what would make a destination or hotel attractive to my readers, and then I balance it out with any drawbacks. The travel writer’s job is to cover the destination fairly and accurately… which is much easier if you’re actually there. As long as you’re honest, it doesn’t matter who writes the check. Disclose who paid for it for good measure, so the readers can make the call for themselves.”

If the hotel room you’re staying in isn’t clean, you got food poisoning on your flight, or you witnessed some ugly interactions between staff and guests, it’s your obligation as a journalist to report it. “I look at press trips the same way I look at the theater critic who gets two free tickets to the opening night of the play: I reserve the right to say [the product] sucks,” says Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News and author of the New York Times bestseller Don’t Go There! The Travel Detective’s Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World.

Great Expectations

Every press trip is organized differently, so it’s important to set expectations up front. Before you pack your bags and head for the airport, make sure you have a clear understanding of what is involved and what the client is hoping to achieve by hosting reporters. There are some basic rules to follow:

Never accept a press trip for purely personal reasons (i.e., you’ve always wanted to visit Barbados or you’ve been dying to check out the new luxury hotel in Dubai). Do your personal exploring on your own dime. This is about business.

Always discuss the press trip with your editors before accepting. Some publications allow press trips, others don’t, and it’s usually the editor’s discretion.

“Be sure there’s an understanding that you’re going on this trip with every intention of writing something publishable, but that if nothing interesting happens both of you reserve the right to not publish anything,” said Chris Elliott, writer of the syndicated Travel Troubleshooter column, which appears in more than 50 U.S. newspapers and Web sites.

Pat Washburn, a freelance journalist for publications including The Boston Globe and MaineToday.com, suggests first considering whether you are interested in writing about the subject, your readers are interested in reading about it, and if there is anything about the trip that sends a bad signal. For instance, if you’re asked to commit to a certain number of published stories, or to sign anything preventing you from exploring certain aspects of the destination, you should immediately decline the offer.

“Your job is to go behind the scenes, and go beyond what’s being handed to you by marketers.”

Once you’ve agreed to go on the press trip, you’ll receive an itinerary that includes everything from your accommodations to your dinner reservations. Review it carefully — this is where you’ll find your initial story ideas. Make sure everything you requested is listed. For example, if you requested an interview with the head chef of a new restaurant opening at the hotel, that interview should be scheduled into your itinerary. If not, it’s time to contact the agency and ask for a revision. “Remember, your job is to go behind the scenes, and go beyond what’s being handed to you by marketers,” said Washburn.

Also check to see what costs are not being covered. For instance, if your itinerary includes breakfast and dinner, you should budget to cover your own lunch.

Pitching the Story

While most press trips will have a set itinerary prepared prior to your trip, in general, it’s a good idea to reserve pitching your stories until afterwards. Simply put, you just never know what you’ll discover when you’re on the road. Take time during the trip to jot down potential ideas and angles and send query letters to editors as soon as you return home. Remember, many publications plan their editorial calendars a year in advance so it’s possible you’ll be looking at a lead time of at least a few months. However, you’ll want to pitch editors well in advance for something timely, like a sporting event or concert.

“On the road, we ask writers to understand the source of the trip — how the itinerary is positioned and pitched — as to best learn how the product is framed. And then look beyond that,” said Grant Martin, editor of Gadling, an AOL Travel site. “We like seeing foreign, cultural facets that compare well against our demographic, wild and wonderful stories from the road and deep insight into a destination or place.”

The Perks and the Pitfalls

Being invited on a press trip is a privilege and should be treated as such. Between flights, hotel rooms, meals and tours, these trips can cost thousands of dollars, depending on the destination, which is likely more than you’ll be paid to write the article! Balancing the perks takes talent, and you’ve got to be on your game to ensure a fair and accurate account of your trip. Most importantly, says Johansmeyer, is protecting your reputation.

“I’m not interested in gambling with my credibility,” said Johansmeyer. “Simple advice: don’t focus on the perks. If you want to write about travel, write about travel. There are plenty of people who want to do it, so the market won’t suffer for the loss of one writer who’d rather cram his apartment with freebies.”

While others might perceive press trips to be a luxurious and cost-effective way to travel, it’s important to remember you’re here to do a job. Yes, there are endless cocktails being passed around and it’s likely you’re staying in a room with a spectacular view, but there’s a lot of work that goes into this.

“Sleep is the first luxury to be sacrificed. It’s the nature of the beast. Press trips can be fun, but there’s also a considerable amount of effort involved,” said Johansmeyer.

You’re required to attend the functions, run after interviews, file stories, format photos and reply to last-minute emails and editor’s requests. The perk of the press trip is the royal treatment, but that also results in some unfortunate mistakes from rookie reporters.

“Believing they don’t owe their hosts anything, drinking too much, making unreasonable demands of their hosts, drinking too much, hanging out in cliques like they are in high school again, drinking too much…,” said Elliott of the biggest slip-ups.

So unless you’re used to throwing back bottomless glasses of pina coladas on the job (and we’re pretty sure you aren’t), it’s not suggested you do it on your press trip. Basic etiquette rules apply here: say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’, and don’t forget that a hangover is no excuse to not show up for work the next day.

Connections that Count

The best benefit from the press trips will likely be the contacts you make. Networking can get you everywhere these days in freelancing, and if you want to be considered for future excursions your best bet is to connect with everyone you meet along the way.

“I’m a firm believer in forming relationships with publicists — and not for the travel opportunities. I see the PR community as a source of information. There are many more of them than there is of me,” said Johansmeyer. “I encourage them to pitch often — I’d rather decide what to write from as full a collection of opportunities as possible.”

While on the press trip, don’t forget to connect with your fellow travel writers. The person who’s writing about a new destination today may well be an editor with assignments to hand out tomorrow. Always follow up with and make sure to send your published stories to the people you’ve met on the road. The writer who is proactive in following through after one press trip is more likely to be on the list for the next.

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Melanie Nayer is a travel writer for various publications including the New York Daily News, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and online sites including Cheapflights.com and Gadling.com.

You check PerezHilton.com more often than your email and can name all the attendees at the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys, but the thought of mounting the stage yourself induces clammy hands and panic attacks.

For the entertainment obsessed but camera-shy media pro, a career as a talent agent may be the perfect fit thanks to shared skills. But this life isn’t for the faint of heart: The profession requires a whirlwind social calendar, aggressive networking, and an ability to cultivate, package, and promote talented clients in the worlds of television, music, film, writing, and more. We spoke to three agents, who represent some of the top names in entertainment, about how they got their start and what to expect from this challenging but rewarding field.

Work the Phones and Build Relationships

Being a talent agent “is all about building relationships,” said Olivia Metzger, who spent 18 years working her way from college intern at NBC Universal to the company’s vice president of talent recruitment and development. In 2009, Metzger moved to Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the world’s largest talent agencies, where she represents on-air personalities, news talent, and hosts. “So much in this business is word of mouth. When I’m not on the phone, I’m sitting across the table from somebody brainstorming.”

David Saunders, who heads the Feature Literary Department of the APA Talent & Literary Agency, began his career on the marketing side of Universal Studios and used connections with industry big-wigs like director Sydney Pollack to transition.

“Half of our job is discovering really gifted people. The other half is telling people who can actually buy scripts and hire writers how much we love a client and why we think they, in particular, are right for an assignment. Or why we think their script is well-suited for a producer or studio.”

Like Metzger, Saunders’ days are spent in constant contact with others —
checking in with colleagues and clients, like James Bond screenwriter and Vanity Fair contributor Bruce Feirstein; sussing out potential talent; and talking with studio executives to follow up on scripts, learn about upcoming projects, and promote his clients. At night, there are screenings and events to attend, and piles of scripts to read through early mornings and weekends. “It’s a lot like college — there’s a lot of homework,” he said.

You’re On Call 24/7

“There’s no such thing as a nine-to-five day,” said Elizabeth Sobol, managing director of IMG Artists’ North and South America division, who personally manages Itzhak Perlman, Grammy-nominated Cuban group Tiempo Liebre, and violin-toting heartthrob Joshua Bell, among others. “It’s like having children — you can’t just step away and say, ‘I think I’ll not be a parent for a couple days.'”

Sobol began as an intern at Hamlen Management 30 years ago, when it was just two people in a basement apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and returned to the company five years later, when it was acquired by IMG, a sports company.

But even for veterans, the industry’s constant demands can feel exhausting. Bell, for example, plays 220 concerts per year, all of which Sobol helps arrange. Add to that the media deals, recording sessions, public relations pushes, and television appearances, and you’ll begin to see just how much she and other talent agents juggle.

Get Ahead of the Newsmakers (and Newsbreakers)

For editors and writers, the instincts needed to uncover a pitch-perfect story could also help you find fresh-faced talent as an agent.

Sobol, for example, discovered Bell, 20 years ago: “I remember hearing Joshua Bell when he was 14, and you felt you were being transported,” she said. “There are five gazillion musicians out there who are absolute masters at what they do technically. But what I’m looking for, on top of that, is the wow factor: goose bumps, the sense of epiphany,” she said.

“You want to be the person who calls up and says, ‘Remember when I introduced you to this person who became a superstar? Well, I think I’ve found the next one.'”

Metzger has a knack for early discoveries, as well. She brought on Natalie Morales, then an anchor for a local news station in Hartford, Conn., to fill in for talent on a CNBC program — and the rest is history: “She was on the air for, I think, four minutes and Kevin Magee who is now running FOX Business [Network] walked into my office and said, ‘Who is she? She’s going to be a superstar.'” said Metzger of Morales, now co-anchor and national correspondent for NBC’s
Today.

Metzger also spends time cultivating the next generation of stars, like Alex Perez, now a reporter for Chicago-based NBC5 News: “I called him the day he got to the station in El Paso, straight out of college from Chicago,” she said. She kept in touch with him through the year he spent as a reporter at KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, and helped him segue to the NBC Chicago team in 2005.1 “It was about identifying him young and knowing that he had the brains and the curiosity and the DNA to do this right,” she said. And after a year of trust-building, Metzger knew that “there was nowhere else he was going to work” other than NBC.

Don’t Be Afraid to Start from the Bottom

Saunders feels his job is an excellent choice for bookworms: “Anybody who is interested in the written word, anyone who loves reading and likes novels would enjoy being a literary agent,” he said. But passion isn’t everything, he cautions — you have to be willing to build your Rolodex: “You can’t just come to an agency without having contacts already, so you really do have to start out as an assistant,” which involves answering phones, typing letters, and managing the hectic and ever-changing schedules of more senior agents.

And in Saunders’ line of work, this also involves moving where the action is. “For feature agents, there’s no shortcut — you have to get on a plane and move to L.A,” he said. “I made the decision to leave my family behind in New York because so much of it is being here and socializing, meeting friends of friends, or becoming an assistant somewhere, just to get to know people. As a writer, yes, you probably could live somewhere else, once you’re established. But your reps need to be here and be in constant contact with the buyers.”

Use Your Storytelling Ability, but Pitch Wisely
Nevertheless, emphasizing common skill sets and connections may help you break in, perhaps even on a higher level: “A place like CAA prides themselves on having agents who are experts in their field. If you were writing for the newspaper and you suddenly wanted to come in and do music, that might be a stretch. But if you’re a writer and you want to come in to work with writers, I would argue that if you found a way to get in the right room with the right people, that might be impressive enough to open the door,” said Metzger.

“At the end of the day, one of the things we all have in common is just a natural curiosity, a passion for hearing what people have to say,” said Metzger. “I think that producers and writers could transition to this because their job is to understand people’s voices and how to get these voices across to an audience.”

“If I’m pitching John Doe to TubeTV, I’m not necessarily pitching him the same way to Sundance. You’ve got to do your homework — that’s what’s going to give you the edge.”

An ability to understand your clients’ stories and ambitions can help close a sale: “When I hear executives say, ‘Oh, we can’t hire this person,’ I say, ‘Let me just take five minutes of your time and break this person down for you — this is where they came from, this how they wound up where they are, let me tell you what their end goal is.'”

While Metzger is sympathetic to the painstaking process of pitching (“I can spend an hour over a four-sentence email”), she emphasizes that understanding your audience is key: “If I’m pitching John Doe to TubeTV, I’m not necessarily pitching him the same way to Sundance. You’ve got to do your homework — that’s what’s going to give you the edge.”

“You’re staking your reputation on this person’s talent,” said Saunders. “You want to be the person who calls up and says, ‘Remember when I introduced you to this person who became a superstar? Well, I think I’ve found the next one.'”

Immerse Yourself in All Media

To snatch up fresh talent, Metzger, Saunders, and Sobol insist that an “ear to the ground” philosophy is key — something that story-hunting editors and writers are certainly familiar with. Metzger flips and clicks through publications like mediabistro.com, Variety, The Huffington Post, TheWrap, Mediaweek, and Politico, and checks in regularly with the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, and The National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

She also goes well off the beaten track: “We’re spending a lot of time trying to find voices in unconventional places — any down time my assistant has is spent going through magazines and blogs and radio shows to see if there aren’t people there who we should be talking to.”

Similarly, Saunders reads The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the Los Angeles Times‘ Calendar and Business sections, and finds talent amidst the finalists for the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and other award groups. But it’s notorious industry blogger Nikki Finke whom he describes as “definitive.”

Flaunting your Twitter, Web design, blogging, and Facebook know-how can also get you ahead: “When I hired my assistant, I hired her not because of her previous experience taking care of artists and artist liaisons; I hired her because of her skills with social media,” said Sobol. “Understanding these tools and how to use them is something that we desperately need.”

Staying on top of the evolving arts scene is important, too, and Sobol regularly checks the New York Times Arts section (“It’s an absolute must”), as well as Musical America and Inside Arts, the bi-monthly publication of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

But no matter how good you are at garnering a Twitter following, some specialist knowledge is a must: “You have to know the difference between Shostakovich and Schubert,” Sobol said.

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Audrey Tempelsman is a New York-based freelance writer and former Dwell editor whose work has been featured in The New York Times and other publications. To view selections of her writing, please visit: AudreyTempelsman.com.

What would the Super Bowl — let alone sports marketing in general — be like without the contributions from Nike? For the last 20+ years, the brand has set then shattered the template for commercial creation, in turn building an empire and influencing competitors and advertisers alike. Of course, half of the credit can be given to Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, who actually built their eponymous, Portland, Ore.-based agency at the suggestion of Nike chief Phil Knight in 1982 and eventually built it into a global network of their own.

The brand and agency fittingly grew together in the ’80s, but it took a certain basketball player sporting the #23 for Nike to truly explode. Arguably no single athlete proved more marketable during the ’80s and ’90s than Michael Jordan, who donned his first pair of Nike Air Jordans in 1984 and has since become a logo and brand himself. Magical playing skills aside, Jordan’s commercials broadened Nike’s reach and paved the way for the brand to lure several high-profile athletes in the ensuing years in every sport from basketball and football to tennis and golf.

“Nike has been one of those brands that worked out that it’s better to influence culture than simply reflect it,” says Gareth Kay, director of digital strategy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the agency of record for the NBA. “And that has huge impact on what you think about trying to create. More than any other brand they have shown the way forward time and time again.” Here, we chronicle just a few of those iconic TV ads featuring the Swoosh.

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Spike & Mike — “It’s Gotta Be the Shoes”

The campaign that arguably broke Spike Lee and solidified Michael Jordan as a household name was the brainchild of then-Wieden + Kennedy copywriter/creative director Jim Riswold, who conceived the idea of teaming up the pair after seeing Lee’s Air Jordan-obsessed character Mars Blackmon in She’s Gotta Have It. Riswold told The One Club in 2003: “It all came together pretty easily. Spike was a huge Jordan fan and he was not yet Spike Lee — he was a guy that answered his own phone. And so we made a phone call here and there, and three months later, we were shooting. I think the Spike and Mike stuff helped introduce Nike to popular culture and set a blueprint for a lot of what came after that.” The dynamic duo would end up shooting 17 “Spike & Mike” ads in all, the last of which came after a lengthy hiatus in 2003, which was Jordan’s last year in the NBA. Director Jason Zada from production company Tool of North America says, “[These] spots using two huge icons of the time were funny, progressive and really stood out. I vividly remember [them].”

Bo Knows — “Bo Knows Diddley”

Once again the creation of W+K’s Jim Riswold, the “Bo Knows” campaign starring pro football/pro baseball player Bo Jackson debuted in 1989 with “Bo Knows Diddley”. The idea was to capitalize on Bo’s dual talents, so Nike invited a variety of major athletes from Wayne Gretzky to John McEnroe to tout how Bo knows their sport, with legendary bluesman Bo Diddley himself making an appearance at the end. The ads won One Show and Clio awards, with Nike itself telling the New York Times in 1990 that the Bo Jackson commercials helped make the company No. 1 in its market. In 2008, “Bo Knows Diddley” was called “one of the greatest commercial campaigns ever created” by interactive magazine Zimbio.

Penny Hardaway — Li’l Penny

Just as Chris Rock was bringing the pain and breaking through via his stand-up comedy special in 1996, he simultaneously voiced Li’l ‘Penny, the wisecracking puppet that served as the sidekick to then-Orlando Magic superstar Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway in a campaign to promote his Air Penny shoe line. With a penchant for trash talk, Li’l Penny blew up just as Hardaway was peaking in the NBA, resulting in a series of ads that ran from the mid-to-late ’90s, crossover cameos on ESPN, music video appearances and even a retrospective called Knee High and Livin’ Large: The World According to Me. While, Wieden + Kennedy has revived the puppet-driven formula to some degree of success with the recent Kobe/LeBron “MVP” campaign, it seems to lack the hops, heart and humor of its predecessor (“It’ll never be as good as Li’l Penny,” says one commenter on Adweek‘s review of an “MVP” spot). “Li’l Penny was awesome,” Firstborn CEO Michael Ferdman adds. “All of those [ads] were great, especially this one with a great line, ‘You guys remind me of my shoe collection: one penny and a bunch of losers.'”

Tiger Woods — “Ball Bouncing Trick”

“If You Let Me Play”

Going against the grain in an arena dominated by males, Wieden + Kennedy took a bold step in 1995 with its “If You Let Me” spot, which featured adolescent girls spouting if-then scenarios that were tethered to the idea of inclusion into sports. In their 2006 study Selling Truth: How Nike’s Advertising to Women Claimed a Contested Reality, authors Jean M. Grow and Joyce M. Wolburg tracked the evolution of the brand’s three “big ideas” for marketing to women in the ’90s: entitlement, empowerment, and product emphasis. Some feminists argued that the ad victimized rather than empowered the girls and questioned Nike’s profit motives with what was basically a PSA. However, Janet Champ, W+K’s chief copywriter on the campaign, told the Selling Truth authors that the message was pure. “It wasn’t advertising. It was truth. We weren’t selling a damn thing. Just the truth. And behind the truth, of course, the message was brought to you by Nike.” Even those working for competitors are still affected by the spot, including Marcus Glover, who was the creator of Reebok’s “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” effort. “[It] was an anthem for girls (and boys) which has helped to fuel the numbers of girls who play sports, many who have enjoyed professional careers as adults. I credit Nike for work which helped to change perceptions of women in sports and women in general. Nike is the brand who should be credited for creating a voice of empowerment for women athletes. Their platform helped to acknowledge that women could be world-class athletes as well as mothers, daughters, wives and sisters.”

LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu — “Fate”

Aided by a brooding trip-hop remix of Ennio Morricone’s “L’estasi Dell’oro”, director David Fincher, he of Seven and Fight Club fame, helmed this spot in 2008 that shows how two gridiron greats — San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive everyman Troy Polamalu — were destined to clash from birth. Documenting a life-long journey of the frenetic twosome, “Fate” not only earned raves from film sites like IonCinema.com — which said that it “merges a beautiful mix of slow motion visuals with a fluid musical score” — but was awarded a Cannes Silver Lion for Film in 2009. More importantly, it served as an example of how the lines between feature films and commercials have blurred and also paved the way for Fincher to do a follow-up for Nike Football last year called “Trail of Destruction (Alter Ego).”

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Kiran Aditham is an editor at AgencySpy.

If you’re clued in in the kitchen, wise to what goes on behind the concierge desk, or keyed into major players in the foodservice and hospitality world, there’s a wealth of writing gigs you might never have thought to pursue at trade publications. You don’t need to be a life-long grocery store guru or award-winning restaurateur to pitch, either. Talented reporters who can prove their writing chops can earn the chance to provide news and analysis that food industry experts need to stay on top of their businesses. With tight budget constraints, many mainstream culinary mags and trade publications are turning in-house for their writing needs. But for some, freelance opportunities are growing even more, and a compelling, well thought-out pitch will catch an editor’s attention. We talked to five food and hospitality editors at both print and digital trade outlets to find out how you can get your next freelance idea on their menus.

InsideFandB.com
Background: Billing itself as “the authority on food and beverage,” InsideFandB.com is an online magazine and industry resource that launched in February 2010. Says founder and editor-in-chief Francine Cohen, the site “goes behind the scenes for an unvarnished look at the food and beverage world, putting trendsetting news at the fingertips of hospitality industry decision-makers who need to stay at the top of their game.” With that mission in mind, the Web site publishes both daily (ongoing event coverage and breaking news) and bimonthly feature stories and columns and aims to keep its readers intrigued, enlightened and engaged about their business. InsideFandB.com covers design, technology, equipment, legislation, management, operations, and more.

Experience required: Writers with a passion for exploring the “whys” behind the food and beverage industry are welcome. Says Cohen, “Experienced writers with a business, hospitality and/or travel industry writing background are preferred, but if you know how to ask the right questions and really care about what’s going on in the food and beverage industry, then you should be pitching your story ideas to InsideFandB.com.”

How to pitch: InsideFandB.com looks for industry insights, trends in management, techniques, equipment, operations, service/guest relations, and the like. “Additionally, we have a section for book reviews, profiles, new products, and a travel/dining story in every issue,” says Cohen. Examples of recent freelance stories include “Dirty Little Secrets: Food Safety in Kitchens” and “Mixology, The Sweet Science: Thinking Outside The Box In A Bronx Cocktail Lab.”

Lead time is two weeks for feature stories and columns, daily for the events calendar and events coverage. “When pitching, please consider how our trade audience would benefit business-wise from reading your story,” advises Cohen. Pitch by email only.

Pay: Currently $20 per article. Word counts are between 350-1200 words.

Send pitches to: Francine Cohen: FrancineCohen [at] InsideFandB [dot] com

SupermarketGuru.com
Background: SupermarketGuru.com, created by food and retail journalist Phil Lempert, is a daily consumer-friendly Web site offering news, shopping and nutrition advice and food product reviews for the past 15 years . The Supermarket Guru also publishes a daily B2B e-newsletter: “The Lempert Report,” along with two monthly B2B e-newsletters, “Food, Nutrition & Science” and “Facts, Figures & Future.” Additionally, Lempert puts out a B2B video twice a week.

Experience required: Writers may come from a variety of relevant backgrounds: Nutritionists, health professionals (doctors, nurses), marketers and designers. Founder and editor Phil Lempert says he’s “less worried about background then depth of info and writing ability.”

How to pitch: The editor looks for food trends, health trends and consumer issues; an example of a recent story is, “Before You Bite: How Natural Is Natural Flavoring?” For the daily publications, lead time is one to two days, and for the monthly publications, lead time is one to two weeks. Lempert advises potential freelancers to consider what their readers — consumer or trade — can learn from the story. Pitch by email only.

Pay: $50-$250 per article. Word counts are between 250-400 words.

Send pitches to: Phil Lempert: Phil [at] SupermarketGuru [dot] com

“If [freelancers] have a background in commercial foodservice, golf, course and grounds maintenance, fitness, etc. we’re more likely to work with them. If they don’t, they need to be real go-getters who are willing to work harder to make up for their lack of industry know-how.”

Nation’s Restaurant News
Background: The self-proclaimed “news leader in the foodservice industry” since 1967, this publication covers the business of restaurant and commercial foods, reporting on topics such as food trends, finances, consumer trends and the latest equipment innovations. This weekly print publication will go bi-monthly in 2010 and is available by subscription, though they also feature it in a digital format at NRN.com. Although much of the magazine’s content is provided by staff editors, they do use some freelancers.

Experience required: While most of the magazine’s content is provided by staff editors, former editor-in-chief Ellen Koteff says they do use some freelancers. When considering a writer’s credentials, she says, “We often use editors that have both publishing and foodservice publishing backgrounds.”

How to pitch: Special projects and special issues, as outlined in the editorial calendar, are often the most likely sections for freelance work. An example story is a recent special feature on “Independents — Going it Alone in a Chain World.” Word counts vary. “Pitches are welcome,” says Koteff, “but most freelance pieces have originated from inside our newsroom as opposed to from outside pitches. It’s a good idea to pay attention to our editorial calendar.”

Pay: The freelance rate varies greatly depending on degree of difficulty or time spent on the particular piece.

Send pitches to: Executive editor Robin Lee Allen: RAllen [at] NRN [dot] com

FoodBizDaily.com
Background: FoodBizDaily.com, which began in March of 2009, is a Web site covering global news on the food and beverage industry. It features headlines, product reviews, a new products showcase and blogging; recent news items have covered Indian tea price increases and rice exports from Vietnam. This daily site aims to post news as it happens, and is online only.

Experience required: Writers must have previous experience writing about the food and beverage industry.

How to pitch: Executive editor Fernando Lopez is looking for, “Articles, blog posts — no fixed length. Stories must be relevant to our audience.” Featured articles have a lead time of about seven days. “Prospects should demonstrate knowledge of the F&B industry,” says Lopez. “Personal relationships with industry players are also important.”

Pay: Pay is negotiable with editor.

Send pitches to: Executive editor Fernando Lopez: Fernando [at] FoodBizDaily [dot] com

HOTELS Magazine

UPDATE: Hotels has shuttered as of April 2010.

Background: Established in 1966, HOTELS serves the worldwide hotel industry, covering hotel management companies and major chain headquarters, as well as trends in hotel design, operations, foodservice, technology, finance, marketing and new products. The monthly publication is aimed at hotel owners, managers, designers, architects, and buyers for hotel products and services. It’s available by subscription and at www.HotelsMag.com.

Experience required: “Our freelance writers typically have experience or expertise in some aspect of hotel operations, like F&B [food and beverage], interior design, back office technology, etc.,” says associate editor Adam Kirby. “Writers with an in-depth understanding of the financial side of the industry (i.e. real estate investing) are also useful.”

How to pitch: “We normally only freelance feature articles from our editorial calendar,” notes Kirby. (A request form can be downloaded here.) A recent special report covers, “Franchising Around the World.” Length varies but is usually between 1,200 and 2,500 words. Lead time is generally two to four weeks. “The best way to be considered,” says Kirby, “is to highlight your niche expertise, backed by credentials. Also, note that as a trade magazine we rarely publish ‘travel’ stories, but rather business-focused stories that happen to involve companies within the travel and hospitality industry.”

Pay: Varies based on the nature of the topic and the writer’s experience.

Send pitches to: Editor-in-chief Jeff Weinstein: JWeinstein [at] ReedBusiness [dot] com

Club & Resort Business
Background: Club & Resort Business magazine, launched in 2005, provides ideas for decision-makers at city and dining clubs, yacht clubs, upscale golf clubs and resorts. Topics covered include foodservice, recreation, design, and marketing, as well as news and issues affecting the club and resort industry. This is a monthly trade publication, available to industry subscribers. The general public can only view them online at www.clubandresortbusiness.com.

Experience required: “Freelancers need to have a understanding of our market, our readers and our mission as a magazine,” says managing editor Joanna DeChellis. “If [freelancers] have a background in commercial foodservice, golf, course and grounds maintenance, fitness, etc. we’re more likely to work with them. If they don’t, they need to be real go-getters who are willing to work harder to make up for their lack of industry know-how.”

How to pitch: “Our stories run the gamut from feature profiles of club and resort properties to round up features on topics under food and beverage, design and renovation, course and grounds, recreation and fitness, membership/marketing and golf operations,” says DeChellis. “We ask that features be at least 1,200 words and include three ‘summing it up’ points, as well as at least one sidebar.” Upcoming topics will include a design feature on wine rooms/cellars, and a membership/marketing feature covering information on charity events. Freelancers are responsible for obtaining art from the properties they interview. Lead time is two to three months. “We run very lean at C&RB, and we work with a solid group of regular contributors,” says DeChellis. “For someone to stand out from the pack of everyday inquiries, he or she would need to prove that he or she is worth my time.” She starts by sending potential freelancers the editorial calendar, asking them to pitch a story based on the calendar topics and telling her what angle they might take, what clubs they might talk to and what questions they might ask.

Pay: $500-$600 per article

Send pitches to: Managing editor Joanna DeChellis: JDeChellis [at] ClubandResortBusiness [dot] com

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Rani Long is a writer in New York.

[This article was originally written by Rani Long and published on December 21, 2009. It was updated by Blake Gernstetter on March 1, 2010.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Though we’ve updated this article recently, the

speed at which things move in media means things may have already changed

since then. If you notice any outdated info, email us, and we’ll fix it

a.s.a.p.]

If you’re like many freelance writers, the thought of asking an editor for more money is enough to make you wake up in a cold sweat. But, as intimidating as it is, the right approach to negotiations is crucial to building a relationship that’s beneficial to freelancer and client alike — and you don’t have to play hardball to get more money.

Sure, the rocky economy has depressed the freelance writing market noticeably. Ten years ago, freelance writer Beth D’Addono always asked for a little more than what she was offered — and often received it. “Now,” she says, “I’m finding that everybody is just so happy to have work that I’m less inclined to try to negotiate… I haven’t found editors to have the resources that they did before.”

But just as many writers say they still find it worthwhile to ask. “I think there’s almost always room for negotiation,” says Mir Kamin, a freelance writer and blogger who pens the Cornered Office blog on freelancing for the Web site Work It, Mom! “It’s very rare when someone comes to you with an offer so good you just go, ‘Yeah, that’s perfect.'”

Whether you dread talking money or you just want to perfect your game, here’s how to attack negotiations and come out ahead.

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1. Do your research
The success of your negotiations will depend on the client’s willingness and ability to negotiate. So before you ask, do your homework, says freelance journalist and copywriter Pam George. “Find out how flexible the publication is, especially in this economy, when many publications are cutting their rates rather than increasing them. Ask around on online message boards or through friends who write for the publication,” George suggests.

It could also help to get a sense of what competing publications are paying their freelancers. “One thing that might help is to say, ‘This other publication is paying me this amount, and I’d really like it if you could match that,'” says Anne McSilver, managing editor at Via.

2. Take your relationship into account

While it’s important to stand up for yourself, it’s just as critical to protect your working relationship with an editor and the long-term value that relationship could offer.

“You have to keep in mind the realistic ability of the magazine to pay you, and not just this one time. You can’t look at freelancing as a one-time deal; you have to see it as forging a relationship with the magazine,” says Sabrina Rubin Erdely, contributing editor at Self and Rolling Stone. “That doesn’t mean selling yourself short, but it should be something that will pave the way for many articles and lead to a steady gig to make you both happy in the long term.”

Moe Tkacik, who freelances for The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review and New York, says proving yourself to an editor could earn you more leverage later. “Everybody’s disposable, everybody’s in the public consciousness one day and out the next. The only thing that can really, to me, help you in a negotiation situation is if you have an element of trust going on with your editor,” she says.

“The most important ingredient headed into negotiations is knowing what you’re worth… If you’re not willing to walk away, you’ll lose some credibility.”

3. Know where you stand, and be honest
“Coming in with an idea of what you want and a convincing reason for why that’s the right fee is the best advice I could give you,” says Wired managing editor Jacob Young.

Calculate your hourly rate, and if an editor can’t match it, be prepared to turn a job down, Kamin says. “I think the most important ingredient headed into negotiations is knowing what you’re worth,” she says. “If you’re not willing to walk away, you’ll lose some credibility.”

Whatever you do negotiate, be sure that you’re not devaluing your work. For Rubin Erdely, protecting her per-word rate is crucial; if necessary, she’ll work with editors on negotiating a flat fee for a given piece, rather than cutting her word rate. Even in a down economy, Kamin says, “It still doesn’t pay for me to take a job for less than I should be earning. Plus, what happens when the economy turns around?”

4. Weigh the unique situation
Especially on the Web, where writers often work for 10 or 25 cents per word, negotiating can veer into the realm of haggling, and that could sour a relationship.

“You don’t want to sound like you’re negotiating for something petty,” says Nick Catucci, articles editor for New York‘s Web site, NYMag.com. He admits that it can be off-putting if a first-time writer comes on too strongly in negotiations: “It could be worth it to take the $100 assignment rather than asking for $110, so that down the road you could ask for more.”

As well, you’ll have to consider what an article is worth to you: Does it involve a lot of time-intensive research? Is the publication a place where you’re eager to get a clip? “I find that people often don’t even ask about fees until after the piece is published, and that shows that people’s motivations are often to get their foot in the door or to get a good story published,” Catucci says.

“Once an editor gets an idea and is really excited about that, there’s more basis to ask for more money — because once you want something, you want it.”

5. Pick the right time to ask
There are pros and cons to trying to negotiate during your first assignment with a given editor. Some editors warned that they’re less inclined to negotiate with new writers, but others say it always fair game.

“I’d hope that somebody would always ask for more money, so I wouldn’t be offended,” says Ashley Primis, food and lifestyle editor at Philadelphia. But, she suggests waiting until the editor is truly sold on your idea. “Once an editor gets an idea and is really excited about that, there’s more basis to ask for more money — because once you want something, you want it.”

Kamin says she’s tried both tactics, and now prefers to negotiate for a better fee on her first assignment. “Usually, I’m more worried about damage to an existing relationship,” she says. “As well, there’s the danger if you walk into a relationship at a low rate, then you’re setting yourself up for problems.”

6. Ask nicely

McSilver recommends asking politely, acknowledging that budgets may be tight, and asking if there’s any flexibility. “It’s better to say, ‘What can you do to help me out?’ than to put it in the form of an ultimatum,” McSilver says.

Finally, as much you may hate to, do it over the phone if you can, Rubin Erdely says. “Be professional but friendly. I’ve always found that being direct really helps… I think my editors appreciate my bringing it up, because no one ever wants to talk about money. It’s an uncomfortable thing, but I introduce it without apologies or discomfort.”

7. Make your case
If you’re asking for more money, McSilver says, “put forth the basic economics of the situation.” If it’s your first time working with an editor, estimate how long the story will take, calculate your hourly rate, and go from there. And if you’ve worked with an editor before, tell them how long the last story took or what kind of expenses you accrued to back up your request.

As well, if there’s a premium on your time, find a way to let the editor know. “The more experience you have, the more clips you have, the more right you have to ask for more money,” Primis says.

“Writers can be their own best advocates by knowing what their value has been determined to be in the past,” Catucci says.

That said, if you’ve agreed to a fee, and then a story becomes more involved than you anticipated, you may want to wait until a story is filed to reopen negotiations. “You don’t want to give the editor a sense that you’re in over your head,” Catucci says. “And then, every editor wants to feel like the first priority is the story, because from the editor’s perspective the fee you’re paid is a detail.”

8. Get creative
“There are new rules right now. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to negotiate on non-monetary aspects of the story,” D’Addono says. If an editor can’t offer more money, ask if you can write a bit shorter.

As well, says Tkacik, you can negotiate on rights. Or, she says, “If you’re starting a regular relationship with an Internet property, you might think of trying to get a page view bonus, so that if you write something that breaks out and gets a lot of attention you can get a piece of that.”

For magazine articles, she adds, try to collect your kill fee as soon as the story is submitted. “It can take over a year to retrieve kill fees — and that’s money you’re owed no matter what. As well, it puts you in a better position, if they kill an article late in the process, to ask for more money.”

In fact, some editors are recognizing that the way writers get paid may be due for an overhaul. “Increasingly we’re getting away from the whole idea of a per word rate,” Young says. “We think that doesn’t have a lot of resonance in the way we’re putting together stories. Doing a story for Wired is much more than emailing a manuscript. There’s fact-checking, there are a couple layers of editing, most of our stories have sidebars that we negotiate in advance or carve out as we go along, and then there are digital elements… We’re looking more at story fees because we just don’t think the word rate reflects what journalism is really about these days.”

Finally and most importantly, Kamin says, don’t undervalue your work: “A lot of people end up diluting the salary pool by taking these low-paying jobs, and the only difference between them and me is that I have the confidence to ask for more.”

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Samantha Melamed is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She blogs about vegetarian cooking at SeitanWorship.wordpress.com.

After the movie Julie and Julia was released, writers everywhere started turning to the blogosphere with hopes that their hard work online would result in a deal with a major publishing house. Approximately 60 blog-to-book titles were acquired by publishers in 2009, said Patrick Mulligan, senior editor at Penguin Group’s Gotham Books, the publisher of the blog-to-book titles I Can Has Cheezburger? A LOLcat Colleckshun; The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 Facts About the World’s Greatest Human; and Texts From Last Night: All the Texts No One Remembers Sending. Mulligan personally selected and published only two of the estimated 60 to 80 blog submissions he received that year, and in just the first few months of 2010, he has received — and passed on — more than a dozen pitches for the burgeoning genre. It seems that everyone who aspires to publish their own story thinks a blog is the way to do it.

But what headlines like this one and this one, and this one, don’t tell you is that convincing a large publishing house or an agent of your work doesn’t become easier simply because you can blog. Before branding your own dot-com, here are some realisms to consider.

High traffic does not a book deal make

A five-digit number of visitors to your Web page does not necessarily entice big publishers to come a-knocking. Take Brette Sember, whose 17-month-old blog, “Martha and Me,” takes readers along as she incorporates Martha Stewart cooking, crafts, and inspiration into her daily life and averages about 300 visitors daily. A published author of more than 35 books, Sember has experience writing about a wide range of topics, from parenting to law. Her blog has also landed her several interviews with Martha Stewart Living Radio on Sirius. But her high-traffic blog and years of experience have yet to translate into a book deal for “Martha and Me.”

“Just because you have a blog with a lot of followers does not add value to me. I need to know how else you are going to sell your stuff.”

Sember says that the consensus among publishers who have turned her down is that “this idea has been done before,” but Sember and her agent, Gina Panettieri, are confident that “Martha and Me” puts a new spin on the popular “year of living like so-and-so celebrity” genre and will interest a broad range of readers — and soon, an editor. According to Panettieri, president of Talcott Notch Literary Services in Milford, Conn., it’s not uncommon for editors to pass on a title simply to avoid the appearance of “copying” another popular work. “The idea that, ‘We don’t want to be accused of trying to rip off Julie and Julia‘ ___ that can happen in the publishing world,” she explains. And competition between publishing houses isn’t the only concern. As an aspiring author, you have no way of knowing when a sister imprint — another line of books under the same publishing house — has already acquired a similar title already, making yours that much less valuable. Large publishing houses don’t want to create competition that will essentially work against them.

For other publishing houses, high traffic may also not excite, but for different reasons. Dave Morris, who runs New Year Publishing in San Francisco, a five-year-old publisher with 50 titles (four of which started as blogs), says, “Just because you have a blog with a lot of followers does not add value to me. I need to know how else you are going to sell your stuff.” In the case of Morris’ authors, the answer might be speaking engagements; his most popular blog-to-book author is a professional speaker by trade.

Aside from all those reasons, sometimes concepts are just not executed in a way that hooks editors. “Some editors have said to me, ‘We’ve seen a number of different I’ve-lived-a-year-doing-x types of books, blogs, and memoirs, and that’s been done and is getting old,'” Panettieri says. “But editors will say themselves that they may turn around the next week and break that rule. It’s very arbitrary because something can come in the next week that they said they didn’t want, but there’s something unique or just so winning about it.”

Brilliant ideas aren’t enough — a book has to be able to sell

Agents, editors, and publishers agree: One of the biggest misconceptions shared by bloggers and authors alike is the idea that a true work of art will be appreciated, and subsequently published, by someone somewhere. But book publishing is like any other business — and a publisher has to have confidence that your product will sell.

“People might visit a Web site to talk about things or people they hate, but you’re going to have a tough time convincing self-identifying cynical people to spend $12 to $20 on a book.”

Selling a blog-to-book title can be tricky. According to Mulligan, the book has to also be able to reach an audience that the blog doesn’t. Mulligan said he knew that plenty of cat enthusiasts who didn’t know about the LOLcat phenomenon online would still be interested in the Cheezburger books (now a series), and he was right. Similarly, some blogs with great traffic just don’t sell in book format. “I’ve stayed away from snarky blogs that trade in meanness,” Mulligan said. “People might visit a Web site to talk about things or people they hate, but you’re going to have a tough time convincing self-identifying cynical people to spend $12 to $20 on a book.”

Accordingly, it’s important to first consider the marketability of a topic before committing to weeks, months, or years blogging about it. Penny Sansevieri, chief executive officer and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., in San Diego, Calif., suggests that aspiring bloggers investigate the market before committing to a subject matter, both by reading other blogs and pouring over bookstore selections to find out what sells. Furthermore, while it might be easier to rely on reader commentary for your blog, publishing that content as a book introduces other legalities to the equation. Make sure that your site qualifies that comments posted online become property of the Web site. “Clearing rights retroactively, as we had to do for the first Cheezburger book, was a huge undertaking,” cautioned Mulligan.

A blog submission may not beat a traditional one

Once your content is out there on the Internet, editors already have an idea of who and how many people are reading it — which doesn’t always help a writer’s chances. “I think your odds are no better if you are writing a blog and intending to do a book based on that than they are [when you send] a standard submission to a publishing house,” Panettieri says. “You’re one of thousands, or tens of thousands of writers out there with that intention.” That’s why Sember encourages other bloggers like herself to pursue only topics that truly interest them. Blog for enjoyment, motivation, or practice — not to get your heart set on a publishing contract.

Stephen Markley, a 26-year-old author in Chicago, can attest to the fact that good ideas can still capture a publisher’s attention without the benefit of a blog following. Markley’s book, Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold and Published This Very Book was not based on a blog, but on personal experience. In it, he chronicles his time spent trying to create and publish his book, while recounting the other challenges and hilarities from his personal life at that time. His story was a perfect fit for the independent publisher Sourcebooks.

“There’s been this proliferation of the A.J. Jacobs-type live something for a year and write about it [books],” Markley says. “It’s a gimmick, but it’s a matter of, does the gimmick lead to a successful piece of literature? The goal I set for myself was for it to grow outside the gimmick, to be funny, interesting, and emotionally resonant.”

Being a one-trick pony can limit your success

Depending on your publisher, it may help to demonstrate an ability to produce work in the future. Dave Morris isn’t interested in signing a blogger who can’t produce more than one title. “The cost of acquiring a customer is the same, so if you only have one product to sell them, you’re screwed,” Morris says. That’s why his company focuses on authors who use the blogs and books to promote another primary career, like motivational speaking.

Still some of the best-known blog-to-book titles belong in the humor genre, where an author’s other skills matter much less than the pop culture phenomenon they’ve created online, like I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell or Stuff White People Like. If you have one of those hits on your hands, publishers aren’t likely to care about whether or not your idea can be sustained through multiple books.

“We don’t specifically look for books that can become a series,” said Mulligan. “At the time of first acquisition, we’re entirely focused on the one book. ___ We’ve had success turning out BTBs into series [Cheezburger and Chuck Norris], but I think that’s rare.”

And, after all this, you might still need an agent

There is some debate as to whether agents are integral to the publishing process. Morris speculates that agents won’t be around in 10 years and that the Internet does their job for them. But in many instances, it may be an author’s best chance of getting noticed. “If you want to try a larger publisher, you have to have an agent, because they won’t look at you otherwise,” Panettieri explains. However, she notes that editors have instigated a number of these deals on their own. Mulligan approached the people behind Cheezburger and Chuck Norris directly, and they did later acquire agents to help close the deal. But for the many that don’t get noticed, an agent may help. “These days there are so many literary agents scouting blogs that they’re likely to discover something long before I stumble upon it,” Mulligan said.

For bloggers who are interested in finding an agent, industry pros point to two top resources: Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents and the Web site Publisher’s Marketplace. Looking through the titles that different agents have published will give you an idea of where their interests lie, and how successful they are at securing book deals. Agents agree that you shouldn’t give up on work that you believe in — but just keep in mind, their successes may not extend to you.

“Your blog can be fantastic, but if there is no market for it right now, no one will want to buy it right now,” Sember sums up. “What I’ve come to learn after 13 years: When it’s the right time for a book, it’s the right time.”

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Katie Bunker is an associate editor at Diabetes Forecast magazine and a freelance writer in Washington, D.C..

Perhaps the sharp decline in magazine advertising pages is to thank for 2009’s wealth of lush photo portfolios, some of which dominated entire issues. The trend made for steep competition in this year’s National Magazine Awards, with finalists in the photo portfolio category ranging from an unprecedented shoot at the United Nations to a transatlantic art/fashion mashup in which models displayed the latest looks amidst Picassos and Rodins. We went behind the lens to focus on the five finalists and take a closer look at their chances for an Ellie.

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Jason Bell
Nominated work: “Out 100: The Class of 2009,” in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Out

Why it works: Out turned to London-born portrait specialist Jason Bell to photograph its selection of “the 100 gay, lesbian, and transgender people who have made an impact in their own communities and on mainstream culture” in 2009. It marks the first time the assignment was given to a single photographer, and Bell delivered with a 65-page portfolio that is at once cohesive and thrillingly diverse. He approached the theme of “school days” playfully, shooting subjects in classrooms, buses, libraries, and gyms, while avoiding on-the-nose poses (Neil Patrick Harris is smoking under the bleachers, not brandishing jazz hands in the school play). Particularly striking are Bell’s close-ups, many of which have the dreamy quality of yearbook photo outtakes, and his light touch with newsmakers: Dan Choi, the Iraq war veteran who chained himself to the White House fence to protest the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, is pictured leaning against a row of white lockers. If ASME decides to share the wealth and not give the award to Platon for a second consecutive year, Bell’s luminous and ambitious portfolio is a shoo-in for the win.

In their own words: “With a great deal of energy! Once I heard that the theme was to be ‘school days,’ I concentrated on getting a mix into the pictures not only of humor, but also nostalgia and intimacy,” Bell tells us. “I liked the fact that the theme is a universal one as well as referencing a time in most people’s lives when they explore and assert their sexuality.” He had eight weeks to shoot 100 people in four cities. “Sixty-five pages in a magazine is a lot, and maintaining visual interest over those 65 pages requires a constant shift in pace and approach — not so great a shift as to abandon the theme but enough to keep the viewer wanting to see more,” says Bell. “Even though there was a huge logistical pressure, my main concern was never to say that a picture was just ‘good enough.’ Each picture had to stand up on its own, not just as a member of the portfolio.”

Marcus Bleasdale
Nominated work: “Exquisite Circus,” in the August 24, 2009 issue of New York

Why it works: It’s not easy to get a fresh perspective on the finely tuned fashion machine as it revs up for the biannual women’s ready-to-wear collections, but New York got just that from Marcus Bleasdale. The veteran photojournalist, who has spent nearly a decade covering the brutal conflict within the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, had never heard of Marc Jacobs when he accepted the assignment to shoot the fall 2009 shows. Guided only by his decisions and trained eye for human drama, Bleasdale focused not on the clothes but on capturing the fashion world from all angles. Images from the ephemeral catwalk spectacles and backstage beautifying are joined by moody portraits that highlight the isolation and loneliness inherent in the global fashion cycle.

In their own words: Bleasdale was on assignment in Congo when he got the call from Jody Quon, photography director at New York magazine, about shooting behind-the-scenes at the fall 2009 collections. “I initially thought I could not do it, as I had never worked in fashion before, but she insisted that was exactly what she wanted,” he tells us of how he suddenly found himself backstage or in prime position on the riser at every major show of the season. “I must admit initially I had a difficult time adjusting, but by the end of New York and the beginning of Milan, I had started to understand and feel my way. Also, I was as much expressing my own mood in the images as I was expressing the place and the fashion world at that time,” says Bleasdale. “When I arrived in Paris it all exploded in terms of the experience, and it became in my eyes a very poetic, beautiful, theatrical, extravagant experience. I loved it!”

Platon
Nominated work: “Portraits of Power,” in the December 7, 2009 issue of The New Yorker

Why it works: In early 2009, Platon happened on Henry Kissinger being interviewed on Charlie Rose. The veteran statesman was explaining how the contemporary political landscape makes it impossible for a country to solve even internal problems in isolation. Addressing international issues, he said, requires special relationships between world leaders. That gave Platon, a staff photographer at The New Yorker, an idea. He proposed an ambitious portfolio of world leaders to editor-in-chief David Remnick, and they decided on the United Nations as the ideal setting. Six months of intense negotiations later, Platon was at the UN constructing (under extremely close supervision) a small portrait studio beside the podium where each world leader would deliver his or her address to the 2009 General Assembly. But it’s not the historic and unprecedented access that distinguishes the 110 resulting portraits, taken over five long days. What makes this portfolio so entrancing is the extraordinarily personal quality that Platon was able to capture in his subjects amidst the cacophony of the conference proceedings, suspicious security teams, and idling entourages. One look at the photos, to which The New Yorker devoted a sizable chunk of its December 7 issue, is enough to convince us that Platon is the odds-on favorite to win this category for the second consecutive year.

In their own words: “I wanted to show a new collective personality, as if all these leaders were now on one team, highlighting the difficult challenges and strained tensions, as well as the new optimism and goodwill, generated by Obama’s election,” Platon told us. “The portraits sit together as individual and intimate character studies. I wanted to show what it was really like to meet these people ‘up close and personal.’ Collectively however, the portraits give us a communal spirit of the contemporary global, political power structure.” The key was negotiating scheduling and access. “It was certainly the most relentless suspension of physical and psychological tension I have ever experienced in my life. Each subject arrived with a massive entourage of Cabinet Ministers, delegates, political advisors, and Secret Service Agents. To negotiate a portrait sitting was often as challenging as the portrait itself.”

Martin Schoeller
Nominated work: Portfolio accompanying “The Hadza” by Michael Finkel in the December 2009 issue of National Geographic

Why it works: How do you capture the essence of an isolated group of people best known for what they don’t do (grow food, raise livestock, use calendars, engage in warfare)? That was the challenge confronted by Martin Schoeller as he set out to photograph the Hadza, an ethnic group in central Tanzania that live as hunter-gatherers. He approached the National Geographic assignment with a combination of stunning close-up portraits of individual Hadza and images of their daily life: searching for game, tracking a bloody warthog, foraging for berries, celebrating in a ritual dance. Schoeller’s clear, assured compositions gain dimension when contrasted with the clouds of dust or flashes of sunlight that give the portfolio the shifting dawn-to-dusk feel of a “day in the life” of a vanishing people.

In their own words: “What the Hadza appear to offer — and why they are of great interest to anthropologists — is a glimpse of what life may have been like before the birth of agriculture 10,000 years ago,” writes Michael Finkel in the feature story that Schoeller’s photos accompany. “The Hadza may hold on to their language; they may demonstrate their abilities to tourists. But it’s only a matter of time before there are no more traditional Hadza scrambling in the hills with their bows and arrows, stalking baboons.”

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Nominated work: “Art and Commerce” in the October 2009 issue of W

Why it works: Who better than Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin to photograph the latest luxe fall looks in and around leading museums and galleries in Paris and New York? The established Dutch duo has long straddled the increasingly blurry worlds of fine art and fashion photography, and in this W portfolio, they combine art and commerce to explosive effects. In a Paris gallery, a Lanvin-clad lady confronts a giant Lalanne gorilla sculpture, while at New York’s PaceWildenstein, a Chuck Close portrait of a grinning Bill Clinton competes for the spotlight with an emerald-hued Valentino ensemble. Van Lamsweerde and Matadin take particular delight in games of scale, whether juxtaposing the size of the fashionable leading lady and her diminutive mate or composing their shots to make the art and architecture precisely — and often alarmingly — life-sized.

In their own words: “There is a love-hate relationship between art and fashion, but I personally think the fashion world is much more honest than the art world because it’s very clear the fashion world is about money,” van Lamsweerde said in a 2005 interview with i-D magazine. “Whereas it’s exactly the same in the art world, but they don’t like to talk about it.”

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Stephanie Murg is co-editor of UnBeige.

As media professionals, we have come a long way since the days of scribbling in black-and-white composition books and fretting over dangling participles. Now, we write for the Internet — a medium where things are constantly changing and it can be hard to keep up.

For example, The Associated Press stalled for years to change its guidelines on the word “website” from “Web site” while the rest of the industry insisted it was one word but couldn’t get confirmation from one of the leading authorities on writing style. The media giant finally caved to popular opinion in mid-April, which sent shockwaves, and relief, through the editorial arena.

But there are a slew of old-school conventions, like “don’t split an infinitive” and “always write in complete sentences,” that are customarily set aside when writing for the Web — and when they are, the content gets even better.

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Going for the Quick Skim

By nature, Web writing begs to be kept concise and succinct. Whether you are crafting an e-newsletter article or sales-based copy, it is likely that you want people to read the text — or at least get a gist of what the message is. That’s why it is okay to use shorter paragraphs or sentences. Copywriters tend to use this method for extra drama, and a more conversational tone can be more effective and relatable. Hey, whatever conveys your point.

“Web writing is becoming increasingly more choppy and more SEO-driven… Formal style rules have effectively gone out the window,” says Christina Couch, a Chicago-based freelance writer. “I write for certain sites that don’t even abide by paragraph form anymore. I believe that Web style is far more driven by the graphics, audio or video accompanying text than it is by any of the traditional rules of style.”

“I tend to use a punchier and much more conversational style than I do for print. People read slower on a computer monitor.”

Couch notes that because the majority of Web content is designed to emulate speech, you can get away with breaking traditional conventions provided that your reporting is strong and the tone of the piece flows well. But not all online writing should appear this way. For example, there is plenty of research published on the Web, and that would follow a more traditional style. “You have to know your publication to tell the difference,” she says.

Breaking It Up

Mallary Jean Tenore, a copy editor and writer with The Poynter Institute, says that sub-headlines do wonders for breaking up text.

“When I’ve done a lot of reporting for a story and am trying to figure out how to structure the information in a way that won’t seem overwhelming to the reader, I use subheads to break up the text. Subheads seem more common online,” she says.

Michelle Goodman, a Seattle-based freelance writer and author of My So-Called Freelance Life, says that she always uses subheads when shifting from print to online writing. “Online, all your editors want catchy subheads to break down 750- to 1,500-word stories into digestible chunks. In print, you don’t always get the luxury of using subheads to clearly delineate new topics and transitions in an article,” she notes.

Ed Gandia, co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle, does the same thing because he says attention spans are shorter on the Web.

“I tend to use a punchier and much more conversational style than I do for print. People read slower on a computer monitor, so I try to make it very easy on them,” says Gandia, an Atlanta resident.

Writing with Keyword Intentions

While we may not have been instructed to fit in keywords, say, in headlines, the Web is a vastly different place where the right blend of words (especially on the top fold of a page) can mean the difference between getting noticed and, well… not. In addition to being able to quickly skim a page, SEO plays a huge factor with Web content, especially in headlines. The right word combination can get your content noticed, and can also help readers find out what they can learn from an article.

“When it comes to writing for the Web, I think that headlines that let readers know what they’re going to learn can really help. For a recent story I wrote about bounce rates, for instance, I wanted people to know what they could learn from the story. So I titled it, ‘5 Strategies to Lower Your Site’s Bounce Rate,'” says Tenore. In this instance, she was able to offer a catchy headline while getting a keyword — bounce rate — prominently up top.

Starting Sentences… and Ending Them, Too

In addition to a more choppy style, the Web frequently models content that starts with conjunctions like “but” and “and.” And that is perfectly okay according to Robyn Bradley, a Massachusetts-based copywriter who has also worked as a journalist for print and Web. “Readable writing — especially on the Web — mimics the way people talk in real life. So go ahead: Listen to how people talk. We start sentences with words like ‘but’ all the time. And it sounds perfectly okay to do so,” she says.

“Fact is, grammatically correct copy — copy that would earn an A from your junior high English teacher — is often boring copy.”

Bradley, also known as The Copy Bitch™ on her blog, says writers creating online content should consider breaking the rule about ending sentences with prepositions. “It’s okay, especially if it sounds too clunky to rewrite it ‘correctly,’ but grammar purists hate me for it,” she says. “That’s when I pull out a quote (often attributed to Winston Churchill) to make my point: ‘Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.'”

The Age-Old Split Infinitive Debate

Whether it was your seventh-grade English teacher or your college literary professor, they probably both voted against splitting infinitives. An infinitive is a verb preceded by the word “to” as in the phrases, “to play” “to make” or “to be.” You probably learned in school to keep your “to’s” and your verbs together, as in “to be absolutely sure.” But in the Internet copywriting age, it’s okay to write like you speak so long as it’s professional and doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. If you want to tell potential customers “to absolutely be sure,” for example, that’s absolutely alright!

Ditching Third-Person Tone

As a student, you were probably told to keep things formal. And that made sense at the time, because all you wrote were term papers. That’s the way it was for Tenore. “I was always taught, for example, to never use the first person when writing news stories,” she recalls.

Many formal publications, such as newspapers, probably agree that unless it’s a first-person account of something, reporting should be objective — and thus, from a third-person point of view. But depending on what you write, especially on the Web, you can get away with first-person. “I like occasionally using the first person in news stories because it can give them more personality and voice,” says Tenore.

But sometimes, first-person gets a little too narcissistic. “When some people use first-person, they fall into the trap of ‘I, I, I’ or ‘me, me, me,'” says Susan Johnston, a Boston-based freelance copywriter and journalist who just released The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets. “Too much of that can feel self-indulgent, and if you’re trying to sell a product, you really ought to focus on the customer’s needs, rather than making it all about you.”

Another one of Johnston’s pet peeves is when a solopreneur tries to beef up their business by using “we” in the copy. This could also fall under your English teacher’s age-old rule of keeping things factual.

Contractions are Conversational, Catchy

Your English teacher may have taught you how to use apostrophes to make one word out of two (for example, “let” and “us” becomes “let’s”), but as your education went on, you likely weren’t encouraged to use contractions.

But online content, is more powerful when it is conversational, so a contraction here or there cannot hurt; just don’t use them too much. They help to make everything a little more personal, as opposed to visiting another site where the writing sounds like a technical journal. Copywriters may be more apt to use them than journalists, but unless you are writing technical information, make your text more casual by considering the use of contractions.

“Fact is, grammatically correct copy — copy that would earn an A from your junior high English teacher — is often boring copy,” says Peter Bowerman, an Atlanta-based copywriter and author of The Well-Fed Writer series. “To make something readable and engaging, I’ve broken a lot of rules. Using contractions liberally? Don’t hesitate. And starting sentences with “and” or “but”? But, of course.”

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Kristen Fischer is a copywriter, journalist and author living at the Jersey Shore. Visit www.kristenfischer.com to learn more.