Hang out where your readers do.
Since I’ve begun editing the magazine for a national organization, I’ve made a point each month to drive an hour-and-a-half one way to attend a chapter meeting. It’s not the club business that attracts me, but the conversations before and after.
They’re some of my best opportunities to connect with members’ concerns. If the publication’s going to scratch where they itch, … Continue reading
How do you find writing ideas?
A month ago when I visited the barbershop, I needed ideas for the magazine I’d just begun editing. But that wasn’t my reason for visiting. I needed a haircut.
In less than an hour I had my haircut. But I also had a great idea for an article for the Model A Ford magazine. How did I find it? By listening.
As my barber was finishing, another longtime client … Continue reading
A few goofs can make readers doubt.
The review gave a glowing recommendation, underscoring the meticulous research behind The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies.
The author’s note speaks of using the subject’s “letters and papers, declassified U.S. and British government files, Freedom of Information Act requests, and my own interviews.”
The book devotes three … Continue reading