Adventures in long-form magazine editing

J-source has adapted and re-published an excellent article on long-form magazine editing, originally written last year by Bill Reynolds for Literary Journalism, the newsletter of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies. Reynolds is head of the magazine stream at Ryerson University.

It's relatively unusual for such reflective writing about the craft, based on real stories and well-written itself (as opposed to turgid academic jargon). It provides good examples of how a story can be saved or made better by the way in which it is told.

Editors tipped about getting -- and treating -- freelancers

Veteran freelancer, coach and self-help author Paul Lima has posted on his website an excellent summary of his recent MagNet conference seminar : How to Source and Retain Great Freelance Writers. It's a fine refresher for longtime editors and an inspiration for editors generally in this industry, which relies so heavily on freelance writers.

Some of what Lima says is self-evident, though sometimes also neglected, such as remembering that the writer-editor relationship is a two-way street. I have returned many times on this blog to the need for treating each other with respect and Lima's presentation was focussed on the editors:

I come not to berate you, but to motivate you. If you do your part, more freelancers will do their part, bringing greater balance to the editor-freelancer equation.

He also talks a lot about realism -- setting deadlines, objectives and expectations so that they can be reasonably met.

And he asks a question that should be stencilled on the lintel above every editorial office:

The time you invest upfront will save you time down the road. How do you want to spend time?
• Fixing problems and mistakes?
• Conducting final edits to ensure articles are as strong as possible and meet your readers’ expectations?