It’s been said many times that printed newspapers won’t last - they’ll be killed off by the web.
And that would be a shame: the death of papers would see the demise of some tremendous writing and editing skills. I should know - my last job on a newspaper was just last year.
So, while we still have ink on paper, here are five things you can learn from newspaper editors and reporters to improve your blog’s copy.
One of my high school English teachers once told me that writing is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration, suggesting that a good writer starts with a quick burst of creativity and spends the rest of their time refining and editing those initial ideas. While this advice may seem counter-productive to bloggers who need to create content quickly and consistently, it is actually sound wisdom. This ratio of creating vs. editing time helps clarify your ideas so your audience understands your point of view.
In a perfect world, you’d never have to edit your own work, but well, you know the drill. The world’s not perfect, life’s not fair, yada yada. So spend a little time now or a lot of time later trying to convince your boss to let you keep your job as a “pubic relations director.”
We all know that when we’re too close to things, we don’t see them clearly. This can be good for relationships, but hazardous for the editing process.
