My Top Ten Tips to getting an article published

1. Know someone in the business! A well-placed friend who is an editor, either for print or online, is a godsend.
2. Better. Write well. Be sharp, funny, interesting.
3. Have something to say. Be informed, passionate, exciting, hilarious.
4. Entertain and inform. Yes, both are essential, at the same time.
5. Get a great lead in paragraph.
6. Be controversial - but not over-opiniated without reason.
7. Back up your own views with someone in a position that you respect.
8. Check your sources.
9. Edit your writing. Proofread. Spellcheck.
10. Be confident - even if you don't feel it.

It's never easy getting an idea from your head, to the computer and then into print. What I hope to do in this blog is help you explore your own writing and see if I can serve as an 'editor', givng advice and tips.

There are lots of issues that we can discuss and I'll be very interested to learn of your experience or views on the process so far.

• What makes an article worthy of publication?
• What are readers and editors looking for?
• Are readers and editors looking for the same things?
• How can we come up with ideas that will sell?
• If we do come up with a selling idea, how to write the piece that will ultimately be published?

None of the above is easy. The most positive advice is simply to gain lots and lots of practice; the proverbial thick skin; and tons of experience.

Writing for the media in the digital age

Many of us dream about becoming a high-flying journalist, or an ace reviewer; even a respected online commentator or wildly influential blogger.

But how to achieve the dream?

What’s most important, being able to write well or know how to sell yourself to the media?

Writing the blog, I'll be looking at all these issues and more. How to keep up-to-date with, without being completely consumed by, the rapidly changing and burgeoning market out there. From online news magazines, to podcasts, videocasts, citizen journalism, blogs, and of course the traditional print media (remember newspapers?). I’ll be considering how to fit into, or carve out, a special niche for oneself.

I hope the blog becomes interactive and that I can help you practise your writing skills. There are many excellent ways to make a living as a professional writer - creator of ‘content’, opinion maker or investigative journalist. Many people will find a career using their writing skills to promote others’ work or products, so I'll also be looking into how the skills of the PR person mirror those of the journalist.

This blog runs alongside the actual online course I teach for the New School Online University in New York. I am English and live/work in London.

I want to look at all sorts of issues that might be of help.
How to:

• Make best use of a blog
• Create your own brand and find your market
• Distinguish between writing styles for pitching story ideas to different media
• Learn how to harness the same skills for press and PR usage
• Viral marketing and use of social networking sites
• Improve your writing techniques so the stories, or personal comment, are gripping to read, attracting readers and editors to your work

I would like us all to try out new writing ideas and techniques together. The blog should become a forum for new or experienced writers. Lets all get sharing with each other....