Campus Review Vol 30. Issue 01 | January 2020 | Page 20

industry & research campusreview.com.au IS TWITTER THAT IMPORTANT? Your name in print Academic’s top tips for getting published. By Wade Zaglas K atie Rose Guest Pryal is very different from me. Firstly, she’s a woman with a prolific career in a range of industries. Second, she’s an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law, so she’s unquestionably sharper than I’ll ever be. Where we coalesce, however, is in the publishing world: we both write for publications and accept contributions from others. Recently, Pryal wrote a short piece for The Chronicle of Higher Education that resonated with me, entitled ‘10 Questions Every Academic Should Ask Before Writing for the Public’. While her piece basically centred on the need to know the publication (or journal) in which you want to be published, it was presented as a 10-step guide to preparing for submission. These are the top pieces of advice from Pryal’s article. FOR WHOM AM I WRITING? Pryal’s first question is “Who is my public?” but you could also use the term “audience”. Basically, you need to know who your intended audience is and the kinds of topics, worldviews and vocabulary to which they are accustomed and expect. This is nothing we didn’t learn throughout school – teachers constantly drummed in the importance of considering an essay’s purpose, audience and subject matter before commencing writing. The second salient question Pryal asks contributors to consider is why they want to publish their article. While she states that some enter the profession to share “research to as many readers as possible”, others start writing for more popular magazines in the 18 hope of receiving a big pay packet. Pryal also says that the motivations for wanting one’s work published can change over time, and “there is hardly any money in public writing”, even in some of the most prestigious peer‑reviewed journals. DO THE READING Pryal urges prospective writers to read about the people contributing to the publication as well as the publication itself. In doing so, your awareness of the house style guide will be strong and editors won’t have to swallow four Panadols while editing your work. Do they use the Oxford comma? Are dashes used only sparingly or not at all? Are subheadings allowed or are they deemed to break up the flow of the discussion? Where and when don’t they use caps? Only by reading the publication can you know these things. As Pryal sagely puts it: “Read the magazines you want to write for. If you have a particular topic you want to write about, do some basic internet searching to see which journalists are experts on the topic, and then read everything those people have written about it lately. Just because others have written already on your topic doesn’t mean you can’t. It just means you have to cite them properly and say something new (or say something old in a new and compelling way).” FINDING YOUR WRITING PEERS People often want to achieve things alone, but Pryal argues that collaboration and offering constructive feedback to peers are essential if you wish to be published. Peers will not only go over your pitches to journals or publications and fine-tune your writing, but could also be helpful networkers willing to introduce you to the right people at the right time. The short answer is yes. While the Luddites among us bemoan the influence of social media in our lives, Pryal believes that “for aspiring public writers, Twitter is where editors and other writers hang out”. “I don’t know why – we just do,” she says. Pryal believes you can jettison Twitter once you’re famous, but until then, it’s every writer’s best friend. “Listen to what others are saying. Follow editors and see when they put out calls for submissions.” (Look for the hashtag #pitchme, she says.) READING THE ALL-IMPORTANT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES The most important question to ask yourself when preparing to submit an article is whether the publication accepts freelance submissions. Some publishing outlets don’t accept unsolicited submissions, so do your homework. Often publications will want you to “pitch” the article, which leads to the final point. THE POWER OF A WELL‑WRITTEN PITCH In my postgraduate journalism course, I was taught about the importance of the pitch. In essence, they allow an editor to determine whether the topic is relevant to the readers, and whether it contains enough expert comment and content. As Pryal contends, a pitch is a “highly specific genre” that requires a lot of planning and consideration. It is the skeleton of your article, so it must be strong. Essential features to include in an excellent pitch include: ∞ Your overarching idea. What are you writing about? ∞ The proposed length of the piece ∞ Pertinent questions you would ask interviewees ∞ A list of interviewees and their contact details ∞ Relevant resources and studies that can support your article. Remember, most of the time you will be writing for a learned audience, who can pick apart shaky, unsubstantiated arguments and opinions in seconds. For individuals new to the art of pitch writing, Pryal recommends the article, ‘How to Craft a Pitch’, written for The Chronicle in 2017 by Kelly J. Baker.  ■