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. ■