Transcript of the Very First #Editorchat

EDITORS NOTE: While we love all of #editorchat, the archives are intended to give readers an overview of the most informative responses to our questions. Our goal, after all, is to learn from each other. This transcript is for the very first #editorchat, held on Twitter on Feb. 4, 2009.

QUESTION 1: LydiaBreakfast First Question: Editors and Writers What are you doing that you weren’t 1 yr. ago? #editorchat 7:05 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

JMegonigal integrating more and more online content and events, for one… #editorchat 7:06 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck

a2editor This year I’m doing full-time freelance, Twitter for connecting, and more cold-calling new clients. #editorchat 7:06 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

mguerard I wouldn’t be doing page design if we weren’t shorthanded. #editorchat 7:07 PM Feb 4th

ZimblerMiller Blogging, engaging in social media, promoting my published book, building websites, teaching social media marketing. #editorchat 7:10 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

a2editor I also took on a little page design, managing more people, writing content instead of just editing. #editorchat 7:11 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

dannysanchez @milehighfool Definitely more duties. But newsrooms are also focusing more on core coverage areas. #editorchat 7:12 PM Feb 4th from twhirl

BobSchaller I ended up with the right balance (for me) of books and mag/web freelance. I work less than I ever did in 10 years at newspapers #editorchat 7:12 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

mguerard I don’t know if my newspaper will get on Twitter soon. They are studying the issue, which is a stalling technique, I suspect. #editorchat 7:13 PM Feb 4th

dannysanchez @milehighfool Also, editors and reporters are quickly learning to not just create but also market their content via social media #editorchat 7:13 PM Feb 4th from twhirl

ZimblerMiller Social media also offers opportunities that didn’t exist before. I’m now a co-host on a BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com. #editorchat 7:14 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BobSchaller As long as you love it, that’s what matters. MileHigh, I wonder if that will change when News shutters its windows #editorchat 7:16 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

JMegonigal @milehighfool Social Media can do wonders for your personal brand, but also your company, too. We use it constantly #editorchat 7:17 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck in reply to milehighfool

BobSchaller In the writing tips I posted, I included that everyone who writes should always have a reporter’s notebook nearby. Love those [Eds. note: We do too.] #editorchat 7:18 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

joanna_haugen I’m changing my freelance strategies by focusing more on online magazines and blog postings, not just print. #editorchat 7:18 PM Feb 4th from web

joanna_haugen @dannysanchez I met w an editor who runs 2 sections of the paper&relies 100% on freelance. Does that mean it’s easier 2 pitch?#editorchat 7:20 PM Feb 4th

hotspringer A fishing guide told me yesterday, “If you want to put food in the freezer, ya gotta feed the fish what they’re hungry for.” #editorchat 7:21 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

dannysanchez @LydiaBreakfast Yes, papers in Fla and Calif have particularly suffered. If they weather it, they will have emerged more focused #editorchat 7:22 PM Feb 4th from twhirl

anti9to5guide #editorchat Also book editing doesn’t pay great. But it’s fun. I’ve done a lot of it over the years. 7:24 PM Feb 4th from web

mguerard @milehighfool Yes, we take freelance submissions, and more than in the past. We don’t pay worth squat, tho. #editorchat 7:24 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to milehighfool

BobSchaller More and less: Same mag gig I’ve had for 10 years. But my deal’s probably weird because I’m finishing a PhD at TTU #editorchat 7:25 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

a2editor I’m wondering if after first wave of work being done more in-house, wk goes back to freelancers after mags lay off in-house wkrs #editorchat 7:26 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

JMegonigal I’d think, for a newspaper, it’d be more expensive to pay freelancers than one FT staff writer… ? #editorchat 7:26 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck

RheaB An editor friend is taking freelance stories. Another is assigning stories but wonders if her mag will last another yr. #editorchat 7:27 PM Feb 4th from web

mguerard @JMegonigal No, you have to figure in benefits and everything. It’s cheap to use freelancers. #editorchat 7:27 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to JMegonigal

AmHealthBeauty What do most writers find is a fair rate for articles with little research required? #editorchat 7:31 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

dannysanchez We actually use a few freelance online producers, as well as some freelance videographers and bloggers for specialty sites. #editorchat 7:31 PM Feb 4th from twhirl

CRBJ @milehighfool I think papers should drop book sections. It’s good for writers, doesn’t serve readers. No ads to support pages. #editorchat 7:31 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

LydiaBreakfast @AmHealthBeauty A good writer won’t use the press release info for anything but a launching point for an interview. #editorchat 7:34 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

mguerard @BobSchaller @Crbj is there a national book review site online yet? Not affiliated with a paper? Maybe there should be. #editorchat 7:35 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to BobSchaller

CRBJ You that do freelance get more for online, more for print or about the same? Publishers need to equalize the model. #editorchat 7:36 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

palafo If you can offer good, professional book reviews, I think newspaper readers are also book readers. Good match. #editorchat 7:37 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck

LydiaBreakfast @CRBJ I am a lot pickier about the work I take now. Even in these times. #editorchat 7:39 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BenLaMothe Excellent. I’m the editor of a student magazine I founded and developed. Doing MA in Electronic Publishing in London. #editorchat 7:39 PM Feb 4th from TweetGrid

milehighfool @BenLaMothe Let’s put a recent Q to you the: Would you pay a freelancer less for your electronic mag than if it were print? #editorchat 7:40 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

palafo A freelance piece should be a thorough fresh take that our staff couldn’t do, because we didn’t have idea, expertise or time. #editorchat 7:42 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck

BobSchaller @milehighfool I think you have to pay less if the revenue is at a lower level. #editorchat 7:42 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BenLaMothe @milehighfool I wouldn’t pay them less. Would plan ahead to determine SEO & traffic value, linking opps, SN opps, etc. #editorchat 7:42 PM Feb 4th from TweetGrid in reply to milehighfool

BenLaMothe You’ve got to see an article online beyond it just appearing. Will pay good $ for something I can do a lot with. #editorchat 7:43 PM Feb 4th from TweetGrid

CRBJ @JMegonigal … and the overhead is a LOT less for online too. Cost per inch is ZERO. That’s a big benchmark in newsprint. #editorchat 7:46 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BobSchaller @milehighfool The guy I write TV with broke through with Men’s Health. They pay a ton for those briefs in the front #editorchat 7:45 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

AmHealthBeauty I’ve had a freelance writer work her way to editor #editorchat 7:48 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

palafo @LydiaBreakfast It depends on the desk or section. Features tend to be more open to pitches. We rely mainly on staff with beats. #editorchat 7:49 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck in reply to LydiaBreakfast

mguerard @milehighfool @palafo I was a stringer for NYT, years back. The Atl. bureau guy knew me, sent me stuff. #editorchat 7:49 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to milehighfool

palafo @milehighfool It’s definitely a rare thing [Ed. note: breaking in as a freelancer]. You need to know someone or have an incredibly compelling idea. #editorchat 7:50 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck in reply to milehighfool

BobSchaller @palafo You’d have to have an “incredibly compelling idea” each week, at least, to make a living like that though #editorchat 7:51 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

LydiaBreakfast Well I keep going back to that cost/benefit analysis with freelancers there are no benefits/taxes/etc to pay #editorchat 7:51 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ My first clips (in college) were from cold query letters (ahem, before e-mail). I did work on spec and exceeded expectations. #editorchat 7:51 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

milehighfool Related question: If you’re a freelancer, how did you break in? Did you know someone? #editorchat 7:52 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

palafo @mguerard For last 5-6 yrs, we’ve required clips, references, resume, ethics disclosure. #editorchat 7:52 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck in reply to mguerard

milehighfool And for the editors: Are you naturally nervous about hiring an indie scribe, or do you prefer it? #editorchat 7:53 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ Still, I don’t know how full-time freelancers make it. I never had the gut to take that risk. Extra work, but not sole support. #editorchat 7:53 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BobSchaller @milehighfool I knew some people I had worked with in newspapers who left to become magazine editors. They saved me. #editorchat 7:53 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

LydiaBreakfast @milehighfool Twitter has kicked open a lot of possibilities #editorchat 7:53 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

drizzled @milehighfool I didn’t know anyone. Just randomly answered calls for writers until one stuck. #editorchat 7:53 PM Feb 4th from TwitterFox in reply to milehighfool

palafo @BobSchaller I don’t know how people make a living at it. Early in my career, I tried, quite hard. #editorchat 7:53 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck in reply to BobSchaller

joanna_haugen @milehighfool I broke in w a good ol’ query to the editor; still get work like that, but connections are equally important now #editorchat 7:54 PM Feb 4th from web

CRBJ @BobSchaller But isn’t it easier to make pitches via e-mail or does the mound of queries overload most eds? #editorchat 7:54 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

JMegonigal @milehighfool Nervous, until they’ve proved themselves. #editorchat 7:54 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck in reply to milehighfool

hotspringer I broke in once when another writer referred me to a AAA editor. Another time, a PR agency rep referred me to mag publisher. #editorchat 7:55 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ Here’s the deal, though, I wish half the pitches I got (from freelancers and PR people) were relevant to my audience. Most arent #editorchat 7:56 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

LydiaBreakfast @a2editor indeed it does, I do all kinds of writing but business reporting is my favorite. Food pays best. Travel does not. #editorchat 7:57 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

hotspringer Freelancers dilemma in this market: continue to build niche only or diversify and write whatever sells. #editorchat 7:57 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

milehighfool @BobSchaller I’ve heard this from agents as well. What about mag submission guidelines? Do they matter as much? #editorchat 8:00 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BobSchaller @milehighfool I’ve done all my mag work through friends from newspaper days. But yes, I’d follow guidelines #editorchat 8:01 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

BobSchaller @milehighfool But the well-crafted submission draws attention for the big payday mags (Nat’l G, Esquire) #editorchat 8:01 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

joanna_haugen @bobschaller I hope to write travel eventually but haven’t broken in yet. How did you get into that area? #editorchat 8:01 PM Feb 4th from web

CRBJ Another thing regarding query vs. story. If you give me a good pitch, but I can’t use it, I might try you for something else. #editorchat 8:02 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

QUESTION 4: LydiaBreakfast Next Q – Editors: How do writers create work for you? How do they save you time? #editorchat 8:03 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

palafo These days: not giving me the links and source documents, forcing me to search, creates work. We need that stuff for Web. #editorchat 8:06 PM Feb 4th from TweetDeck

janeco @LydiaBreakfast incomplete research & proofing = work; clean, well-written copy = timesaver #editorchat 8:06 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to LydiaBreakfast

kBstuart Reading #editorchat tonight and learning a lot! 8:07 PM Feb 4th from web [Eds. note: We *love* comments like this.]

mguerard @LydiaBreakfast Failure to think it through thoroughly. Failure to answer fundamental questions. Failure to think like a reader. #editorchat 8:11 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to LydiaBreakfast

LydiaBreakfast @milehighfool The lit journal I edit annually had a submission that was plagiarized heavily – from a univ. prof! #editorchat 8:11 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

milehighfool @LydiaBreakfast And how about vice versa? Writers: How do editors create work for you? #editorchat 8:12 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

LydiaBreakfast @milehighfool A good editor doesn’t create work, even if they ask for a revision, it is all about learning #editorchat 8:14 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ Sometimes I think the writer understands something, and she thinks I understand something else. Follow-up e-mail helps all. #editorchat 8:14 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

mguerard A writer can help an editor tremendously by thinking visually. How might this best be packaged for the reader? #editorchat 8:14 PM Feb 4th from web

anti9to5guide Editors who ask for rewrites that clearly bump up word count beyond the target word count can be tough. #editorchat 8:15 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ @milehighfool Pretty much one strike if its major overhaul. If there’s time, we kick it back to the writer. Not often time. #editorchat 8:16 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

a2editor Had one writing experience where one editor worked w/ me to get it just right, only to have to rewrite it for another editor. #editorchat 8:17 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ @a2editor Oh, yeah, that’s when the writer needs to fire the editor. Some people can’t be pleased (not me, of course). #editorchat 8:18 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ I once did a freelance job editor hated. I started talking to her and discovered she probably couldn’t be satisfied. No kill fee #editorchat 8:21 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

Single_Shot Is it too late to join the party? I’m a Seattle freelancer, columnist, etc. Love the pre-writing idea — saves time for all. #editorchat 8:23 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

Single_Shot @anti9to5guide I’ve had 1-2 editors I’ve thought about sending mini skeletons too … but not the kind you’re talking about. ; ) #editorchat 8:27 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

anti9to5guide @hotspringer Good point. One ed I know called writers who don’t check in “submarines.” They get the assigment & don’t resurface #editorchat 8:29 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

milehighfool Confession: I had a story rewritten in-house. Haven’t been invited back. #editorchat 8:17 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

CRBJ @milehighfool You were outhouse and they rewrote it and didn’t call you back? Did they communicate with you about it? #editorchat 8:18 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

milehighfool @mguerard It was but I learned something: query editors — even the ones I know — before writing. Pre-writing, as @palafo says. #editorchat 8:22 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

mguerard @milehighfool The thing is, their behavior was pretty unprofessional. Were you embarrassed bec. their version was better? #editorchat 8:22 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to milehighfool

milehighfool @mguerard Mostly because I didn’t satisfy a client. A professional failure in that sense. #editorchat 8:23 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

LydiaBreakfast @milehighfool re: professional failure, I think making work for an editor is a failure to provide good cust serv in a sense. #editorchat 8:24 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

QUESTION 5: LydiaBreakfast OK next Q Writers: Would you forego a big paycheck to get a prestige clip? In @nytimes, for example. #editorchat 8:26 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

mguerard @LydiaBreakfast Absolutely. #editorchat 8:27 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to LydiaBreakfast

BenLaMothe @LydiaBreakfast I would forego to get a prestige clip. I did some stuff for Reuters for not much $. Was a student, big opp. #editorchat 8:28 PM Feb 4th from TweetGrid in reply to LydiaBreakfast

drizzled @LydiaBreakfast I would definitely do that. A good byline is worth a nice paycheck any day. Maybe that’s an ego thing. #editorchat 8:29 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to LydiaBreakfast

anti9to5guide @LydiaBreakfast Thanks. Everyone asks if I wrote that guest post for free. I did. The blog didn’t pay. It was the NYT. I had to! #editorchat 8:30 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

drizzled @dockane I see your point. We’re sort of shooting ourselves in the foot by doing spec work. Hard to resist, though, for rookies. #editorchat 8:34 PM Feb 4th from web in reply to dockane

Single_Shot I did a piece for a nat’l mag that didn’t pay well but that i liked. ended up getting tapped to edit an antho on the same topic. #editorchat 8:36 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

Single_Shot So, sometimes there are other kinds of pay-offs for writers. #editorchat 8:37 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

INTRODUCTIONS

dannysanchez Great chat everyone on #editorchat. Danny Sanchez, multimedia producer at OrlandoSentinel.com and blogging at http://journalistopia.com 8:35 PM Feb 4th from twhirl

a2editor Nice to meet everyone. Laura Cowan, freelance editor/writer blogging at http://a2editor.wordpress.com. #editorchat 8:37 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

anti9to5guide Thanks again for this excellent forum. Michelle Goodman, freelance writer, columnist, author: www.anti9to5guide.com #editorchat 8:38 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

merylkevans Intro: Freelance writer and editor for all things content – mostly business. www.meryl.net #editorchat 8:39 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

drizzled Sure thing, thanks @milehighfool. I’m a freelance editor/writer. Bulk of work is at WWD and TAB through GigaOm.com. Thanks all! #editorchat 8:39 PM Feb 4th from web

maris51 You can find my log at http://medicine.reportednow… #editorchat 8:39 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

hotspringer Rebecca McCormick, freelance writer. Exp. in shelter, business, lifestyle, travel. http://www.linkedin.com/in/… #editorchat 8:40 PM Feb 4th from TweetChat

dockane Thx for putting this together! Bummed I missed most of it tho! I run a professional writing firm in Chicago #editorchat connect? @dockane me 8:40 PM Feb 4th from web

joanna_haugen JoAnna Haugen – professional copywriter, freelance writer on a myriad of topics #editorchat 8:43 PM Feb 4th from web

janeco freelance writer/editor, music industry #editorchat 8:50 PM Feb 4th from web

BenLaMothe: Ben LaMothe, recent j-school grad from Mich., pursuing MA in electronic publishing in London. Founder of 2 online student mags. #editorchat