Constructing An Article Faqs - Help And Tips For New Writers
Over recent years and due mostly to the growth of the Internet, article writing has become immensely popular both as a hobby and for marketing purposes. To the more experienced and seasoned authors who regularly submit to article and ezine sites, the answers to the following questions may seem a little obvious, but for the first-timers and novice authors they will hopefully be of help if they’re not quite sure where to start. Please note that the answers given are based on questions that have been put to me, my own knowledge and experience and the way I write. Other authors will have their own preferred ways of doing things that are equally effective and merit further investigation.
How long will it take to write my article?
Quite simply, writing an article will take as long as it takes, but obviously the amount of effort and thought you put into it will ultimately be reflected in the standard of the final version. If you are happy to rattle off a few quick words without really being bothered about quality or accuracy, then it shouldn’t take too long at all. On the other hand, if you care about what readers think of your article, time is irrelevant as long as you get it right. It’s easy to write a few meaningless paragraphs and upload them to an article site; the trick is to get people reading and enjoying your work, and that means taking the time to do it correctly from the outset.
How long should my article be?
Generally, an article can be as long or as short as you wish to make it. Each article site has its own set of rules regarding submissions although most of them do tend to be very similar and place few restrictions on article length. The main point is to make your article both informative and interesting whilst avoiding the urge to ‘pad out’ the content with irrelevant or insignificant details; if your article happens to be short but says everything you want it to say – it’s complete.
What subject should I choose?
You can write about anything you want to; it’s totally up to you. You may want to write about world affairs, travel, personal experiences and hobbies or supply helpful tips and hints on other activities from subjects such as interview techniques to car maintenance or parachuting to rock climbing; the choice is yours. The Internet is a very heavily populated place, so it’s almost guaranteed that whatever your article subject, there will be people who will want to read about it. Write about something you know; something you’re passionate about - your readers are out there waiting.
How should my article be laid out?
There are no hard and fast rules that govern the layout of an article, but it’s generally accepted that for ease of reading, short paragraphs work best. Bear in mind that although most readers do read the whole article, some may only be looking for specific points or information which they will want to locate as quickly as possible. The use of bullet points and sub-headings are widely encouraged as they make finding information a much quicker process than having to scan through the whole body of the text.
What should I do when I’ve finished my article?
The next stage is editing your work and getting your article up to a decent standard for publication, so when you’ve finished writing, put it away somewhere and don’t look at it again for at least a couple of days. This may sound like a strange thing to do but although the writing has stopped your article is still not finished. Attempting to edit your article as soon as you’ve finished writing it will be a complete waste of time. You will only see what you expect to see and so fail to spot the errors – and I can guarantee there will be some errors present. Leaving it for a couple of days or more will enable you come back and read it with a fresh pair of eyes that will make certain things stand out that weren’t obvious to you before; grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors for example. It’s surprising just how easily these mistakes can slip into your work whilst your busy writing. Now is the time to put them right.
What is proofreading?
This is one of the most important but often overlooked processes after the writing has been completed; proofreading your article prior to publication. Once you’ve finished editing your article and are happy with the final draft, it’s ready for proofreading. If possible, try and get a trusted friend or family member to look it over for you; or, if you know a friendly proofreader who’ll do it for you; even better. Proofreading should eliminate any remaining errors that may be present. When this is done, you’re ready to upload your article to the web.
How do I publish and distribute my article online?
The Internet is home to thousands of article and ezine sites, so finding somewhere to submit your work shouldn’t be a problem. If you are writing articles on one particular topic only, then sourcing sites that specialise in niche subjects would be the best place to publish them. In the main though, most sites tend to cater for multiple subjects and a search of the Internet will reveal numerous options; your task then is choosing which one or more of the sites you wish to use.
How will I know if my article is being read?
Most article sites have a page that authors can access to analyse their article stats. These pages are all fairly similar in that they show you details such as how many views your articles have received; some show whether any of your articles have been forwarded to other people to read, and many even tell you how many comments and ratings your articles are getting. These stat pages are an excellent way of keeping tabs on each of your articles’ popularity, or not as the case may be.
What are the advantages of writing articles?
From a business point of view, writing articles is an extremely effective marketing tool and a great way of generating traffic to your website by building backlinks. Writing well-crafted, informative and helpful articles may also lead to readers acknowledging you as a trusted authority on your chosen subject which in turn may lead to increased business. For those who don’t write business-related articles but still like to write, there is the pleasure that comes from seeing your work published online and knowing that it can be read from anywhere in the world at the click of a mouse.
A Final Word.
Whatever reasons you have for writing articles, the most important thing is to enjoy what you’re doing. As with most activities, being in the right frame of mind is essential if you want produce quality work. Article writing shouldn’t feel like a chore, but if on occasions your creative juices temporarily dry up or you’re just not feeling in the mood; stop writing, walk away and go back to it when you are ready; your article will still be waiting for you when you return. Good luck and happy writing.
This article is the property of the author and may only be produced in its original form.
John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted via: http://www.textcorrect.co.uk
Tags: article writing, articles, authors, editing, proofreading, writers
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