Identify your Sources Early

Blogathon, day 27. Make sure you tune in on Monday, June 30, for a one-day special offer I've never done before! 

Two days ago, I picked up an assignment from a market that's brand-new to me. It's a research-heavy assignment; two related stories that require three experts and three "real people" sources each. The stories aren't due until the end of July, but I'm already working on lining up my sources and ideally want them interviewed by July 10 or so. 

Experts are easy. Swing a dead cat...you know the rest. "Real people," however, are not. It takes time to find "real people," especially when they have to meet specific parameters like for these stories. (One story about newlyweds and sex took me three weeks to find the three "real" people who would agree to speak with me. Lesson: No more writing about newlywed sex again!) And I never want to be in a position where I'm closing in on a deadline yet don't have all of my sources interviewed. It makes me cranky and anxious. 

So I always get my research and interviews done way ahead of time. You should too. 

Your assignment: When you accept an assignment, immediately start identifying and lining up your sources for the story. 

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Five Fast, Easy Ways to Find Experts

I'm often asked about finding sources for articles and books (and it's smart to suggest experts in your query letter). So for today's post, let's take a look at how you identify and find potential sources for your work.

First off, you have to decide who you'll interview for the story. Perhaps your background research has uncovered potential sources in other newspaper, magazine, or medical journal articles. In other cases, you'll start from scratch. There are a number of efficient ways to find qualified experts, and the methods you use may depend on the topic and nature of the expertise you seek.

Look to the Big Book
Today, it's easy to Google for potential sources. But don't forget about an old-fashioned method that works. Check out the monster three-volume Encyclopedia of Associations, which will be found on reserve at your local library and contains more than 20,000 U.S.-based organizations that cover everything from medicine to gardening to hobbies to sports to charity groups.

Use the index to locate the appropriate subject, and read through the descriptions of the organizations listed to find one that meets your needs. (When there are several to choose from, I usually start with the largest or most well-established.) Then call the association (calling usually provides a quicker turn-around than emailing), and ask for the media affairs or public relations department. Explain that you're a freelancer working on a story on fill-in-the-blank and would like his or her help hooking you up with a member of the organization who can help you.

The organization's PR person can suggest appropriate members, and may often offer people you would not have thought of otherwise. If you prefer an expert with certain qualifications, like affiliation with a major university or significant media experience, tell the PR person. He'll be able to provide you with names and contact information of experts who will fit the bill.

The Ivory Tower
Depending on the type of story you're doing, you may consider calling on a college or university as well. Take the same approach that you would with an organization; ask for the public affairs or media relations department and ask for referrals to an appropriate faculty member to interview.

The Expert Among Us
Another easy way to find experts is to look for books on the subject—preferably recent ones. Book authors actually seek out publicity—the more often they're interviewed, the more frequently their books are mentioned. Check Amazon.com and either track down the author through a search engine or call the publisher and ask for the public relations department. Someone there will be happy to hook you up with the author for an interview. (By the way, in these days of POD publishing, where anyone can publish a book, I tend to stick with traditionally-published books.)

Online Options
There are also several online resources you can use to locate experts, including Profnet. One advantage to Profnet is that you can search its extensive database of experts by subject matter specialty or keyword. You can also submit a query that's sent to PR agencies, universities, hospitals, associations, and experts, and choose how you'd like to receive responses—i.e., via phone or email.

Another popular resource for freelancers is HARO ("Help a Reporter Out"), which lets you submit a query that's sent to more than 100,000 potential sources. Again, you can choose how you'd like to be contacted.

There you are--five easy ways to find experts for stories. If you're new to freelancing, you'll find hundreds of more resources for subject-specific experts in Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money, second edition (Kindle edition).

Five Techniques to Better Interviews

If you freelance for magazines or write books, interviewing experts and "real people" sources is part of your job. The more you get from your sources, the more material you have to work with--and the more compelling your writing will be.

Here are five simple ways to get more from your interviews, whether you're interviewing an expert in her field or someone who's had personal experience with the subject:

1. Do your homework! In other words, prepare in advance. I was just interviewed by a college student about freelancing. Many of the answers to questions he asked me ("How long have you been freelancing?" "What kinds of work do you do?") could be found on my website. Do some background research before you do your interview--and let the person know you did so by saying something like, "So, you've been conducting research on the glycemic index for years. What led to that interest?" or "In your new book, you talk about the relationship between body image and happiness. Tell me more about that." When your sources knows you've prepared for the interview, you'll get better quotes, guaranteed.

2. Ask if it's a good time for the person to speak. The first question out of your mouth should be, "Is this still a good time for you talk?" About one-quarter of the time, my source asks me to call back in ten minutes, or a half-hour. That's fine with me--I want the person's undivided attention, after all. And this shows respect for the person you're interviewing.

3. Give your source a heads-up about what you'll ask ahead of time. I want the best quotes possible, so when we schedule the interview I give the source a general idea of what I plan to ask, and who the audience for the piece is. A prepared source=good interview. That's why I typically don't contact someone and do the interview right then--I know I'll get better quotes if I give her a chance to think about the subject beforehand.

4. Listen. Sure, I have questions I need answered, but I listen to what my source is saying so I can ask additional questions, or let the interview go in a different direction. Early in my career, I was so focused on getting what I needed I would just run down a list of questions without really listening to the subtext of what was being said. I've since learned that a good interview is a conversation between two people, not just canned questions and answers.

5. Say thank you. Better yet, send an actual thank-you note. This person is giving you her time--so show your appreciation. I send a personal thank-you to do so--and let me tell you, people remember me as a result. I also let sources know when they're quoted in print. That has let me develop a Rolodex of hundreds of expert sources in a variety of areas--and if I'm stuck and need a "quick-and-dirty" interview for a rush assignment, they come through for me.

Use these five strategies and you'll get more from your interviews--and develop your own stable of expert sources as well, which saves you time researching other stories.

Are you a new freelancer who wants to know more about researching articles? Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money includes a chapter on research (including interviewing) as well as a how-to chapter that walks you through the process of writing an article for publication from scratch--and ten chapters about the ten hottest nonfiction specialties and how to write about them.

Coming soon: posts on goal-setting, the best markets for new writers to pitch, and making clients love you.

Five Good Reasons--to Write for Regionals

I've posted before about how I focus not on dollars/word when accepting work, but rather dollars/hour. The latter is a better indicator of what the assignment is worth to me. Keeping the dollars/hour figure in mind makes some markets that other writers might ignore lucrative options for me--like regional magazines.

Why write for regionals when their national counterparts pay more per-word? Here are five good reasons:

1. Less competition. Editors at the major national magazines receive hundreds of queries a week. When you pitch regionals, you're competing against a smaller pool of freelancers, which automatically ups your chances of getting noticed--and getting assignments.

2. Fewer editing hassles. I've written for more than 60 national magazines, and the more editors a publication has on staff, the more editing you can expect. Your assigning editor may love the piece, but then her boss requests some changes...then her boss requests changes...then the editor-in-chief decides she wants to go in a different direction. Smaller magazines=smaller staffs=fewer rewrites, in my experience. And that helps keep my dollars/word rate high.

3. Less research time. Finding experts for a story is no problem-- you can turn to draw on sources like Help a Reporter Out, book authors, universities, and associations. But what about the dreaded "real people," or anecdotal sources--you know, the real-life examples often included in articles? Finding a breast cancer survivor in her 20s or a mom of three children who's slashed her grocery bill by 50% or someone who's started his own online business and makes a six-figure living is by far the most time-consuming part of researching stories, especially when you need to have a "geographic spread" (meaning your sources can't all come from the same area). I've found that locating those dreaded "real people" is much easier when I'm doing it on a more local level--after all, between friends, neighbors, fellow parents, workout buddies, etc, I feel like I'm connected to just about everyone in the Chicago area.

4. Higher chance of steady work. You're competing against a smaller number of freelancers--that's one thing. But those freelancers are more likely to be newer to the field or inexperienced, and if you do good work for your editors (and I know you will, if you take the advice in my blog!), you'll find it's relatively easy to develop a relationship with them, possibly even become a regular contributor. Steady work=less time spent pitching=higher dollars/hour rate.

5. Higher local profile. Even with Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and other social media, there's something to be said for being known in your own locale. Having your name in regional publications can create higher visibility on a local level. I've had more comments from friends and acquaintances from my articles in Chicago Parent, for example, than from anything I've written for national mags. And the more people who know (and remember) what I do, the better.

Readers, what about you? Do you write for regionals, and if so, why? And if you don't, has my post encouraged you to try it?