Freelance writers work hard to build up a solid portfolio of clips. It can take months or even years to build strong working relationships with editors. When a new editor or client gives you that first assignment, it’s important to nail it so that the editor is eager to work with you again – hopefully month after month.

I have written regularly for a number of publications – many of them approach me with regular assignments. In fact, my biggest client last year, which accounted for about 50 percent of my income, was a client I’ve never pitched once (other than an initial introduction letter). How did I get to the point where I don’t have to query certain editors?

Here is all you need to know to keep your editors coming back.

Meet Your Deadlines

At one time I found this hard to believe but there are many unreliable writers out there who turn in late assignments or just go M.I.A. on their editors. The good news is this makes it easy for the rest of us to get and stay on an editor’s go-to list of writers. Be that writer who turns in assignments on time. Score extra points if you submit your assignments ahead of deadline.

The last thing an editor wants to do is scramble to replace a writer. So maintaining communication is vital. If you’re going to be late or can’t complete an assignment for any reason, be sure to communicate with your editor.

My editors know that when they give me an assignment it will be in their inbox by the deadline. And I know that by being consistently reliable I am greatly increasing my chances for future assignments.

Don’t Fuss Over Edits

Busy editors don’t want to put up with ego-driven writers who fight them about every small editing request. Whenever one of my editors asks me to make changes to an article, I gladly do it. I have no creative attachments to the articles that I write, so editing is a breeze. Besides, I’ve never had an editor make an unreasonable editing request.

Take my advice: Stay on the editor’s favorite writer list by making editing a no-fuss affair.

Follow Directions

Don’t take creative liberties with article assignments. Most of my articles are for trade magazines and I must follow the specifications given by my editor for the article. Writers who turn in stories off-topic and miss word counts don’t get offered future assignments. Editors like to do minimal edits. If they have to totally rework your story every time, don’t be surprised if they stop calling.

Know Your Reader

Always keep your readers in mind when writing articles. When writing for consumer publications things like age, race, geographical location, and income are all important reader characteristics to keep in mind. If you’re writing for a business audience, what are their business problems and how will your article help them overcome them?

If you can write specifically for the publication’s audience, you’ll be an editor’s dream. A trade editor recently told me that a writer who understands her publication’s target reader is more valuable than a writer with lots of experience.

Keep these tips in mind as you’re building your portfolio and you’ll soon have lots of repeat business from happy editors.

How do you maintain relationships with editors for repeat assignments? What tips would you give a new freelance writer to help them make a long-lasting impression with editors?

About Denene Brox

Denene Brox has been a freelance writer for more than six years. She’s based in Kansas Cityand specializes in career development and health topics. She is also the webmaster of Freelance-Write-Now.com, a site that teaches beginners how to get started in freelance writing. Download her free step-by-step guide, How to Write a Magazine or Online Article, for more tips on writing winning articles.

I’d like to share some thoughts on the immediacy issue today as it might apply to journalism and get some of your own feedback. The example I’m going to give stems from a recent conversation with friend and colleague Judy Gombita of PR Conversations, and specifically deals with the issue of people live-tweeting through events like conferences and whether or not that’s more valuable than a journalist doing a later story on the same event.

The Example

Here’s the backdrop as simply as I can put it. We have Person A who was speaking at a conference. We have Person B who was a conference attendee live-tweeting through it.

Person B isn’t simply live-tweeting a “play by play” to let non-attendees know what’s going on. Instead, they’re opting to tweet their opinion about various points of the presentation, and they later tout that as being somehow legitimate coverage – even perhaps moreso than more detailed after-the-fact coverage.

OK. Here’s my problem with that – if you’re busy tweeting your opinion on the last thing the speaker said, you’re not paying attention to what the speaker is saying now. First of all, I think there’s an obvious level of disrespect in that. Perhaps more importantly though, Person B is likely taking some things out of context by not listening to the full presentation, therefore spreading misinformation to his followers (which spreads like wildfire).

At the end of the presentation, Person A asked if anyone had questions or opinions to share. No shock here, but Person B didn’t bother opening their mouth to share their thoughts in front of the audience present. Why? Who knows? But I find it strange that they’d share so openly with “followers” rather than take up their issues with the speaker and attendees, where they’d more likely have to justify those thoughts.

Long after the event had passed, Person B was still talking about it – this time in relation to a blog post or article coming after the event. They were (in a general sense) touting the immediacy of Twitter as almost a sort of replacement for real journalism based on the fact that they could live-tweet, whereas the more thorough piece came long after, with editorial standards applied.

It’s led not only to a bit of debate in the PR community, but also even calls from some saying that presenters should actually be tailoring their presentations to those who would live-tweet.

Does Immediacy Lead to Reliable Reporting?

In cases such as this, where we’re talking about a conference, I would say no. If you aren’t paying attention to what the speaker has to say, you’re not in a position to be offering commentary to others about what that person is saying.

Judy generally agreed, adding “Self publishing versus vetted / edited material. Big difference. For the most part, I still prefer door number two.”

As do I. When I want “real news” I still prefer turning to journalists (whether that be in print, online, or broadcast), where I know facts had to be checked and material was likely scrutinized by an editor.

Now don’t get me wrong. I obviously have an interest in self publishing and the immediacy of things like blogging. Hell, I make a good part of my living doing just that. But it has its place, and conferences are one example where live-tweeting / live-blogging can do more harm than good.

Where might these things work? I could see a play by play of a sporting event being a better use. Or live-tweeting about local news (such as witnessing a simple car accident to posting about a natural disaster as it’s hitting). But when your attention is more tuned to amusing your followers with your anecdotes or sharing opinions with your own little echo-chamber over being able to defend them to the speaker and attendees of an event, it’s a different game entirely.

What do You Think?

What are some situations where live-tweeting or blogging are the most appropriate publishing mediums, and in what situations do you still prefer news to come from more traditional outlets, passing by the eyes of an editor? And as a writer do you think that immediacy could potentially hurt your own credibility if not handled responsibly? How?