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Editing and re-writing submitted copy

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There will be times when an interview is not possible and your internal communications/staff newsletter contributors will pen something themselves. Here are our tips for dealing with submitted copy:

Brief your contributor before they put pen to paper. They will need to know:

o The target audience for the newsletter (for example, general cross-sector staff readership).

o The topic you want them to write about, including exactly which issues you want covered and whether you want to include examples, quotes, contact points and the like.

o When you want it (the deadline).

o Where to send their contribution (and whether you want it on paper, e-mail or disk).

o How many words you want (probably no more than 250).

o Tell them to look through a couple of back issues of the newsletter to get a feel for house style. This will help them to be consistent.

Once the article is in, you should check the following:

o Basics – does it contain all the necessary information, the five ‘Ws’ and an H? If there’s anything missing, you’ll need to get this from the writer.

o Logic – does it make sense? If there’s any confusion or ambiguity in the article check with the writer and change it. If you don’t understand it, neither will your readers.

o Accuracy – always check facts and numbers because it’s easy to make a typing mistake and often hard to spot it.

o Consistency – check that the article meets your house style and deals with figures, names, job titles and details consistently.

o Spelling and grammar – check for spelling and grammatical errors.

o Length – cut it down if it rambles on. Check with the author if you make significant amendments.

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© Adrian Ruck MCIPR

Copyright © Bowden Ruck Communications 2008