Stuart Thomas’ Post

In case you need a guide👇🏾

How do you choose an editor? A student contacted me because her thesis had been declined for examination. She was told it needed a professional edit. The problem was that the student had already paid an editor. So what went wrong? Here's a flowchart that should offer some help in knowing what to look for and what to ask about when you need to select an editor. #editors #professional #ethical

Jargon: "special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand." Don't do jargon. It's one of the first things you learn in journalism training. It's very tempting to show off (in the best sense of that phrase) all your knowledge because, hey, you've been asked to write or comment on your specialist area and you don't want anyone to leave without knowing everything that you know. But there are ways of demonstrating that you have something insightful to say and using jargon isn't one of them. How do you know that all your readers understand what you're writing about as well you do? Sure, everyone knows what that technical term means, don't they? That phrase is part of the lexicon in this area, isn't it? It is possible to write with clarity, purpose and depth while not showing condescension to your audience, and leave readers with something insightful and useful at the same time. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Please get in touch, if you feel --your blog, --your article, --your whitepaper, or --your website - in fact, anything you've been asked to write but don't know where to start could benefit from some tender loving care from a professional writer. I promise it will be jargon-free 😀

#StoryOfAWriter #NewBeginnings #PassionForJournalism From the bustling newsrooms of newspapers to the dynamic worlds of high tech, entertainment, and criminal justice - my journey as a writer has been nothing short of eclectic. Each role, each story has shaped my perspective, honed my skills, and deepened my passion for the craft. Yet, in a world that constantly evolves, change is the only constant. But here's the thing - every ending is a new beginning. Being a lifelong writer, I believe that our experiences, even the challenging ones, shape our stories. I've had the opportunity to connect with inspiring, insightful, impactful people and I appreciate each and every one of you. Today, as I stand at this crossroads, I remain optimistic about the future of journalism and writing. We are living in a time where the appetite for authentic, compelling, and impactful stories is stronger than ever. The medium might change, the platforms might evolve, but the core essence of storytelling remains intact. To my peers, colleagues, and fellow writers: let's continue to uphold the integrity of our profession, embrace the innovations, and pen down stories that resonate and matter. I'm eager and ready for the next chapter. Not sure yet what my next move will be, but stay tuned... Cheers to new beginnings and the unwavering spirit of journalism! 🖋️📰💡

I mentioned in the last vid how I like to read the weekend newspapers. And I’m always impressed by how much quality content they deliver on a consistent basis. Which provides me with more inspiration to create my own content ongoing. If a quality newspaper can print at least 100,000 words each and every day, surely I can generate a fair few of my own?  Admittedly, a national newspaper will have multiple journalists, commentators, and features writers working for it, so the responsibility for creation isn’t resting on just one person. And obviously they have various editors and sub-editors helping out.  But if I ever get to a point where I think I simply don’t have anything more I can say on a particular day, a glance at the newspaper helps redress that way of thinking and encourage me to continue creating content. In the spirit of ‘if they can do it, so can I’. #ideageneration #writingtips #writingtipsandtricks #contentgeneration

Day ③ of posting excerpts from my editing guide: "In some cases, it is enough to merely delete or combine words that do not contribute anything to the sentence. In other cases, it may be necessary to rephrase the entire sentence to arrange its ideas more efficiently. This generally entails grasping what the writer is trying to say and finding a more efficient way of saying it. For example, 1a) With the transition from rule by regional daimyo to a centralized government that took place following the Meiji Restoration (1868), the need for castles declined, and many were demolished. Becomes, 1b) Many castles were demolished after the Meiji Restoration (1868), when the system of regional daimyo was replaced by a single centralized government. By reordering the concepts and combining or removing redundant language, you can make the sentence shorter and cleaner. In doing so, you will often fix a 'buried lede,' a term that comes from journalism. In a news story, the 'lede' is the key interest point—the newsworthy part—and 'burying it' means placing it anywhere but the very beginning, where it should go. In the sentence above, 'many castles were demolished' is the lede. In expository writing, the lede should generally go at the beginning, whether in a single sentence, a paragraph, or an entire text."

🔍 Quality isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the backbone of impactful content. With over 18 years of journalism and a solid legal background, I dive deep to ensure every article and blog post is not just read, but remembered. Precision, depth, and reliability are what I promise. #contentquality #journalist #contentwriter

When I was a full-time journalist, I always won the Byline War. I consistently wrote more stories than anyone else in my section or in the newsroom in general. 🤓 Winning the Byline War didn’t mean I was a better reporter or writer. It just meant I had my name printed on more stories, garnering bragging rights in a silly game. Perhaps I had a larger, more active coverage area or wrote a little bit faster than others. Maybe I generated more story ideas because I’m naturally curious. Perhaps I wrote three mediocre stories for every one great story written by another reporter. I don’t know why I won the Byline War and, honestly, it doesn’t matter anyway. It didn’t mean anything to me, and it shouldn’t have meant anything to fellow reporters. Frequency doesn't matter. In the end, serving our audience well was way more important than ink on paper. It still is today. Don’t compare your writing or writing productivity to someone else’s. There’s always someone doing more and doing it differently, but it doesn’t devalue your work.

PERFECT PRESS RELEASE: 5 TIPS BY TIER-1 WRITER VComms agency cooperates only with top professionals in the industry. One of the leading tier-1 authors shared the main secrets of a perfect text. 1. Use the power of backers, foundations, and partners in the headline The headline is the first and sometimes the only thing people pay attention to. Journalists process thousands of press releases every day. Just like readers are exposed to tons of news in the news line. You need to make sure it's your news that hooks the journalist and the audience. If your company hasn't reached the top yet, the best way is to go to the #media with big names. 2. One page rule – less text Less water! Every year there is more and more information and people have less and less time! Appreciate journalists and your audience – don't load their brains with useless information and write only relevant stuff. The questions below will help structure your #press release. 3. Who/when/what was done, and why is it essential to the world? The 4 main questions to be answered in the text. No more, no less. A press release is dry news information, not an author's blog. Be concise and objective. 4. Don't make the text too "promotional” The news in the press release should be important to the world and everyone in the industry, but NOT TO SELL YOUR PRODUCT. For promotion, use #marketing, not media. 5. Avoid subjective evaluation and epithets like "great", "best", "only" and don't use the pronouns "we", "you" Again, there can't be any cheap promotional phrases like "incredible", "next generation", "unstoppable" in the press release. Believe me, the market has seen EVERYTHING, and you will not surprise it with these empty words. Impress it with facts, technologies, discoveries, high-profile partnerships, etc. Want to get not only the perfect press release, but also get it placed in top media outlets with no hassle? VComms will instantly do it for you! Just sign up for a free consultation: https://VComms.io

A print journalist eats Google's “E-E-A-T Guidelines" for breakfast! I was fortunate to start my career as a print journalist, and even more fortunate to receive training from some of the toughest #editors in the country. Over a decade later, some of the exasperated remarks of my editors at Dawn make me chuckle, but also serve as lessons I hold close to my heart (and I must admit, most likely the reason my content always ranks high on search engines lol!). 1) “Don’t just dump chunks of information.” Process it and make it meaningful. Add context and provide value to the reader.   2) “Nobody needs your verbal diarrhoea.” Spare people your conjecture. Research and form strong arguments. Ensure smooth segues between each sentence and paragraph.     3) “What does it even mean?” Don’t randomly use trending buzzwords and blanket statements. Every word in your article needs to have a purpose and place.   4) “This whole article could have been a paragraph.” Don’t bullshit around in the name of buffering. Write crisp content with no loose threads.  5) “It’s good to be creative, but not with grammar.” Well. No explanation needed :) 6) Any monkey can write; it takes skills and hard work to write well. Barring some forms of creative writing, effort, research and focus trumps over talent and flair.   7) “Are we publishing an article or a collection of ‘not-so-quotable’ quotes?” In interview-based articles, weave the knowledge of your experts with your own understanding and context. Include direct quotes only in case of any unusual statement or stat which you don’t want to come across as your own interpretation. 8) “Let’s leave conjecture to the politicians and bloggers” Not very politically correct now, but 10+ years back, this was how “bloggers” were perceived by most senior journalists :P Would love to know any dry, annoyed remarks (which are actually gems of wisdom) your editors shared. Bring ‘em on! #Journalism #Writing #Printjournalists #SEO #EEAT #SaaSWriting