Play like a pro: be your own editor

Five elements tend to distinguish amateur writers from seasoned veterans, honed chops aside:

• Research – read on your topic before you start writing. Even 15 minutes surfing sites, articles and Wikipedia will give you a huge edge – and perhaps even some strong angles and link-worthy material.
• Source – ideally a post is a conversation, not a monologue, presenting pro and con viewpoints where appropriate (balance strengthens a piece, even one with a strong opinion, by bringing credibility. "I'm not just a whacko banging a drum", it telegraphs. "I've looked at both sides of the equation and back this one. Now you can do the same."). Connect to the larger world via links and quotes. Cite studies and statistics, tracked to their source of origin. Name interviewees and experts, and explain their relevance to the subject at hand.
• Fact-check – question what you read, especially online. If a source seems questionable, double-check it against two others. Don't wing dates, facts, foreign phrases, famous quotes or recaps of news events: be accurate and perhaps even link to authoritative sources, so readers can explore the topic further. Whenever you draw from others' content – whether that's a Flickr photo or a quote from an AP story – honor the creator's hard work with a citation and a link. Not only is this gracious, but it builds accountability, authority and community.
• Redraft – blogging can be a very immediate medium, but it doesn't have to be. Quick posts encourage sloppy reporting and careless writing, neither of which inspire readers. So, when possible, put aside your draft for a few hours or days. Return to it with fresh eyes. Be prepared to take a few swings at the thing. Remember that most professional authors – those not on breaking news deadlines – revise a piece anywhere from 5 to 50 times (or more, like the award-winning Edward Readicker-Henderson, who also teaches for Writers.com). As a blogger, you're paddling in their pool. Stay competitive with thoughtful, well-polished posts.
• Self-edit – Google names. Run spellcheck (Word has a grammar function. Click "options" in the Spellcheck dialogue, then tick "check grammar with spelling" and "show readability statistics". This helps your police overlong sentences and passive verbs). Read the piece aloud. Print it and read it in a new medium away from your usual workspace. Ask friends to look over a draft – or fellow bloggers. You have the start of a support network right here in class ... grow that further by contacting like-minded writers. As Kevin O'Keefe points out on Real Lawyers Have Blogs, a quick message – especially after a link or citation – can lead to fruitful relationships.

Topnotch publications still employ fact-checkers to verify stories (Julian Barnes wittily details the New Yorker's laborious process in Letters from London, an excellent read). These meticulous folks demand every URL, interview transcript, page number and contact detail, so authors keep airtight records – a wise habit for bloggers too.

Should a dispute ever arise over a quote, threatening a libel suit, you'll have ammunition. A handful of my blogger-journalist colleagues have taken out liability insurance, but they cover controversial themes: such tactics aren't common yet. Still, it's worth covering your butt. Hang on to your notebooks, source materials and original versions of any digital recordings (Sherry detailed some great tips for audio-archiving in this recent post. Take advantage of today's cheap e-storage now, on-site and off.)

Even the most conscientious writer – blogger, journalist or book author – misses a few tricks: we're only human. But honor your own work and the reader by running as tight a ship as possible.

Tapping pro-writer tools like media kits

A tub of hummous or a trip to the zoo can spark an entry – anything, really... But sometimes ideas don't spin effortlessly out of the ether and bloggers need to go digging. Look to full-time journalists for cues on how to handle this. After all, most face down writer's block daily to earn their bread...

Companies and groups, like charities and tourism boards, often offer media or press kits. These might contain publicity material, recent articles, leaflets, fact sheets and sometimes royalty-free digital images. Many organizations happily provide information via email – or have extensive websites that include story ideas. Always identify yourself as blogger, then ask to receive updates. Citing your readership statistics will help, along with any other credentials.

Some press releases offer vital tips; others are just hyped-up junk mail. But these can be helpful, when casting a wide net for post ideas. Large companies keep lists of journalists and bloggers, who then receive press releases (and sometimes free samples, like herbal remedies for jet lag or moisturizer designed for convertible drivers). Many now host events for new-media authors from meet-and-greets to press trips (free or heavily subsidized junkets). For example, Bertolli Sauces flew our former student Mardi Michels to the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival 2009 in San Francisco, where she demonstrated her deconstructed-pesto pizza in the company's show-kitchen.

Getting onto press lists can be tedious and time-consuming. You need to track down the publicity office, then ring, write or email, supplying your contact information. Eventually experienced authors land on master lists sold or given to PRs, but the process can be slow at the start. Limit efforts to companies that especially intrigue you.

Harried bloggers and media staffers sometimes draft short items (“filler”) from press releases or media kits alone. That's dangerous, as only one side emerges: the shiny, happy face of officialdom. Louise Purwin Zobel, author of The Travel Writer's Handbook, advocates crossing out all the adjectives in brochure-like texts, then reading the last page for the facts . Don't let these superlatives infiltrate your text. Scan for generics like “beautiful” and “stunning”. Then explain why: stretch for more precise, evocative terminology. “Show, don't tell,” is the maxim to remember.

Apply the same skepticism to brochures, as well as information from company blogs, and in-flight and in-house hotel magazines. Glean the key information, then leave the jargon and hyperbole behind. And double-check all facts: a harried work-for-hire copywriter can easily make mistakes...

Strong reporters avoid unbalanced pieces that echo a corporate party line. At the very least, sleuth down comments (both pro and con, should the topic inspire any controversy). Wherever possible, seek concrete statistics or experts to verify claims of “increasing numbers” or “a hot new trend”. Search the Internet for more candid perspectives: reader-review sites and bulletin boards are especially helpful on this front. Even 15 minutes of research can save a post from becoming a slobbering, sell-out puff piece.