Outdoors Unlimited® Online | The award-winning publication of the Outdoor Writers Association of America

By Peter Schroeder

“Do you want to go fishing … or do you want to catch fish? There’s a big difference you know,” my guide at the fish camp inquired.

Fish aren’t the only things that can get hooked. Writers strive to create strong leads that will lure the reader with an enticing first sentence or two. When it’s done right, the reader feels impelled to read the next sentence (which is what I hope my introduction above does). But what about the end of the article, known as the kicker?

Often, articles simply fade away at the end, trailing off without any sense of conclusion. Other times a story has been told, but the writer continues to pile on words and flog the reader into near exhaustion. Alternatively, lazy writers take the easy way out and conclude with a quote, again a cheap way to wrap up the article.

The kicker deserves as much attention as the lead since it serves up the final comment that should make the story memorable. Think of it this way: while the lead drives the reader into the article, the kicker drives the story into the reader.

Rob Kaiser, the writing coach at the San Antonio News-Express newspaper, encourages writers to create a “rattlesnake kicker,” which he likens to a pair of size 12 cowboy boots powerful enough to kick a rattlesnake (remember, he’s a Texan). Since this final sentence provides the last contact between writer and reader, it should stride across the page with wallop.

Although it means violating the basic “less is more” rule, Kaiser says that sometimes the writer should add an extra word or two to maintain the rhythmic and lyrical flow of the conclusion. Another approach uses the kicker to go full circle, bringing the reader back to the lead.

Like this:

As we returned to the fishing lodge, the boat full of freshly caught salmon, our smiling guide summed up the day: “The best thing is that it’s Tuesday. Somehow, fishin’s more fun when you know that all your friends back home spent the day in the office while you were out on the water.”

Good catch? ◊

Peter Schroeder is a freelance writer and photographer. He specializes in recreational boating, cruising under sail, scuba diving, snow skiing, and worldwide adventure travel. A member since 2005, Schroeder hails from Seattle, Wa. Contact him at ptrschrdr@aol.com.

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Lead … or readers won’t follow!

By Wayne van Zwoll

First impressions can fuel or sink a new relationship. So a lead can define a story. You knew that.

You’re reading this far because I just implied you might find something here you didn’t know. And because the lead sentence has less to do with writing than with living. Like me, you’re probably on the prowl for anything that can make you more money or earn you more recognition or just plain satisfaction. Reading, you also find human-interest angles compelling, largely because you’re human.

Writing will reward you if you remember that human-interest imperative – and lead with it.

These days, you must hook readers fast and deep to keep them reading.

Snag them with tight, short, active sentences. Shun self-serving prose and needless words. Show immediately that you consider the reader as important as the story, and that even a few minutes with your writing will benefit him.

Some leads are truly memorable: “Call me Ishmael.”

No thinking reader will quit after those first words. They involve the reader, they reference the outcast, they imply that the name is less important than the life story; they indicate this man has little use for hyperbole and is, by extension, a man of action. Who wouldn’t want to join him?

In your lead, choose words with particular care. They not only give the reader a thin slice of the story; they show your priorities and abilities as a writer. I’ve little interest in squandering time on mediocre writing. I’ll ditch it at a glance unless it’s a report unavailable from more skilled journeymen.

Say what you must directly and with short words. Say something important, but leave the reader unfulfilled. Say what you’d find of interest if you weren’t trying to make a dollar writing a lead.

Here are some things you don’t want in a lead:

• Adjectives – They soften impact; any you include must darn well earn their keep.
• Weather – To set a mood, use instead human reaction to the weather: “She knotted her shawl against a freight-train wind.” In particular, don’t use “it” to describe weather – it was raining, it was snowing. It then becomes a story not worth starting.
• You – Unless you’re a protagonist and can say something truly compelling about yourself or your role in the tale, bring the reader into the story first.
• Explanations – Good writing spools out understanding with studied care. It lets the reader in on plot and characters as if both are guarded treasures. The lead should tease. If it looks like the body of a college lecture, you’ll get a predictable response from readers.
• The conclusion – Don’t deny the reader the pleasure of his journey. Don’t make the story unnecessary.
• References to pop culture that presume a reader’s interest in them – Putting a character in a dusty Deadwood street or in the Crimean cavalry quickly brings time and place into focus. History matters. Writing as if the historical hinge is a Rolling Stones album or a Star Wars episode suggests to the well-read that the writer is not, and that the story will lack depth.
• Judgments – Tipping your hand as a narrator impairs your credibility and can reveal too much of you and of the story’s direction up front. If you’re a flawed character in the story, of course this caveat may not apply.
• Formula events and language – Some formula leads have made lots of money for journalists. They’re also the mark of lazy writing. Be original. Fresh writing impresses readers who have other choices.
• Profanity – It is almost always a crutch. If it doesn’t offend readers, it will confirm your limited vocabulary and imagination.
• Front-loading quotation marks – An editor brought this to my attention. “I really like your use of dialogue, Wayne. But bumping up font size on the lead page is difficult if it starts with a quote – especially if there’s a photo in the background.” In books, this is rarely an issue, but when writing for magazines, keep the layout artist in mind.
• Though I write leads first, some writers leave them for last, rightly divining that a lead must suit the story in its final form. I find the considerable time I spend crafting a lead sharpens my focus for the story. But I always return to the lead and re-work it with great care with each story draft. It’s that important. ◊

A full-time outdoors journalist, Wayne van Zwoll has published more than 2,000 articles and twice that many photos for more than two dozen magazine titles. Once editor of Kansas Wildlife, he has also edited Mule Deer for the Mule Deer Foundation, and Stoeger’s Shooter’s Bible. Van Zwoll’s Rifles and Cartridges column in RMEF’s Bugle has run for 21 years. He has authored 13 books on hunting, shooting and history and he has won numerous awards for his writing. Now Special Projects Editor for Intermedia Outdoors, van Zwoll is a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club and is a former OWAA board member.

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By Linda Steiner

Editor’s note: Steiner refers to the March OU article, “A honking good time in Rochester.” Information reported by the Rochester CVB was checked for factual accuracy. Sources include the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Great Plains Nature Center.

I’m allowed to be critical. I’ve been an editor of several state organizations’ magazines, newsletters and brochures. I’m also a longtime freelancer of everyday hook-and-bullet and other outdoor recreation topics. I’ve reported on scientific projects for agency publications, where my articles had to be cleared by experts before publication. As such, I know the value of “getting it right” and how critical that is not only for authors, but also for editors.

In the Outdoors Unlimited article, “A Honking Good Time in Rochester,” this statement appears, referring to Canada geese: “This species, once thought to be extinct, now thrives in Rochester after being re-discovered in 1961 as part of the Mayo family’s flock.”

Funny, I didn’t know all Canada geese were almost wiped out and we owe their recovery to people in Minnesota. The giant Canada goose subspecies (Branta canadensis maxima) was almost lost, but not every Canada goose is a B. c. maxima.

When I first read the above in OU (the piece courtesy Rochester CVB), I chuckled. The problem with such errors of details is that published words become facts that could and probably will be referenced by others, leading to false beliefs that can persist. Such mistakes can become problematic for the editor and the organization, agency or business represented. Readers may snicker, but their faith in what they read in the publication and their trust in the worthiness of the publication may erode.

This is something we all have to guard against. As an editor and writer, I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that I need to have a wide and sufficiently deep knowledge of the subjects I’m dealing with to not make, or rarely make, errors. As a freelancer this may be easier; I tend to write about subjects with which I’m already knowledgeable, so I’m not as likely to make gaffs. If I’m out of my depth, I double check my facts and anything questionable that an interviewee says if my life experience sends up a “red flag.”

Editors usually deal with a broad array of topics sent by freelancers or produced by staff. That’s even more reason to become widely informed and to develop an at-your-fingertips store of knowledge that sends a warning signal to do additional research and verify facts. It also helps to have more knowledgeable folks to call on to review articles or answer doubts about what a writer has submitted.

Getting an expert to go over an article is fine if an editor has enough time in the production process to send out the piece for review. Usually the task of catching errors falls on the editor’s shoulders. The rule should be if it sounds wrong, check it out; don’t move it on to the next production step.

I try to be especially careful when it comes to laws and regulations regarding hunting, fishing, boating, etc. I’ve been involved with enforcing conservation laws, so violations jump out at me.

When I was editor for Pennsylvania Wildlife magazine, one of the columnists sent a piece about wild turkeys. The columnist was a wildlife biologist, so he knew his stuff about game birds. In one column, he said he had encountered turkey poults having trouble getting over a wire fence along a road. He got out of his car and caught one. He wrote he was thinking about taking it home to show his wife and kids, but then decided not to and let the turkey go.

That part of the story never made it into the magazine. I knew that what the writer had done was against the law. Can you imagine reader reaction if we had published the columnist’s momentary lack of judgment? And how the publication would have been taken to task for tacitly encouraging readers to capture wildlife illegally?

Some publishers use common copy that appears in all regional or state magazines they produce. Editors of the regional or state editions must be sure that these articles, which may have been originally written for another area, are applicable to their publication. For example, in hunting magazines, a mention of baiting where it isn’t legal or the use of a prohibited hunting arm will be a glaring error to savvy readers or could mislead readers new to the sport.

Safety in outdoor sports is always vital, and it’s up to editors to also not tacitly support unsafe recreation practices. One hiking magazine I read was severely chastised by readers for promoting solo hiking, especially to backcountry destinations, where having an accident with no way to get help is a real possibility. The magazine responded by devoting a whole issue to hiking safety.

Recently, another outing magazine was taken to task for showing photos of whitewater kayakers not wearing helmets. Kudos to the readers who noticed the unsafe boating practice and jeers to the editor for not picking up on it before the pictures made print.

Similarly, a fishing magazine I read showed a fly fisherman in a rough river, with one arm out, as if trying to retain his balance. Anyone who knows anything about wading can see the guy is about to drown. The editor should have avoided unconsciously glorifying pushing the edge of wading safety, even if the photo was dramatic and eye-catching.

Nothing brings bigger reader uproar than a photograph of a firearm muzzle used as a leaning post or appearing to be pointed at a fellow hunter or sporting dog or an other unsafe direction. If editors choosing photos for their publications don’t already know the 10 rules for safe gun handling, they need to learn them and post them beside their computer monitor.

Editors also need to bridge the disconnection between a writer who knows his stuff and an illustrator who doesn’t know anything about the subject. A natural history column in a magazine I receive discussed black flies. Also known as buffalo gnats, they are the biting, nasty bane of the north country. The author got the story straight, but the artist showed horseflies, not black flies.

If I was the writer of the article, I’d have been more than mildly annoyed. The gaff reflects on the writer, even though the writer didn’t assign the artist. As an editor myself, I wondered why the magazine’s editor hadn’t given the artist the proper information to produce the correct insect for the drawing or why he hadn’t sent the artwork back for revision. Then I wondered if the editor knew the difference. If I was a reader who didn’t know what a black fly was, I’d think they look like houseflies. The message I got as a reader who knows what black flies are is that this magazine doesn’t know what it’s talking about. If that is true, what else in the publication is bad information? Maybe I shouldn’t subscribe.

Although I’ve been discussing print media, video media isn’t exempt from blunders. In a TV news show for a major U.S. city, the voiceover report talked about the opening day of trout season, while the video showed file footage of an angler with a largemouth bass. How did that affect the credibility of the station with many trout fishermen in its viewing area?

The bottom line for editors is this: have a working knowledge of topics you’re editing, be aware of safety practices and laws pertaining to the subject, and be sure photos and illustrations correctly represent the writing. Why do this? To be brutally honest, how badly do you want to keep your job? ◊

An OWAA member since 1989, Linda Steiner is a freelance editor, writer, photographer and seminar speaker. Contact Steiner at linstein@galacticis.com.

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By Mary J. Nickum

Does criticism by other writers really help? The short answer is yes, it can. How can criticism by other writers, especially those who don’t write the same kind of articles I do, help me?

First of all, you won’t just be criticized; you’ll get some praise too. While feedback from other writers as focused as you can be frustrating and exhilarating, there’s a flip side. You will have to return the favor. How? Read on.

But aren’t critique groups just for fiction writers or graduate students? No, they are an important part of any writer’s life, no matter the genre. Editors and publishers state that a major reason for rejecting submissions is poor organization and writing skills. This problem can best be overcome by the writer receiving feedback from other experienced writers. Fresh eyes can spot problems you might overlook in your attention to subject matter detail. You, in turn, can look at other writers’ work with fresh eyes and spot deficiencies or find explanations of details expressed that are entirely new and meaningful to you. There is give and take in a critique group.

While practice is the best way to improve your writing skills, you won’t know whether you’re on the right track—what you’re doing right or wrong—unless you get feedback. You have to show your story to others.

At first, while you’re still feeling your way, you’ll probably show your story to friends and family. But friends and family don’t know how a story is created, only whether they like it. “I like it” is not a constructive comment, no matter how well-intentioned the reader. People who know nothing about writing can do little to help you improve your writing. So where can you get constructive feedback? From other writers. And you connect with other writers through writers’ groups and critique groups.

Critique groups can benefit you in more ways than the obvious one of having good and bad aspects pointed out in your stories. As strengths and weaknesses in others’ work are called to your attention and examined in critiques by experienced members, you’ll learn about the elements of good writing and techniques you can apply to your own work. It’s often easier to see mistakes in others’ work than it is to see what’s wrong in your own. You’re too close to your own work to see its flaws. As you learn to recognize weaknesses in others’ work, you’ll be able to distance yourself from your writing to apply new analytical skills, allowing you to recognize and avoid those same weaknesses.

How to Critique:

1. Don’t think you have to cover every point in a story. Look for ones that stand out for you and comment on them.
2. Do try and give feedback on what could be changed to improve the piece.
3. Don’t say: “You should have written it like this.” We all have our own styles and we should respect that. That isn’t to say you can’t offer examples of how you would have written it, but that is all they should be, examples.
4. Do say what you felt about the piece as a reader. As a writer we need to know what readers feel about our work. So say whether it moved you, confused you or made you laugh.
5. Never criticize the author, only give criticism of the work.

How to Receive a Critique:

It is equally important to know how to react to a critique of your work. Submitting your work to others is daunting, but if we are to be published writers then this is something we must do.

1. Do take time to thank the person who has done the critique. Reading and providing feedback on works can take a long time. It is only polite to acknowledge.
2. Do think carefully about the comments that have been made.
3. Don’t immediately fire back defensive messages. You might feel that the reviewer has got it all wrong, but wait before you act. Take time to re-read your work and consider the comments made about it. It is hard to see your work being criticized, but if you want to grow as a writer, you need to learn to take criticism and learn from it where you can.
4. Do post clarifications if you think they are necessary and valid, for instance “The source’s dialogue is deliberately misspelled because that is an indication of how they pronounce the words.” Or “I was intending to hide the sex of the speaker by means of …”
5. Do take the time to critique others’ work, too.

Critiquing isn’t hard. It isn’t an obscure science. It does, however, take time and practice. Remember the critique is only a suggestion. You, the writer, have the final say as to how the work is presented for publication.

Mary Nickum, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., has been an OWAA member since 2000. Her recent children’s chapter book, “Mom’s Story, A Child Learns About MS,” is available from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com as well as her Web site: www.marynickum.com. Contact her at mjnickum@hotmail.com.

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By Tony Dolle

Jim Low’s article, “Need Work? Think Weeklies,” featured in the May Outdoors Unlimited, prompted me to add to what he wrote. Low was correct when he said weeklies are a growing market and a great venue for those looking to syndicate their work.

Yep, that’s right, syndicate – and survive. Well, not just survive, but probably flourish, especially if you find yourself looking for a job or extra income. It isn’t that hard, despite what you may think. You can use not only your writing skills, but also your photography skills, to earn enough income from 10 newspapers to pay the mortgage and buy groceries.

This is especially easy for an outdoor columnist (that would be you) with some time on his or her hands due to job loss or a writer (again, you) who wants to supplement a regular job. Low suggested finding 15 newspapers and writing two pieces for each every week, for $20 per piece. Good advice. Not a bad business model.

However, why not write only two pieces a week and sell the same two pieces to those same 15 weekly newspapers for the same $20 (or more) per article? That’s called syndication. That’s easier and leaves you with a bit more time for other pursuits. Well, in theory anyway.

Two friends (one in the mid-1970s and the other in the 1990s) did exactly this with outdoor columns in Missouri and Tennessee, respectively. Both utilized outdoor columns, re-writes of their state fish and game agency press releases and their own photographs. After creating an outdoor “package,” they drove to nearby towns with weekly and small daily newspapers. They would go to the newspaper’s office and invite the editor to lunch, where the writers pitched their columns. They sold these newspaper packages, localized to each newspaper’s community, for $10 and $40, respectively.

Their philosophies were similar: “I eat lunch, he eats lunch, let’s eat lunch together.” That idea worked more often than not and both ended up with more than 15 newspapers running their outdoor packages. They made pretty good extra incomes and kept it up until the demands of full-time jobs and their families forced them to give up the columns.

“Good weekly newspapers are thriving because they make themselves indispensible to small, local audiences,” Low wrote.

The outdoor packages my friends created helped facilitate that very idea for small papers they worked with. The papers were too small to afford a full-time outdoor writer, even though the papers’ readers enjoyed articles related to the outdoors. The writers helped the newspapers solve a problem.

Making sure their columns pertained to the newspapers’ coverage areas kept the writers in their editors’ good graces. They sent their packages early in the week and wrote of events to come, not past.

They wrote about the readers, not themselves. One of the writers hooked up with two newspaper groups (each with six newspapers per group) and his packages were sent to papers that turned him down when he had stopped by months earlier. The newspaper groups paid for use of his column in all of the groups’ newspapers, even if some papers didn’t print his material. Talk about a good deal!

I’ve met other writers who have done similar types of syndication – most out of necessity. If I found myself out of work or needing to supplement my income, syndicating an outdoor package to weekly and small daily newspapers would be one of my first moves. I might not get rich, but I certainly would have paid work I could use for many endeavors.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Call your state fish and game agency and get on their media lists. Almost all of them send out media packages on a weekly basis. Regular information about hunting and fishing seasons, limits and changes in regulations are always important.
2. Call marinas during the fishing season and create regular reports on where the fish are biting and what they are hitting.
3. Offer to take photos (no charge) for every retail business in your paper’s coverage areas that holds a big buck (deer season) or longest beard (turkey season) or biggest fish (summer months) contest. Use the photos in your weekly packages.
4. Interview the winners and use the interviews as column material or for a how-to article.
5. Once you get a newspaper to buy your package, don’t forget about them. Once a month, send a thank you note. At least once a quarter, stop by and take the editor to lunch. Be sure to put the newspaper editor and staff on your Christmas card list, if possible.

Of course, you can think of many, many more ways to help yourself, but the idea is to make it happen. ◊

A member of OWAA since 1979, Tony Dolle is OWAA’s first vice president. Dolle is also president of Advantage Communications and a freelance writer and photographer. Contact him at tdolle@ducks.org.

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By Tom Watson

Despite all the bells and whistles on my computer, an article status form is the best way for me to keep track of writing assignments.

We all use various sources to develop article proposals. Once I find a potential market I send a query, introducing myself and my proposal. If I am lucky, I get a response – usually via e-mail. While I do file away those e-mails, it is advantageous to include information about each proposed article in a folder I keep on my desk. In each folder, I organize materials (field journal pages, brochures, etc.) I will refer to when writing the proposed article.

The article status form is the first page in each folder. Besides the usual contact information, there are places to record details I will need to know down the road: What is the publication’s response time? When should I get back to them? Did they request anything else, such as clips or article details?

As a way of tracking success, I have a place to mark whether a proposal was accepted or rejected. If rejected, I at least have a dated copy of the proposal to refer to if I decide to resubmit a similar query or contact the publication again. If accepted, even though I will eventually have a contract or authorization via e-mail, I like to record the date of acceptance, fee quoted, word length – all critical information right there on the form for easy access.

I can add comments and log e-mails and phone calls, too. No matter how much you think it through, you will always forget to include a place for noting some important tidbit. For all those afterthoughts, I include a box for comments at the bottom of the page. This is also a good place to list any photo files you intend to consider for the article.

Across the top of the sheet are two large boxes titled “accepted” and “rejected.” It brings me much pleasure to color in the first box with a bright neon yellow marker. I usually take an accepted article status form out of the file and clip it to the outside of the folder, which goes immediately into a pile on my desk of work to do. Once the article is completed and on its way, I mark a big red “X” inside that bright yellow box.

After the article is published, I transfer all the vital information to computer files (if I haven’t already) and discard the form.

In a world of computers and other high-tech aids, a paper form may be a bit archaic. But there’s just a certain satisfaction in seeing that bright yellow box glowing back at me on a regular basis. ◊

Tom Watson is a freelance writer, columnist, book author and active member of OWAA and the Association of Great Lake Outdoor Writers. He writes from Appleton, Minn. E-mail him at wavetamer@hotmail.com.

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By Mary J. Nickum

I’ve written and used book reviews in my profession as a public services librarian for more than 25 years. Many of us use book reviews when deciding to purchase a book for ourselves or someone else. There are various publications that include book reviews, including local newspapers, magazines, and dedicated publications, such as Library Journal and the Kirkus Review. We must recognize the difference between reviews and flyers or catalogs. Flyers and catalogs sent by publishers and distribution houses, such as Book-of-the-Month Club, are not reviews. They are informational snippets designed to sell you the book. They won’t tell you if the plot doesn’t move or the characters are flat.

Many newspapers and other review media buy book reviews. Have you ever thought of writing book reviews for fun and profit? Fun is probable, profit is relative. Those who buy reviews often pay per word, just like the pay for most columns. In fact, you could be the sole contributor to a column for book reviews. The publication will decide the broad subject area of the books to be reviewed. You may get to choose the books or the editor may choose which books will be covered. If you are proposing a book review column, you may wish to begin by proposing a column regarding books about the outdoors. Then, if the outlet says their readers are most interested in hunting and fishing, you can suggest several titles of new books that would fit this column. Be prepared to provide details of your background in education and experience or provide writing samples, showing you are knowledgeable about this field.

When you’ve secured a column in the local Sunday newspaper to review the newest books on hunting and fishing, you need to be able to find the books to review. You might begin your search in bookstores to find publishers’ names. However, don’t wait for books to arrive in the bookstore before deciding which books to review. Most commonly, you’ll review the book based on the advanced reader’s copy (ARC). ARCs are proof copies or pre-publication copies produced by the publisher as a last check before final printing. These can only be obtained from the publisher and may not be sold or distributed by the recipient. To obtain these copies, write directly to the publisher. Choose publishers based on books that you know or have seen in the bookstore. Write to them describing your column, how often your column will be published, the circulation of the paper or magazine and a little of your background. Most publishers will be more than willing to supply you with ARCs free of charge. Most likely, they will add your name to their mailing list for future books in the same field. You’ll have the column and free books to add to your collection as well!

Now, what exactly is a book review and how is it constructed? Book reviews are just that; they tell the reader a little about the author, what the book is about, how useful it will be and who will find it interesting. Book reviews are often short, sometimes 200-300 words. A column devoted to book reviews could be as long as 500-600 words.

A book review should focus on the book’s purpose, content and authority. A critical book review is not a book report or a summary. It is a reaction paper in which strengths and weaknesses of the material are analyzed. It should include a statement of what the author has tried to do, an evaluation of whether you think the author succeeded and evidence to support this evaluation. There is no right way to write a book review, as book reviews reflect the opinions of the reviewer.

My formula for a book review:

1. List specifics of the publication, including title, author, publisher, place of publication, price and other details required by your publication.
2. Identify the author of the book and his/her accomplishments in two or three sentences.
3. Discuss the contents of the book while analyzing its strengths and weaknesses.
4. Provide an overall evaluation and recommendation as to its use and users.

Read some good book reviews if you haven’t been paying attention to them before now. The New York Times book review section is considered the “gold standard.” Many magazines contain a book review or two when the editors become aware of a title that fits the focus of the magazine. Newspapers are harder to pinpoint. Some, especially smaller local papers, carry only reviews of books by local authors. Some carry none at all. Larger city papers usually have a book review section in the Sunday paper. Many of those reviews are syndicated, but the paper may take some local reviews as well.

Book reviewing sounds easy. However, to do a good job you must read the entire book, which can be time consuming. You may need to check some of the facts with a specialist, much like you’d verify facts in any other piece of writing. The more reading you have done in the field for which you plan to review, the better equipped you’ll be to provide meaningful reviews.

Good luck and most of all, have fun!

Mary Nickum, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., has been an OWAA member since 2000. Her recent children’s chapter book, “Mom’s Story, A Child Learns About MS,” is available from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com as well as her Web site: www.marynickum.com. Contact her at mjnickum@hotmail.com.

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By Pat Wray

If you ask a hundred outdoor writers whether they make a living as freelancers, only 10 will answer in the affirmative and eight of them will be lying. The two telling the truth will be case studies in diversification: book authors, slide show presenters, part-time educators. They will be accomplished photographers, travel writers and write occasionally for home and garden sections. They are likely to be involved in radio and/or television. At least one of them is married to someone with lots of money.

With the exception of marrying into money, I have dabbled in every one of the possibilities listed above, but the most satisfying, if not most lucrative, has been my experience as a general interest columnist with the Corvallis Gazette-Times. There are several reasons to recommend the general interest realm.

First, expanded subject material. Although I’ve never lacked for outdoor subjects, as a general interest columnist my choice of subjects is essentially limitless, provided I can establish some local connection.

Second, a whole new audience. It is amazing just how many people never open the sports section but read news and op-ed sections religiously.

Third, being a general interest columnist provides a hedge against the declining outdoor sports section.

It’s not always easy transitioning between outdoors and general interest; there is an unspoken but very real prejudice in many newsrooms against sports writers in general and outdoor writers in particular. Without quite saying so, your newspaper editor may question your ability to deal with what he or she considers the substantive issues of the day. You may have to prove yourself. Even though I had written outdoor stories and columns off and on for the paper more than 20 years, it took me a year and a couple test columns before convincing my editor to give me a chance as a general interest columnist. I’m no Herb Caen, but the column has been well received and I’ve learned several important lessons along the way.

The previously mentioned localization of a story is all-important. No matter how tenuous, you need a local springboard to any discussion of national or international significance. Every large issue makes local waves. You just have to learn to ride them. Local support of Oregon’s death with dignity statute allowed me to propose the opening of clinics to help people (who have had required counseling and support) commit suicide in controlled conditions.

You never know what subject is going to elicit the most vehement feedback. A column about cats generated weeks of letters to the editor. I suppose the response might have been caused by my casual description of cats not as pets but as targets. Luckily, a number of people came to my defense, explaining how my column was tongue-in-cheek. Little did they know.

You can have an impact. I’m no crusader, but I’ve been able to focus attention on aspects of our local community in need of scrutiny, maybe even making a few important things happen around town.

Outdoors activities and the environment have been the focus of my professional life for 30 years; but my interest in the local community has provided new opportunities and increased income, something to consider as you deal with a declining economic situation.

Pat Wray, of Corvallis, Ore., is a freelance writer, photographer, book author and regular contributor to Game & Fish Magazines. Contact him at patwray@comcast.net.

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By Terry Tomalin

Newspapers across the country are cutting staff and reducing newsprint. Some blame the recession. Others point to increased competition from on-line media.

In the last couple of years, veteran outdoors writers who have retired at major newspapers have not been replaced. In some newsrooms, outdoor writers have had their responsibilities reduced or been assigned to other beats. And in a few unfortunate cases, newspapers that have had strong outdoors coverage for decades have eliminated coverage entirely.

Is this the death knell for newspaper outdoors writing?

The situation does look grim. These are difficult times indeed. But things may not be as bad as they appear. Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

For starters, let’s set the playing field.

Rule one: Newspapers have a different readership than specialty magazines. What works for a hunting magazine in Montana may not work for a daily in Delaware.

Rule two: Good journalism is good business. Produce something people want and need and it will sell.

Rule three: As in politics, all news is local.

Now, one may argue the finer points of these basic truths, and please do, for that will provide fodder for future columns. But these are assumptions based on more than two decades of working full time in a competitive, two-newspaper, major metropolitan market.

Like most newspapers, my employer, The St. Petersburg Times lost readers in recent years. The Times has always made good journalism a top priority; in 2008, the paper won Pulitzer Prizes for feature writing and political reporting.

In 1990, when I transferred to sports after eight years in the news department, most of the folks I encountered at my first Florida Outdoors Writers Association conference considered themselves “hook and bullet” writers. I was 29 years old and recently back from a year-long trip of backpacking, fly fishing and surfing through New Zealand and Australia.

I was young and inexperienced, but with all due respect to my tenured colleagues, I knew there was more to the outdoors than hunting and fishing. During my travels, I bungee jumped off a railroad bridge, went inner tubing down underground rivers and went diving with giant grouper fish along the Great Barrier Reef. I brought this eclectic approach to my new beat and was promptly inundated with hate mail. One reader questioned my sexual orientation because I wrote about a new sport called sea kayaking. Another challenged me to a fight in the parking lot because I suggested that tarpon, a non-edible fish, should be caught and released.

But I stuck with it and our outdoors readership slowly began to grow. Over the years, the column inches devoted to outdoors steadily increased, with the occasional news or investigative piece making it to the front page.

Over the past year, as the newspaper has put more emphasis on local news, space has been cut back in many traditional sections, including business and features. But our outdoors section has remained constant.

Why? One reason is there is something there for everybody. Our Sept. 4 issue had a column about a skateboarding controversy at the beach (they ride outdoors, so in my view, the sport is fair game), a feature about great getaways for after school, another two-page feature on adventure racing and our usual reoccurring columns on sailing and fishing.

Our mix may not work for a paper in Oregon or Texas. I could be wrong , but I suspect those states have their own non-traditional outdoors sports waiting to be discovered. A few months ago we ran a story on the Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) craze that is sweeping Florida. These large, buoyant surfboards, which are paddled like a canoe, have been the hottest sellers at local watersport shops. After the story ran, a reader sent a picture of himself fighting a tarpon. Another called and told me that he had rigged his SUP to carry camping gear. Yet another told me I should do a story on another up-and-coming outdoors sport, “land paddling.”

Sure, you moose hunters in Alaska and trout fishermen in Vermont might laugh at my idea of what qualifies as outdoors sports.

But if newspaper outdoors writers are going to survive, they have to stop thinking of themselves as specialists and start considering themselves generalists. It is a big world out there and people are spending more time outdoors than ever before. The challenge for those of us hacking away at the daily grind is to tap into that energy. The only difficulty is seizing the opportunity. ◊

Terry Tomalin has been the Outdoors Editor for the St. Petersburg Times, Florida’s largest newspaper, for 20 years. You can reach him at Tomalin@sptimes.com.

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By Jim Low

If you haven’t noticed that economic times are hard, you can quit reading now. This column is for those who have recently lost jobs or who approach the doors of your offices each morning wondering if your keys will work.

Full-time writing jobs are scarce in both the private and public sectors these days. The Internet has diverted vast sums of money from magazines and daily newspapers. I have watched with sadness as big papers like the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch repeatedly slashed their news staffs. You have seen it in your states, too. This isn’t just a trend we hear about on the national news. Friends are losing their jobs.

Consequently, it struck me as odd when I recently received the Missouri Press Association’s 2009 directory and noted that the section listing weekly newspapers didn’t seem to be any thinner than it was 20 years ago. It made me think of another surprising fact I have noticed. Over the past decade, the weekly Potosi (Mo.) Independent Journal has seemed to grow fatter by the year, until today it has considerably more pages than the state’s largest dailies. The PIJ is so flush with ad revenue that the editor has trouble filling the enormous news hole all that advertising space creates. I know this because he prints every news release I send him.

Wondering whether this is an aberration or evidence of a larger trend, I contacted the director of the Missouri Press Association and asked if I am imagining the relative prosperity of weekly papers. He told me I was dead on, and he sent me a thick packet of survey and study results demonstrating that weekly newspaper subscriptions and advertising revenue are extremely healthy. Running weekly papers still is hard work, and you aren’t likely to get fabulously wealthy in that line of work, but they are consistent profit producers. How many businesses can say that today?

Reader surveys reveal that weeklies have an an incredibly loyal following. Why? Because weekly papers provide something no other medium can: intimate coverage of the people, places and events that touch people in their day-to-day lives. A good weekly can tell you who is competing in the Miss Merry Christmas Pageant, who just opened her own beauty salon, who won the local bass tournament, who went to jail for possessing child porn, who was arrested for DUI last week and whether the basketball team has a shot at going to the regional playoffs. They can show you photos of all those people, too. Weekly papers can tell you about raffles, foreclosure auctions, estate sales, concerts and a host of other events that no other medium takes note of. Good weekly papers are thriving because they make themselves indispensible to small, local audiences.

I don’t tell you this to convince you that the Internet is not the wave of the future. Smart weeklies are getting ahead of the digital curve and putting content online, too. I mention it because those of you looking for jobs or wondering where you would take your skills if you lost your present employment should be looking in your backyards.

Many towns of fewer than 15,000 people have weekly papers. Those papers need local content. Their staffs sometimes consist of two or three people who attend sports events in the evening to take photos and divide their time between selling ads and writing copy during the day. Paying an outside writer $10 or $25 each for quality filler items looks pretty good to overworked editors. Someone who knows how to write news and columns and can supply local content can make decent money a little at a time.

Let’s say you find 15 newspapers near enough to you that you can provide local content. Then assume you sell each one two items a week at $20 each. That’s more than $30,000 a year and a pretty solid foundation for a diversified freelance business.

Make yourself indispensible. Send “your” newspapers local personality profiles they don’t have time to write. Ferret out follow-up news features based on papers’ own basic news stories. For example, if the daily record page reports a residential fire in a lower middle-class neighborhood on Dec. 20, offer the editors a heart-warming feature about how the family coped with the loss of their Christmas gifts, how their neighbors helped them and how the experience reaffirmed their faith in people and their bonds with the community. Increase your chances of a sale by including photos – for an added fee, of course. If you make yourself valuable enough, weeklies eventually will start contacting you to cover events.

This all adds up to work. And to those who have lost jobs, that is not a four-letter word.

Jim Low, of Jefferson City, Mo., is print news services coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation and a former president of OWAA.

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