For the Content Hungry: The Eat Media Blog

Freelance writers, ya gotta love ‘em. Sure, they can be a prickly and fickle bunch, but spend enough time prospecting and you will uncover the geniuses among them. Treat these gems right and they will take you far.

If you’ve ever worked as an editor, you’ve had to learn a lot about the care and feeding of this unique subset of humanity. Here are the top 10 tips for managing a stable of off-site freelance writers:

1. Write the most comprehensive creative brief you possibly can. Initially, some freelance writers are like Harry Potter’s house elf, Kreacher—they require extremely precise instructions if you want the desired result. Leave even the tiniest gap in the creative brief and the story you had in mind may not be the story you are returned.
2. In addition to the creative brief, provide as much background as possible about the publication the piece will appear in and who makes up the target audience. A story on fusion technology that’s written for engineers will look a lot different than one written for a general audience. The background is also a good place to tell the writer what NOT to do. Again, this will save a lot of time for both of you.
3. Specify the length, the tone, the takeaway and the format for the story. If you want 1,500-word case study written for MBAs that concludes with a list of five process implementation tips, ask for it.
4. Be clear, up front, about the expectations on revisions. If you have a kill-fee policy, be up front with it: writers need to know going in that if they fail to revise a piece to a reasonable point after two revisions, they will get the kill fee only (and probably won’t ever see another assignment from you). Though if you reach the kill fee phase, some of the blame lies with you, editor, for failure to vet the writer properly or for failing to adequately communicate what you desired in the story.
5. Tell the writer what they will be paid, how they will be paid and when they will be paid. Honor your financial commitment to the writer in a timely fashion.
6. If a piece needs major alterations, let the writer do them. Give as much direction as is necessary and let the writer do the work. The piece belongs to them. (At least until it’s published, depending on your contractual agreement.)
7. Remember that your writers will be working on other projects at the same time as yours, so you may not be able to get instant turn-around on revisions.
8. Be specific about the supporting materials you expect to be turned in with the piece. If you want source contact information, brief source biographies and source headshots, along with five links to related material and a 50-word call to action, ask for them. And if you want something in a specific format, ask. But be reasonable and respectful: If you think you need to ask for a full interview transcript, why did you hire the writer?
9. Be available for questions. No matter how good your assignment is, questions may come up—some may improve the story in a way you’d never considered. Writers must be able to reach you by phone, email or IM during normal business hours. The work you save may be your own.
10. Be clear about the deadline, but also be flexible with your writers, especially the ones you have an established relationship with. There should be enough room in your editorial calendar to wait a few more days for information from a key source. If there isn’t, build it in for the next round.

A final, bonus tip: Writers are people too. Treat them like adults (as long as they continue to act like them). Keep the lines of communication open, honest and timely.

— Jonathan

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