I work as a consultant, but have a particular specialism which means that I often get asked to write business-related articles for magazines/ websites etc (about 1000-2000 words).
I quite like doing it, and have been told I have a good writing style for this sort of thing, but the problem is that I think I am really rather inefficient in the way I go about it i.e. I seem to spend much longer on a piece than I probably should, given what I'm paid.
e.g. my approach is a bit liek this:
- 1 month before - get given or submit top line summary of article. I think a bit about it - have an immediate response and then jot a few notes.
- next 2-3 weeks - sort of 'mull over' the piece - noticing relevant stuff etc, a few notes made, but no heavy 'research'
- 1 week before deadline. Panic begins to set in. I spend anything from a few hours to a day searching the web for ideas/ talking to contacts/ interviewing etc.
- 2 days before - draw up rough structure/ begin writing.
- 1 day before - somehow it all falls into place, but with a fair degree of stress, coffee and late night working.
Surely there must be a better way? I feel I probably shouldn't be spending more than 1-2 days on these things, but it seems to occupy my brain for up to a month! Help!
So, I was interested to know how other journalists/ writers go about things?