As the 2019 disaster season approaches, now is the time (if you haven’t already) to start thinking about your response and recovery planning and documentation process. Balancing the needs of emergency management operations and the technical writing needed to prepare these plans is a key part of the process.

Bringing balance
After a disaster, perfect grammar is not on the top of most people’s minds. An emergency manager (OEM), is not going to be worried about the creative flow of a post-disaster recovery document. The manager just wants it done and approved by the chain of command, local community, and/or other stakeholders so it can be implemented efficiently and effectively. There needs to be a balance between the urgency of emergency management operations (recovery, response, etc.) and the deliberative nature of technical writing. 

Pre-disaster communication
The technical writer (often someone that doesn’t hold that official title, but has been “volun-told” to handle that part of the mission) is – and always should be – focused on ensuring the information is laid out in the most clear and understandable way possible. The OEM and designated technical writer should be in constant communication about how best to shape any disaster recovery planning documents. Whether it’s a mitigation plan, response checklist, or community recovery plan, reviewing the documents together and tweaking them – with an eye towards future disaster possibilities – will help improve your overall document production and implementation activities.

Templates
There are many templates available online that will help you prepare your documents beforehand so you’re not scrambling during or after a disaster. FEMA, state/county/local OEMs, nonprofits, and disaster management consulting firms all offer various document templates that you can use to get your planning process started.

Training
For the technical writer that isn’t “classically” trained (English or technical communications degree), there are online courses that can help with preparing complex documents that cover technical topics but must be easy to read by a layman. The OEM’s confidence will be increased with a highly trained technical writer on staff.

Document review
When is the best time to review your emergency operations/disaster recovery plans? Before the next disaster happens! Make sure you have all the foreseeable steps covered in the disaster spectrum. From resiliency and mitigation, to response and recovery, you should have plans available to use to meet the needs of your community.

Bottom line: A clear and concise recovery (or any type of emergency management support) document will go a long way to securing government or private funding, support from stakeholders, or just a better understanding of the community you are serving

Yes.

And no.

Do you write emails at work? Do you write notes to your spouse to pick up milk and eggs on their way home? Do you sneak in nerdy opinions in a professional article about how "The Last Jedi" ruined the Star Wars franchise?

If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, you're a writer.

If you answered 'no,' you're still a writer. Let me explain.

Writing is simply a form of communications. It can be simple or complicated. It can be a best-selling novel by Stephen King or a note to tell your kids you love them. It can be creative or technical. Long or short. It doesn't matter what type of product it is, it's communication. It's writing.

Sometimes writing scares the hell out of people because they assume they can't do it like a professional. Relax. There are professionals out there who struggle with writing (actually all of us do), but the difference is we're willing to practice, improve, learn, and fail at our craft.

Practice
Write every day. A quick paragraph about what you plan to do today. A follow-up email to a colleague. Describe the sunset. Just write.

Improve
As you continue to practice, you'll notice you're getting better. Words are coming a bit easier. Sentences are forming a bit smoother. Writing will always be work, but you can always improve.

Learn
How do you learn? Reading? Watching? Hands-on? Do all of those. Writing is communications with other humans, right? Well, if you want to communicate, understanding broad topics will help increase your knowledge which makes writing easier. The more you know, the better you will communicate.

Fail
This will come naturally with writing. Don't be disheartened though. Writing something that someone hates is a great teacher. Sure, writing styles are subjective, but getting feedback that isn't always positive can strengthen your writing muscles and stretch your abilities.

So, if you want to be a writer (or just get more comfortable with it) do those four things (practice, improve, learn, and fail) and in no time you'll be able to easily slip snide remarks into your articles questioning why Snoke was killed off without telling his backstory!

Good luck and keep writing!

​As the 2018 hurricane season approaches, now is the time (if you haven’t already) to start thinking about your response and recovery planning documents and process. Balancing the needs of emergency management operations and the technical writing needed to prepare these plans is a key part of the process.

Bringing balance
You probably didn’t even know there needs to be a balance between the two did you? Just like the light side and dark side in Star Wars (I’ll let you decide which is which), there needs to be a balance between the urgency of emergency management operations (recovery, response, etc.) and the deliberative nature of technical writing. 

After a disaster, perfect grammar is not on the top of most people’s minds. An emergency manager (OEM), is not going to be worried about the creative flow of a post-disaster recovery document. The manager just wants it done and approved by the chain of command, local community, and/or other stakeholders  so it can be implemented efficiently and effectively. 

However, the technical writer (often someone that doesn’t hold that official title, but has been “volun-told” to handle that part of the mission) is - and always should be - focused on ensuring the information is laid out in the most clear and understandable way possible. 

Here are some ways to bring these two “forces” together:

Pre-disaster communication
The OEM and designated technical writer should be in constant communication about how best to shape any pre- and post-disaster documents. Whether it’s a mitigation plan, response checklist, or community recovery plan, reviewing the documents together and tweaking them - with an eye towards future disaster possibilities - will help improve your overall document production and implementation activities.

Templates
There are many templates available online that will help you prepare your documents beforehand so you’re not scrambling during or after a disaster. FEMA, state/county/local OEMs, nonprofits, and disaster management consulting firms all offer various document templates that you can use to get your planning process started.

Training
For the technical writer that isn’t classically trained, there are online courses that can help with preparing complex documents that cover technical topics but must be easy to read by a layman. The OEM’s confidence will be increased with a highly trained technical writer on staff.

Document review
When is the best time to review your emergency operations/disaster recovery plans? Before the next disaster happens! Make sure you have all the foreseeable steps covered in the disaster spectrum. From resiliency and mitigation, to response and recovery, you should have plans available to use to meet the needs of your community.

These are some simple activities that will bring the OEM and technical writer together and get them working on the same page. There are plenty of things that need to be done to ensure disaster survivors are served. A clear and concise recovery (or any type of emergency management support) document will go a long way to securing government or private funding, support from stakeholders, or just a better understanding of the community you are serving

Well, it's been a while since I've update the site and the blog. Sorry about that. 

Things have changed for me over the last few weeks. I'm no longer with Pathfinders Advertising (which is what took me away from staying on top of the site) and I'm back in the freelancing world!

So bring me your tired communications plans, your poor white papers, and your huddled press releases and let's make your writing great again!

Stay tuned!

Yeah, yeah. I know. There are thousands of articles about “How to be…” this, or “What you need to be…” that. Well, here’s another one…

To be good at anything, you should have good senses. Not just the olfactory ones, but professional “senses” that serve you well while doing your day-to-day job. It’s no different for writers, editors, and proofreaders. They have to have a storyteller’s sense of flow, an artist’s sense of imagery, a musician’s sense of timing and rhythm, and a drill sergeant’s sense of demanding perfection at every waking moment of the day! Whew. Sorry about that. 

Anyway, writer, editors and proofreaders (I’m not going to type that out all the time, so I’ll tap into my government experience and make an acronym out of it: WEP; meh, good enough) are no different than any other profession (ha! Yeah right!). They need to have their “senses” in order. Here are some additional senses that WEPs should have. And if you want to be one, you should be well-versed in these also. 

Sense of Urgency
Every WEP needs to have a sense of urgency when they are doing their work. If you’re commissioned to write something, there’s no need in dawdling – get to it! Do your research, outline, and first draft and have something to show for your time. Impress yourself with your writing speed. Impress yourself with your ability to find mistakes in a draft. Impress yourself by arguing over the use (or not) of an Oxford comma. But don’t mess around. Start writing (or editing, or proofreading)!

Sense of Pride
Every project a WEP contributes to is a work of art. Not everyone will appreciate it. It won’t wind up in the top literary journals or be lauded by your local book club. But, it’s important that you have a sense of pride in your work. Even if your boss rips up your first draft and tells you to start over (or try a different profession), know that you created something out of nothing. Take pride in the…

Sense of Process
That’s right. Process. I’ve written about process before. I actually love the process. As I’ve grown older, it’s not just the written word that excites me, but the process to get there. Thinking. Outlining. Drafting. Revising. Yelling. Screaming. Crying. Punching. Sulking. Yelling more. Talking to myself. Revising. Submitting. 

Beautiful, huh?

Sense of Self
WEPing will give you a great sense of self (if you don’t already have one). It will have you soaring above the clouds and thinking you’re the best WEP in world (nay, universe!) or have you rocking back and forth in the corner wondering if you have any value to society at all. But isn’t that cool? You really learn all there is about yourself when you’re creating something. It may not be your mission in life, but give it a shot. Write something. Edit something. Proofread something. You’ll learn something new and leave the endeavor with a good sense of self. 

Now get out there and WEP!

I’m going to switch things up a little from my previous blog posts (The Freelance Life, parts 1 & 2) and – throughout the rest of the year – share some tips on how to write different types of documents. I hope it will help! 

As most of you are aware, getting good press for your event, product launch, or general good news can be tough. Readers are inundated with news (both good and bad), social media is the go-to source for many people, and news organizations are sometimes overwhelmed. 

Even though social media has become the standard for receiving (as well as generating) news, it’s still important to know how to write a good ‘ol fashioned press release for traditional media outlets. 

What is a Press Release?

A press release is an announcement to the media about an event. The event could be anything: a grand opening of a store, a new product launch, a human interest story, etc. Most organizations, whether large or small, use press releases to share news with the media. Hopefully, the release will culminate in a positive story in the targeted media. 

Format

I’ve written dozens of press releases throughout my career: in politics, the private sector, and in government. Though I’m not a classically trained journalist, I’ve learned what generally works when writing a release and how best to get press (which is not guaranteed, more on that below). 

Journalists are taught many things about structuring a story. Two of them will serve you well while drafting your own release:  

1.    Always include Who, What, Where, How, Why, and When elements

2.    Write in the Inverted Pyramid style

If journalists are comfortable using these elements when they write a story, wouldn’t it be prudent to use these same elements in your release? 

The first element is pretty self-explanatory. In your release you should include the basic facts about your event. Who is it for? What is it about? Where is it being held (or where did it happen)? How is it going to work? Why is it important? When did it happen (or when will it happen)? Including the basic facts of the event will show the media that you are thorough in your approach and you understand that they need as much information as possible. 

You want to spark interest in your story, so if you forget to include the “Why” for example, the journalist is going to file your release in the circular bin (ouch). 

The second element is one you’ll find in most media stories (on- and offline). The Inverted Pyramid simply means that the main facts are in the first sections of the article – generally in the first two paragraphs. That way, if the reader decides to just skim the article then move on, they’ll get the gist of the entire piece. It also serves as a “hook” to entice the reader to continue reading. 

Quotes

Once you’ve written your release with those two elements, it’s important to include at least one quote from a stakeholder that “teases” the event. Only include a quote that you are comfortable with seeing in the targeted media. Remember, some media outlets will take your entire release and post/print it (usually smaller papers/websites). If you don’t want to read something in the paper or web, DON’T WRITE IT.

Quick Tips

•    Just sending a release to your targeted media outlet won’t guarantee coverage of your event. You have a build a relationship with the media contact and follow up after you’ve sent it. 

•    Make sure to include your full contact information at the top of the release. 

•    Include a catchy and informative headline 

•    Keep the release to no more than 2 pages

•    At the end of the release use a “#” symbol to indicate the end of the useable content. 

•    Include a statement about your organization after the “#” symbol so the media can learn more about your mission. 

I hope these tips will be helpful as you draft your press release. If you’re still unsure, drop me a line in the comment section or visit my website – cjobudho.weebly.com – for a free consultation about all of your writing and editing needs. 

Happy writing!

In the last post I wrote about my life as a start-up freelance writer/editor. I wanted to continue that theme in this post because I think it’s important for people to understand a bit more about how simple it is to start a freelance company and how hard it is to keep it going. 

The “Easy” Part

Starting a freelance company is super easy. All you have to do is decide to start a freelance business. It was really easy for me because I’ve always wanted to work for myself. So, one day I said: “Self, we’re going into business.” 

Done. Easy, right? 

Ok, now onto…

The Hard Part

Everything else. That’s right. Every other part of running a freelance business is hard. Here are just a few things that you have to do (not in any particular order):

•    Register your business with the government (depending on your area)
•    Set up a finance plan/spreadsheet
•    Monitor your competition
•    Network your ass off
•    Develop marketing materials
•    Keep your IT systems up-to-date
•    Always be ready to answer the phone
•    Create and update your website
•    Be organized
•    Develop an elevator speech
•    Understand your industry
•    Stay current on latest trends
•    Understand and use social media
•    Master your craft
•    Buy supplies
•    Keep track of your time
•    Keep track of your mileage (for tax purposes)
•    Understand tax laws (local, state, and federal)
•    Open a business bank account

Whew! By the way, this is BEFORE you have a client!  

What Makes the Hard Part Easy?

Moving out to the Midwest (Indiana in particular) has been an eye-opening experience. The people here have made the transition from the northeast (New Jersey) almost as smooth as glass. I still miss a good slice of foldable New York-style pizza, Wawa, and the loving attitude of my fellow Garden State commuters, but Indiana has embraced us and given me a great opportunity to succeed as a freelance writer/editor. 

They make marketing so much easier because they are open to meeting new people. They make learning so much easier due to the many networking and educational opportunities available. They make writing so much easier because of the unique need of governments, nonprofits, and political groups (my niche). 

I’m really excited about the journey I’m on. I don’t know if I’ll ever officially call myself a “Hoosier” any time soon, but the freelance life in Indiana is pretty damn cool. 

Thoughts? Let me know what you think about freelancing, the Midwest, or writing/editing in general. 

Happy writing!

​The Freelance Life

I’ve always wanted to work for myself. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have horror stories about working for a crazy, mean, or disrespectful boss. The vast majority of people I’ve worked for have been good managers. They’ve understood how my brain works and allowed me the freedom to accomplish my tasks without interference. 

Working for myself has just been a dream of mine. I’m independent. I like to formulate ideas on my own. I like spending time working through a problem, coming up with a solution, and presenting it. Writing is great for that. Being assigned a task (an article, press release, or report), doing the research, thinking about how best to structure it (outlining), then creating something out of nothing really gets the juices flowing. 

Well, working as a freelancer is hard. There are thousands of articles out there about the “freelance life” and what you can do to succeed. I’ve read plenty of them. Some have been helpful, others have been, well, blah. It’s always the same old stuff: “Make thousands as a freelancer with no experience!” “Quit your day job and be a freelancer!”

If you read between the lines - really “listen” to what they are saying - you’ll find that it’s not as simple as just telling your friends and colleagues you’re a freelancer and all of the work you can handle will fall into your lap. 

Here’s my story. 

My fiancée, Jennifer, and I moved out to Mishawaka, Indiana in December 2015. She’s a sales manager for a couple of senior care communities. This was my chance to fulfill my dream. Of course, I’ve applied for writing/editing jobs here locally, but my main goal was (and is) to be a freelance content writer and editor. When we arrived, I hit the ground running. I started researching local writing groups, marketing associations, advertising agencies, business assistance groups (like the small business development center), and anyone I thought could help me get started. 

Things started going well. I was setting up meetings with local professionals. I was learning the lay of the land. I felt confident. 

Then things started dragging out. Oh, I was still going to meetings. And more meetings. And still more meetings. No one was buying. I was looking online for freelance gigs. I talked to my SBDC business advisor. I worked on government certifications. I did just about everything short of getting on my knees and begging. 

Happy ending? Not yet. I’m still working. I’m still talking to people and meeting people and trying to sell. It’s tough. The freelance life articles never mentioned that gut crunching stress of not working for weeks at a time. Don’t forget, most of the people writing those articles have successful established businesses set up. It’s easy to write about success when you have it. When you’re still working your tail off trying to get something going, it’s hard. Really hard. 

So, I’ll keep you up to speed on how things are going. I’ll try to be as positive as possible, but again, it’s hard. I know, I know: keep at it. Good things come to those who wait. Never give up, never give in. I won’t. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve found my calling. I’m a freelance content writer and editor. Nothing will stop me. If I have to get a job, I will. I owe it to Jennifer to do whatever I need to do to succeed. I owe it to myself. But, I will keep at it. 

This is one of my more rambling articles, but I hope you get the point. Sometimes it’s good to just write and let people read it without the polish. Well, here it is. 

Oh. Thanks to all of you who have read my writing and liked/commented on my Twitter and LinkedIn posts. It’s really great for a writer to know people like what’s written. Please keep reading and send me some leads!

Happy writing!

Update: I landed a small gig with a local advertising agency as I was working on this post. Hopefully that’s the beginning of the flood gates opening! Wish me luck!

​Don't be afraid! Writing can be intimidating for anyone that doesn’t do it everyday. But wait. Who DOESN’T write something every day? You write emails, texts, notes, reports...something. Every. Single. Day.

Well, since you write some sort of content every day, why is it still intimidating? The process. You may not have a defined writing process, but if you did, it would help you conquer the fear of writing.

If you’ve worried so much about the idea of writing that it’s become a scary proposition, relax. Here are 10 simple ways to improve your writing process and take the fear out of writing.

1. Think About Your Audience
Most writers forget about this. Don’t. You should always think about the end-user of your content. Are you writing for your co-workers? Your boss? Your church group? Your son’s little league team? Don’t start writing a word until you’ve spent at least a few minutes thinking about your audience. Not all writing is appropriate for all audiences. Check your tone, style, and any colloquialisms to make sure your content fits.

2. Research, Read, and Remember
Now that you’ve thought about your audience and their needs, research the topic that you’re going to write about. The best way to research is to read. Duh, right? Read as much as you can about your topic because that effort will serve you well when you’re actually writing. What makes writing easy? Knowing your topic well. Mark Twain said it best: “Write what you know.” The better you know your topic, the better your writing.

3. Think Again
Here we go again. More thinking! Now that you have some topic research in your head, it’s time to think about how you want to write your content. One-page briefing? A three-panel flyer? A long-form research-style document? Think about the best way to present your information.

4. Outline, then Line it Out
Ok. Enough thinking, researching, and reading. It’s time to outline your content. Quick rule of thumb: the document should have an opening, a middle (or body), and a closing. There you go. Simple, right? If it’s a press release, for example, the opening will have the Who, What, Where, How, Why, and When in the opening paragraph. The body will have a quote and a little meat about your news. The closing will wrap things up with another quote and a quick blurb about your organization. Once your outline is done, review it with a critical eye and slash any topics/points that don’t add to your message.

5. Mental Vomit
Outline complete. Whew! Let’s start writing! If it’s a long document (white paper, case study, report, etc.), just start writing like your life depends on it. It’s called “vomiting on the page” (gross, I know). All of the thinking, researching, reading, outlining, and more thinking will now come into play. Don’t worry that your first draft isn’t Shakespeare. It never is. No writer is satisfied with his first draft. All of the good (and great writers) know that editing is an important (if not the most important) part of the writing process. Just write. Get something on the page. You can fix it later (and you will).

6. Wait! Don’t Edit
Ok, the “vomit” is on the page. Now, unless you are on a super-tight deadline, don’t touch what you’ve written (except to add more or loosely move some things around). The hard editing doesn’t happen at this stage. Just make sure you have what you need on the page, it makes sense to you, and you haven’t forgotten your most important points.

7. Sleep on It
When you’re done with your initial writing and you’re satisfied with the document as a rough draft, put it away and go do something else. If you can wait a day, do that. Even if you only have 20 minutes, walk away from your writing. Don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere. Note: make sure you’re saving your work or have autosave activated!

8. Read it Fresh
Good morning! You’ve had a good night’s sleep. You’ve had a chance to decompress from all that writing. Now what? Well, read your work. You may cringe. It may seem like it’s the worst thing you’ve ever read. No worries. Relax and read through the entire document from beginning to end. Don’t edit anything yet. Just read. This is how you get “inside” the document and understand what you’ve written. Also, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Read from their perspective. Does the order and layout make sense? Is the information they need expressed clearly?

9. Write Again, Write Now
Before you start revising or adding anything - and after your read-through - take some notes. Just write in the margins of the document. You can put a “?” next to a sentence that needs clarification, or a “!” next to a point you want to emphasize. The second read-through is when you’re starting to think about editing, layout, etc. With your notes in hand, start writing some more. You should have a good understanding of your topic and document now, so focusing on accuracy, brevity, and clarity is the name of the game.

10. Lay it Out and Be Brutal
Almost done! Now that you have a cohesive, coherent document, it’s time to start editing. Many writers edit their documents on their computer screen. Not me. I like to print out my drafts, lay them on a table and see how the document “flows.” This is a good way to holistically view your document. It’s important to see the whole document in one sitting. Have a red pen ready and BE BRUTAL. If you’re reading through and something catches your eye that you don’t feel adds anything to the story you’re telling, get rid of it! Go through the document with a hyper-critical eye, trim the fat, and you’ll have a clean document ready for your audience to read and enjoy.

Bonus Tip: When you’re reading your more polished document, read it outloud. This is a sure fire way of better understanding what you’re written and to ensure it makes sense.

Happy writing!