Writing for print publication is a bit different than an preparing an online article, and does present some unique challenges. Here are a few points that come to mind:
- You can't easily hyperlink to other materials for clarification.
- Print publications are a bit more formal because your audience probably doesn't know you, all your moods, and your particular brand of humor, and smileys don't work well on the printed page
. - People tend to skim online articles and will read your printed piece in more depth, and possibly more than one time.
- Poor spelling and grammar don't fly on the printed page. There's a lot you can get away with in online postings, including slang, idioms and figurative expressions. (Like those used in much of this post).
- The article needs to be complete - not necessarily wide in scope - but complete. It should have a beginning, middle and end. You can't hope to recover from a soft conclusion or poor introduction by touching it up later or clarifying questions. You really need to present an idea, develop it and make a conclusion.
One suggestion to improve your writing is to invite some people review it for comment. Consider having a couple people (including a non-bonsai person) read over your work and make sure they understand the points you're making. If you take the suggestions to heart, it will improve your writing!
There will be in initial level of review (as there was last year) and most articles will have the opportunity to be edited for content and clarity, so this should help quite a bit. I am sure that we can present to Bonsai Today some interesting articles for their consideration.