Guide to Writing Magazine Nonfiction Book

Rare is the writing workbook that won't let you write. But "the goal of this book," says author Michael J. Bugeja, "is to help you envision a manuscript before you write it." By the time you get to the writing stage, in the book's penultimate lesson, you've done so much thinking about writing that your story is begging to write itself. There are many institutions across the United States at which one can hone one's journalism skills, but magazine-writing programs are few and far between--and don't confuse the one with the other. While "a news story takes a direct route to the truth..." says Bugeja, "a good magazine story takes a scenic route." News stories examine a topic (what the story is about), while magazine stories also include a theme (what the story is really about). Magazine freelancing is a tough market, but Bugeja's no-nonsense guide makes one feel about as equipped as one's going to feel. There is outstanding information here about crafting magazine nonfiction, from developing topic and theme to tending to such details as title, viewpoint, and ending. A strong current running through Bugeja's book is the need to tailor one's prose to specific magazines, something Bugeja insists should start with a story's inception. After all, this is how a freelancer stays in business. Plus, "every time you change the theme," says Bugeja, "you target a new market. That's how freelancers keep generating story ideas." --Jane SteinbergRead More