LEAD Me Home

"HEY! Here's a great article!"

How's that for a lead?

Tom Clark, former editor of Writers Digest Magazine, said at a writer's seminar recently, "When I would get to my desk in the morning, a huge pile of submissions would be staring me right in the face. My first thought as I was opening each one was to find a reason to say NO as quickly as possible so I could get through the pile faster. I put myself in a rejection mode and only the best leads were going to push my acceptance button."

How do you begin your article? The first words out of your mouth, or pen, better be great ones. A great lead is vital to the life of your article. Without it, your article will die a slow but sure death. No one will even attempt to read something that has a boring beginning, especially an editor. You have to get him past the first paragraph and into the second. You must grab his attention and make him say, "WOW!" Get that editor out of his rejection mode and into an acceptance mode.

Since a boring lead dooms your article to death, you must develop the skill of creating great leads. Find the best one, don't just settle. Dig. Grab the editor, and therefore the reader, in a way that won't let them look away. Be clear, on the mark, and understood right off the bat. Great articles have great leads.

Like Tom Clark said, you have to grab the editors attention and make him say, "Hey, here's a great article!" Get him out of that rejection mode. Push his acceptance button. He probably just wants to keep right on rejecting, and it's your job to make him want to go through all the trouble of contracts and paperwork because your article is just too good to pass up.