The more someone else can write your piece, the less valuable it is.

I receive many submissions for FundsforWriters, and the majority of them can be written by almost anyone. How to write for parenting magazines, how to schedule your writing day, what makes for a successful writer. The advice could be copied and pasted from multiple places on the web because they are so generic. That’s why we ask that the piece be full of anecdotes (first-hand experience) and ingenuity (unique snippets of advice not seen elsewhere).

You’d be amazed at how many people think that nailing the word count qualifies the piece. You’d also be amazed at how many people ignore the word count, period. But what will reject a piece just as quickly as lack of attention to word count, is being common and submitting a piece, the likes of which can be found on every writing mill and blog on the Internet.

Whether talking about an article to FundsforWriters or a novel to a traditional press, the bottom line is if someone else could write something similar to yours, it’s worth less. The world wants originality and freshness. Whether a publisher, agent, magazine editor, or editor of a little newsletter like mine, the person buying or contracting the work wants something nobody else has done. And the person writing it needs the chops to carry off a unique voice and original ideas.

So, when writing for anyone, consider this:

1) You need to do research to show you can offer something nobody else can, and

2) You need to groom your writing voice such that it sparkles, shines, and glistens as one different than the fray of others out there writing.

Anyone can tell a story. It truly matters more in HOW you tell it.