Writeyness :: Info to snack on

I once worked a couple of shifts as a sub-editor on the sports desk of The Scotsman newspaper in their swanky new offices in Edinburgh (steps south of the new Scottish Parliament money pit / architectural wonder, and west of the craggy, er, Crags).

“Subbing” involves pulling a news story off the “wires” and editing it down to fit snugly in its allocated space in the newspaper layout. The sub-editor also has to add a headline and picture captions.

In front of you is a screen with your allocated page space, and you have to chop away at the article until there is no overspill.

Sometimes, if the original writer has fallen victim to a serious case of “writeyness” and ignored any length guidelines, this can involve hacking 1000 words down to 200 or 300 or less. And you could have as little as 20 minutes to do this in — all with a desk editor breathing down your neck.

It’s a great exercise for any writer in finding the meat of a story and cutting off the excess fat. And I’ve found it an invaluable skill to have when it comes to writing short, concise Web copy, and when editing copy supplied by clients.

Quite simply, Web copy has to be leaner than a butcher’s dog. And “lean” doesn’t necessarily mean short. Your copy should be as long as it takes to get your main points across in the most effective way.

If you’re worried that your copy is showing a little weight around the middle, click here for a free home page review. (No strings).