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Writing Compilations Compilations are simply lists: collections of related facts and figures. These frequently take shape as mini-articles, sometimes checklists, often they are a collection of fillers brought together under a common theme. Examples spotted recently in the press include:
- 10 Ways to Say 'No' to the Man of Your Dreams.
- 100 Things You Didn't Know About Cats.
- Home 3000 Miles: Incredible Canine Journeys.
- Living Dinosaurs: 50 Things to Prove They Still Exist.
Plentiful opportunities exist for the filler writer, who might simply clip and store information on a common theme until there is enough to complete a full-length manuscript. For shorter compilations, simply produce and submit according to the standard filler format. Longer manuscripts or topical matters should be queried with editors in the same way as articles and news breaks.
Try to be topical where possible, as was the writer of a recent piece in a North of England newspaper. After a marooned expedition team reported its survival was probably due to taking along supplies of a well-known chocolate bar, the 'Sunday Sun' carried a short feature detailing various other people and groups whose lives are also probably owed to consuming emergency rations of popular 'Mars' bar confectionery.
Start your manuscript with a basic introduction to what the compilation is about, what facts will be revealed. Use asterisks or bullet points to introduce the snippets that follow. End with a short summary.
Writers' Rules
* Start a clippings file with one section for each subject. Don't worry about how brief each clipping is. When you have enough material - 10, 20 or more pieces - on one related topic, take the material out, check it, arrange the pieces in order, rewrite them and submit them to an appropriate publication.
* Be on the lookout for topical events which offer an opening for your work. The World Cup, for instance, or Wimbledon, might be just the time for you to search your clippings file and write up on the '50 greatest football blunders' or 'Early tennis champions: Where are they now?'
* Remember that most publications are suitable targets for compilations, including major newspapers and children's magazines and comics. Don't assume just because a publication hasn't used similar features that the editor isn't interested in your work. He simply might not have received acceptable manuscripts from a reliable source.
Turning Compilations Into Books
This is my particular favourite five minute writing project and, arguably, the easiest to profit from. All you do here is clip, collect and collate as many snippets as you can relating to one particular subject or theme. Cats, dogs, golf, writing, children, Amish recipes, fortune-telling, witchcraft, and more, are useful ideas for books that are simply compilations of everything you find on the topic. A few ideas will help you:
- 1001 Great Golfing Jokes
- Everything You Didn't Know About Cats
- Psychic Cat and Dog Stories
- 500 Amish Recipes
- Candles and Witchcraft: Ten True Stories to Light Up Your Life
- 50 Ways to Reduce Everyday Stress
- 101 Ways to Market Your Writing
- 1001 Amazing Gardening Tips
Some of these books will probably have been written already and their creators might have spent hours searching for useful anecdotes or paid a clippings agency to do it for them.
Many writers use clippings agencies when time is tight. You don't need to because your book won't be written until you have located enough facts for yourself, at little expense and without deadlines to slow you down.
What you do next depends on what writing skills you have and whether you want to market your work yourself or through a traditional publisher.
Begin by compiling everything you find about your subject. Break these down into appropriate sections. In a book about cats, for example, my sections might include: Cats in History, Cats in Early Egyptian Society, Cats as Wild Animals, Odd Cat Behaviour, Famous People's Cats, and so on. Next divide your cuttings according to their appropriate category. Now start writing, literally rewriting the facts and adding whatever else of importance. If you have writing experience, this is easy. If not, then pay careful attention to changing the way the facts are conveyed. There is no copyright on ideas, only the manner in which they are conveyed. When you have finished, put your work to one side for a week or so and proofread in its entirety. Look for errors and omissions; check facts, watch out for spelling and typing errors, and so on.
Now you must decide whether your book is acceptable as it is or if a more professional finish is needed. Text-only books marketed by you will usually be acceptable in typed format. Booksellers and publishers marketing on your behalf might expect it fully-bound and typeset.
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