Try Your Hand at Writing an Article

June 24, 2019
There is no mystery to it. We need good, new writers in the law enforcement industry to help keep the information exchange powered. You also need to write your reports better. Trust me on that one.

One might find it odd that I am encouraging others to start writing for publication. Those of us who have been publishing for a long time understand that there are bright young aspiring writers out there. Seasoned writers understand that there is room for new blood. The problem is getting them into this business.  We understand that you are just like us. You have great insights that will help our profession, so why not try your hand at publishing? This can seem like a gauntlet but in reality, there is a process.

There once was a training course for publishing. Back in the community policing days some grants had requirements made upon police leadership. The grants required the agency to publish articles to their local media extoling the exploits of their community policing programs. For several years, I was a presenter in a class on how to write for professional publications. It was well received and presented in several venues and conferences. Of course, that was many years ago and the publishing front has changed greatly. But, one thing remains constant, it is work. My favorite author Ernest Hemingway once said “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” And some days it is like that to produce with a deadline or suffering through writers’ block.

The course was designed for one to two days, depending on the particular student performance objectives. The introduction part was about the fundamentals of the publication business itself. Understanding submission requirements, publication calendars, formatting and the nuts and bolts part of the business. Next, we transitioned to how to develop a good story theme and then its development along with writing tips. The attendees were to come with a preconceived or predetermined topic. In the middle of the afternoon session the participants were to outline their story and then present it to my co-presenters or me. We then critiqued their story line and then that night they were to produce a rough draft. What students disliked about the class was the homework, I know out of town at training and wanting to have fun away from home. To my chagrin it was noted on the class evaluations that they had homework.

The next morning, again co-presenters and assistants reviewed the drafts. I could always find assistants at local universities’ English Departments. Most were English majors and extremely helpful for two reasons. First they knew the craft of writing and second, they were not cops. Them not being familiar with ‘cop speak’, technical/legal jargon and colloquial terms addressed one of the biggest problems first time writers face. Your goal is for total understanding of the piece by any reader. The piece should be understood by the youngest rookie up to and including the seasoned veteran.  Also, folks other than police officers were reading their works including grant writers, professors and regular citizens. I discovered that their biggest stumbling block is that great ideas cannot be published if they are written as a police report or memo to the chief. We are cops and we write, talk and think like cops, therein lies our problem. Nobody wants to read an article that reads like a rejected burglary report – ‘window broke and stuff gone’. You have to write with the readers’ understanding in mind.

Where do you go with your first attempted work? First, do not call a writer and ask that we ‘co-author’ it with you. This is not how you get your name and writing style out there for recognition. As I told one young man (out of several requests), we all write within our genre and we have our individual styles. The two should not intertwine. So where do you start out? Start out with the basics maybe an editorial for your local newspaper, maybe add a piece for your state Chiefs of police Association newsletter or magazine. Another venue could be with professional organizations that you may belong to. As an advisory board member with the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Assoc. (illeta.org), there are several outlets within this organization. Every conference year there are presentations on publishing within our periodicals. Committee members meet with perspective writers, offer sage advice and encouragement. These presentations are the submission requirements, time lines and specific needs for the publication.  The ILEETA Journal is a great product that several young trainers have tested their publishing wings.

Most of these organizations are seeking submissions for their periodicals and new faces with new ideas. Reminders, you may not get the vast coverage you desire. You will certainly not get compensated. You will have fewer editorial requirements or standards so you can ease into the arena. What you will accomplish is the answer to your first real editor’s question. Have you ever published before, and can you forward me an exemplary piece for them to review? Why do they want to publish you if you have never published before? I know it does not sound fair, but they are risk takers every time they print. Your first few smaller works can clear the hurdles for the larger venues.

Another major point here is you want to be as user friendly to the editor as possible! If the editors request formatting, fonts and such a certain way – do it that way! Become easy for them to work with for they are busy. They do not have time to rewrite, reformat and proof your errors. You want to get your work over the rejection bin and to the screen or paper. Another major tip get yourself a “proofer”. A trusted person who can be critical of your work and correct your bad grammar. Trust me, you can read and rewrite a piece several times, get some fresh eyes on it; it pays dividends.   

What’s to gain from all of this. At first it will be a sense of accomplishment. Everybody who has ever published recalls the first time they read their name in a publication or saw it on the screen. Please remember that the days of John Boy Walton from the old television series “The Walton’s” of dreaming and writing on a piece of paper are somewhat over. No editor is going to publish a handwritten draft, you still have to do the work. However, this is a life event you will recall forever when you see your name in print for the first time. Good luck and happy writing.

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