Experience in AP Style or AP Style Required
Why, do so many job postings or Requests For Proposal demand an ability to use AP Style? Most often, it is short hand for, “You have to be able to write better than the average non-professional writer.”
I once heard someone say that photography and writing are the two professions that everyone thinks they can do. From the outside both of them look very simple. After all, all you have to do to get the same picture as Ansel Adams is stand in the same place with the same kind of camera at the same time of day in similar weather. Of course, that isn’t the point. No one cares if you can copy Ansel Adams. What makes him a great photographer is being able to see a great photograph where one hasn’t been seen before.
Writing is similar. Everyone can write. That isn’t the point. Describing what a murder scene looks like doesn’t make you Stephen King, and telling people why you think Microsoft sucks doesn’t make you a professional technology writer. A professional writer can hide their writing style. More specifically, they can write in the style that is requested. This skill is not common and therefore hard to quantify. Often, it falls into the, “I know it when I see it,” realm. So, when a client is paying good money for professional writing, they default to saying “AP Style” and hope it scares off the average non-professional. I’m not sure that it works, but I suppose it is better than nothing.
Learn AP Style
There are a lot of things in writing that can’t be taught, or that only come with experience, but the AP Style is not one of them. There is a book. Buy it, and flip through it a little. Don’t bother trying to read it cover to cover. It is a reference not a how-to book. Keep it on your desk next to where you write. As you go about your daily writings, don’t skip over those things you don’t quite know, and don’t guess. If you don’t know whether something should or should not be capitalized, look it up. When you don’t know if that phrase requires a hyphen, or is considered slang, look it up.
In the mean time, that doesn’t mean you can’t make yourself a better AP Style writer by doing some up front homework.
Here is your AP Stylebook Study Guide:
- Legislative Titles (how to reference politicians properly)
- Abbreviations and Acronyms (when you to use and not use)
- Time (AM, PM, AD, BC, and so on)
- Punctuation (a whole chapter, pay particular attention to comma)
- Organizations (look up ones you write about regularly)
- Race and Gender (which words to use in these touchy subjects)
- Titles (formal, royalty, judges, job titles, and more)
Then, when you come across someone who wants AP Style, tell them that you can do that. If you can write well and are willing to look up a few things, you aren’t lying.
What is AP Style
Spend even a modest amount of time around the world of professional writing, and you will come across the term AP Style. However, many people aren’t aware of what AP Style actually is.
What people usually forget is that The Associated Press is a real organization. It has buildings and employees and computers and sells products to produce a profit. The AP’s main product is news feeds or wire stories which are reprinted in newspapers all over the country. Take a look at your local paper and you’ll notice the author of each story is usually listed. For local stories or coverage that was actually researched and written by the newspaper’s staff you will see a name and maybe a location. The stories that say either AP or Associated Press were not actually written by anyone at the newspaper. They were bought by the newspaper from AP.
AP Style In Professional Writing
AP Style is actually a specific kind of writing. It is writing for news stories. However, many people, both freelancers and clients use the phrase AP Style as a way to describe a more formal writing style. AP Style is like what you read in the newspaper. For example, this article is not written in AP Style. All of the “you” makes this article informal.
But, AP Style is so much more than just formalization. There is an entire book called “The Associated Press Stylebook” that contains all manner of writing rules regarding terminology, phrasing, and punctuation.
Many otherwise knowledgeable professionals ask for AP Style to be used in writing for publication on non-news websites. Ironically, AP Style requires the use of spelling and punctuation that is opposite of what most websites want both for SEO purposes, and for what their readers want. For example, AP Style requires the use of a space between web and site for the term web site. However, most websites and blogs use the word website without a space. The same thing goes for email which AP requires to be written as e-mail (also for e-commerce, e-book, and e-business).
However, the AP Stylebook is a great resource for the professional writer. There are a million issues that come in writing everyday that may have never been considered before. For example, should part time be hyphenated? AP has a rule for that. It is hyphenated when used as a modifier as in part-time job. It is not hyphenated otherwise as in the waiter is part time.
Basically, the AP Stylebook is a reference for any writer who comes across those little nuances that just don’t seem to have solid answers grounded in even advanced grammatical knowledge. Everyone knows what NASA is, so do you have to spell it out the first time you use it? You probably know that it is President George Bush, but what about other politicians? How do you reference the Speaker of the House? What about other congressmen? When should it be capitalized? Should you say congresswoman? If so, is there such a thing as congresswomen if you are speaking about multiple female members of Congress? And, by the way, when should Congress be capitalized?
There are a million examples like this. The point is, that these aren’t the kinds of things you learned in English classes even if you went to graduate school. In fact, for every other person in the world except a professional writer, these are the kinds of things that no one cares about.
Want to know more about AP Style?
Hiring a Freelance Writer
As a small business owner or as a manager, you may eventually come across a reason to hire a freelance writer. Most of the time, freelancers are hired by businesses who don’t have the time or expertise to create the documents they are looking for. For example, a busy web entrepreneur knows that in order to rank well with the search engines that he needs fresh keyword heavy content. Yet, running the business, filling orders, and keeping the website code and functions running is a full-time job.
That is where a freelance writer comes in. A professional freelance writer can produce several pages of solid content quickly. The biggest catch for most professionals is that they have never hired a freelance writer before. In many areas there are definitive standards or associations that can help with contacting a solid professional. For example, you can look to the CPA designation to ensure that an accountant meets a certain level of training and experience. With writers, there isn’t the same kind of designation in use. Therefore, many of those looking to hire a professional writer attempt to use other concepts as a way to screen writers, often to their own detriment.
Freelance Writing Degrees
Without a standard writing certification, many employers turn to college degrees as a way to find quality writers. Many job postings or RFPs require a degree in English, or other “writing” type degree. The flaw in this strategy is readily apparent. While it is true that an English major may require more writing than other majors, it is not a writing degree. A person who completes an Bachelors of Arts in English can be reasonably assumed to have taken several classes in which reading is the primary focus. Most writing comes in the form of writing about what you have read. Again, this is not a bad thing, but does it help determine if some is a good choice to write for your business?
Academic writing is both very traditional and structured in nature. Does your brochure need a 5-paragraph essay structure? Should each of your paragraphs on the website begin with a topic sentence? Will Google rank your page higher if the conclusion refers back to all main points raised in the body of the essay?
Consider instead whether a degree in what is being written ABOUT would be more useful. In articles about engineering or marketing, engineering or marketing degrees may imply a certain depth of knowledge. That knowledge may be more useful than classical training in writing.
Freelance Writers and Buzzwords
When I read through various ads or postings requesting writers, I can see that the person who posted the ad did a little bit of research first. Unfortunately, this research can take the form of simply copying terms or phrases that have been seen often enough to look important.
One of the most common terms is “familiarity with AP Style.” This does indeed sound impressive, and it is likely to be seen on ads from important companies like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Of course, there is a reason it is seen there. AP Style, is literally, the style used by the Associated Press or AP. Most people know AP from their local newspaper. The AP service writes news articles and allows others who subscribe to the service to either reprint them, or use them as the basis for their own articles. Not surprisingly, then AP Style is very tailored to news.
Curious about what AP Style is? There is actually a book. The Associated Press Stylebook, details the AP Style and contains the rules for how to use various terms and phrases. For example, in stories about wildfires, there will often be a reference to a firefighting technique known as a backfire. This raises some issues. Is it back fire, backfire, or back-fire? In that same sentence are firefighting and wildfire, also in the AP Style guide. What about words a little closer to home?
According to AP Style it should be Internet and Web site. Do you need your articles to use a capital W and a space between ‘web’ and ’site’? Then, maybe you don’t need AP Sytle.
Samples, Samples, Samples
In real estate, they say the three most important things are location, location, and location. When hiring or contracting with a freelance writer the most important things are samples, samples, and samples. Nothing will give more insight into a person’s ability to write than seeing examples of what they have written. Don’t worry if the writing isn’t exactly what you are needing. If an author can clearly explain technical medical jargon, it is a good bet that they can also explain technical financial jargon and so on.
If the position requires the ability to turn over material quickly, a “live” example of such writing can also prove useful. For example, if a writer has links to several websites that have writing samples clearly produced in rapid fashion, then that is extra assurance that he/she will be able to turn around the projects quickly as well.
Questions About Professional Writing
If you have any questions about professional writing, whether hiring or being one, please don’t hesitate to ask.
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