A must-have checklist for getting assignments right

It's vital to get this part right — messing up in the early stages can spell disaster for your entire story.

Hello friends! As we dive deeper into Intro to Freelancing Month, today we’re going to focus on an under-discussed-yet-crucial part of being a freelancer: the very first steps to take after getting commissioned for an assignment. This is one of the most important and nuanced things to master, and messing up at this stage can spell disaster for your entire story.

I’ve invited freelance writer and former editor Liz Massey to share some of her advice for what to do right after getting an assignment. In this checklist, she pulls from her experience on the other side of things as an editor, and adapts that knowledge into a process she now uses as a freelance writer.

Take it away, Liz!

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While I focus primarily on freelance writing these days, I worked for more than a decade and a half as a managing editor, serving at two magazines. Few things were as exciting — for both editor and writer — as making a story assignment. But on the other side of that coin, few things were as disappointing for either party than a story assignment gone awry.

As an editor, I learned that the smallest omission I could inadvertently make in a story assignment could result in a fully qualified freelancer filing a story way off from my intent for it. When the differences were stark enough, I had to open a challenging, potentially awkward conversation about revision and provide feedback that could potentially lead to defensiveness and resentment.

Over the years I developed a detailed approach to delivering story assignments, resulting in great stories and praise from writers. After leaving the editor’s desk and taking up freelancing again, I didn’t want to hope and pray I’d find an editor who shared my approach to story assignments. So instead, I developed a systematic method to assess an assignment and guarantee I identify elements critical to writing the story the editor has in mind.

Why do editors send vague assignment letters, anyway?

Some editors who send you assignments that read like a fortune-cookie paper slip are tired. Some are stressed and in a hurry. Some already know your work and don’t want to seem like they don’t trust you.