martyweil.net

Housing Crisis Article Appears in Scholastic Administrator

My article about the carryover effect of the housing crisis on school districts appeared in Scholastic Administrator magazine. Scholastic Administrator is a must-read resource for 240,000 of today's school leaders. My article on fiscal trouble in school districts reported on the real-life impact of the current financial crisis and how leaders in education are dealing with the situation.

What Do Editor's Want?

On LinkedIn recently, Logan Kugler, a freelance writer, asked “What do editors want?”

There were many good answers, but one that I felt hit the mark best was left by Owen Linderholm, an editorial director. He said, “...doesn’t matter how good a writer you are if what you say is crap.” This was especially true, Owen said, for writers specializing in the trade end of the market, especially in technology and business.

He’s right. Accuracy, above all else, is critical. And it dovetails with the next most important aspect of pleasing an editor: the ability to break down and explain complex issues and topics. From my experience, these are the two factors that differentiate technology and business journalists from generalists who write on too wide a range of subject matter. In very complex areas, experience and expertise matter.

Mechatronics Article Appears in Managing Automation

Mechatronics will pave the way for 90 percent of tomorrow's vehicle innovations. Today, however, the one million lines of mechatronics code embedded in the average vehicle accounts for up to 35 percent of the quality problems and 55 percent of the repair costs. With the number of lines of mechantronics code expected to grow 50 to 100 times in the next few years, the question on the minds of automakers is what can be done to address quality problems associated with mechatronics. My article in the January issue of Managing Automation explores the technology solutions being proposed by PLM vendors to address the problem.

RFID Journal Feature Appears Online

My article on Curves' use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in their fitness centers recently appeared in the online edition of RFID Journal. This was my first feature for the magazine, which provides the latest RFID news and information. RFID Journal is a key resource for early adopters, RFID hardware, software and service providers, researchers and investors.

Alternative Fuels Article Appears in Renewable Energy World

Animal by-products such as fats and oils are usually a waste product with a related disposal issue, but they can be converted into a renewable fuel. In a recent issue of Renewable Energy World (REW), I reported on one U.S. meat processing company's efforts to explore the commercial development of animal-based bio-diesel.

This was my first feature for REW magazine, which is witten for professionals in industry, policy, utilities, finance, etc. The magazine has readers in more than 160 growing markets around the world.

eBook Delivery Option for White Papers

White papers have been a mainstay of the corporate ghostwriting work that I do. I've written approximately 100 white papers during the past 20 years. Recent, on LinkedIn, Tim Moyle asked if the term 'white paper' was still fashionable among corporate marketers.

The best response to the question came from a professional writer named Robert Pease. In part, Robert wrote: "White papers are an important part of any technical industry. Conferences hold 'white paper; sessions and any company's marketing team that's worth their salt is busily producing a 'white paper' library to sing the praises of their products and technologies. Of course, many people have many ideas about what actually constitutes a white paper in terms of technical level, structure, and use. All that said, referencing these entities by any other nomenclature would, in my view, be a huge mistake..."

I agree with Robert.

At the HubSpot Inbound Marketing Summit, it was suggested that "hipper" alternatives to white papers are eBooks. However, I believe the term "white paper" will remain viable even as eBooks emerge as a technically astute delivery method. Using eBook technology, white papers can be distributed as an HTML email or posted to various related blogs and social networking sites. Even if an eBook is created from a white paper, calling the document an ebook is a mistake since any book that can be downloaded is known as an eBook.

"White paper" remains the valued term for these documents among business readers regardless of how they might be distributed. A search on Google news of the term "white paper" results in tens of thousands of results for these professionally edited pieces.

In the final analysis, the term "white paper" carries with it an impression of gravitas that says to business readers, "here is some useful information that is not simply a marketing tool." (Even if fundamentally it is one).

Weil Added to Area Development Magazine's Masthead

My name has been added to the masthead of Area Development magazine, the leading executive magazine covering corporate site selection and relocation.

I began contributing to the magazine last year, and the editors have honored me by including my name among their valued contributors.  

My first feature for the magazine Electronics: High Demand for High Tech appeared in the October issue.

 

Publishing Goals for 2009

Recently, I was asked what my publishing goals were for 2009. For the most part, I plan to continue pursuing the goals I set when I started freelancing 20 years ago. I aim to write as many magazine features as humanly possible. Of course, the exact number will depend on how many assignments I’m able to coax from my editors (I currently contribute to roughly a half dozen trade journals).

Further, during the first half of 2009, I plan to promote the book I released in the fourth quarter of 2008. The book, A Year in Asheville, contains images shot during my first year as a resident of Asheville, NC.

I also plan to continue to publish my blogs. I recently published my 1,000 post on ephemera, a blog that explores the world of old paper. And, of course, I plan to write compelling content for this blog, which is devoted to my freelance writing endeavors and insight into developing content for new media.

Food Processing Annual CapEx Spending Article

The editor of Food Processing has once again asked me to analyze and report on the capital expenditures of the world's largest food manufacturers. My feature appears each year in the magazine's April issue.

Venerable Food Processing magazine is one of the oldest trade journals reporting on the food industry.

My 2008 CapEx article can be found at the following link: http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2007/339.html

Weil.net Re-launch and New Blog

Happy 2009! With the coming of the New Year, I've relaunched Weil.net with a new look and more content, including a blog component.

The brand new Weil.net blog will primarily serve as a means to keep associates, editors, publicists, and clients updated on my publishing activities. The blog will also provide tips and commentary on subject matter related to copy writing, journalism, editing, online publishing, social networking, and other related topics.

The newly redesigned Weil.net site includes an array of new pages, including a bibliography page to track all of my published works. So far, I've listed most of my works published during the past two years--with links to the pieces if they appear online. In the coming months, I'll be culling through my archives to add all of the articles I've published during the past 20 years.

I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009.