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Editor: Michael A. Casano
Publisher: George Giokas/StaffWriters Plus, Inc.

Welcome to -30-, found exclusively at the StaffWriters Plus Web site. One of the most common challenges faced by freelance writers today is keeping up with the latest trends within the industry and the changing needs of their customers. This is where -30- will help. Each installment of -30- will deal with a topic or issue of interest to the freelance community, from ideas on how to grow your current client base to techniques that can enhance the quality of your work. We hope you find -30- a useful tool in your pursuit of new business.

We also look forward to hearing from you. Please submit your messages and thoughts for future articles to (info@staffwriters.com).

IN THIS ISSUE:

In this issue of -30-, our feature story looks at the skills necessary to write successful speeches, and features an interview with Warren H. (Sandy) Anderson, who has written speeches for executives, celebrities, and even President Gerald Ford. Our Q&A segment profiles StaffWriter John Cerrone, a producer, director and writer of award-winning TV commercials, music videos and promotional pieces. Finally, we'll find out why Melanie Hauser says her most favorite person in the world is her local postal worker.

ABOUT OUR NAME:

Reporters used the symbol -30- at the end of their typewritten copy to indicate to editors that they have reached the last word. It was adapted by the pencil press from teletype operators who used the symbol to indicate the end of a transmission.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN . . . UM . . .
Speechwriting: The Art of Filling In the Blanks

by Michael A. Casano

With the exception perhaps of Abraham Lincoln and some other notables who put pen to paper (or backs of envelopes) and wrote their own stuff, most officials and leaders of corporations depend on the speechwriter to get them through a public presentation.

One of those behind-the scenes word wizards is Warren H. (Sandy) Anderson, who, for 25 years, has been the wordsmith behind the statesman.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Anderson's first speechwriting task came in 1974 while working in the U.S. Army. Originally a position paper writer, Anderson's boss gave him the assignment of drafting a speech on strategy for then Secretary of the Army Bo Callaway. Callaway liked the speech so much that when he needed to replace his then staff speechwriter, he immediately thought of Anderson. Soon, Anderson was headed to the Secretary's office, no questions asked.

"There's nothing like a blank page and your career on the line," Anderson said. "I was fortunate in that the secretary to the speech writer for the Secretary of the Army was very supportive. She helped me as the requirements kept coming in. Pretty soon I became used to [the writing style]. You discover that sense of pace and what does and doesn't work."

For the next five years, Anderson wrote speeches for three Secretaries of the Army, two chiefs of staff and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He even wrote a speech on strategy for President Ford--having just four hours to write a 20-minute speech. After retiring from the Army, Anderson spent more than ten years as a corporate speech writer on staff before venturing out on his own (www.speechwriter.net).

On every project, Anderson immediately looks to understand the key message the speech (and the speaker) must communicate. To do that, Anderson meets directly with his clients to discuss the issues at hand, and to gain some insight into their personality so he can craft a speech that best reflects their style and approach.

While the initial meeting usually flushes out some ideas, the speechwriting process often involves a little more effort because of the time constraints placed on his clients to complete other "high priority" assignments.

"Most [executives] have many things on their plate that are ten times more important than the speech at the time," Anderson said. "So, you walk in there and they really haven't thought much more about the speech than anybody else has. They just shoot from the hip and you go from there. But unfortunately when they do that, you're left to work with what they say, and you're just guessing in a way."

To address this, Anderson likes to give his clients a "point" paper to review, which highlights key elements he will touch upon in the speech. Anderson will also create a first draft that may overstate the key messages, asking the client then to "throttle it back" to a place where they are comfortable presenting the material.

"The real challenge for a speechwriter is that everyone wants a unique, 'knock-it-out of the park,' energizing speech but they won't take any risk," Anderson said. "That's why it is important to write a first draft that you think not only does the best job for the client, but can also work its way through the system [in which the corporation operates]."

An understanding of the audience is also important. According to Anderson, you must understand the relationship the audience has with your client. It's not enough to know who the audience is. Does the have an adversarial relationship with your client? Are they expecting your client to address a specific issue? At what point in the program will the audience be hearing your client?

After having an understanding of the issues and audience, Anderson constructs the speech to make his clients feels confident with the words they communicate.

"Some people are really pretty good [at speaking] but they're not sure of themselves," Anderson said. "So, you can put the key words on the left side of the page and put the text on the right side of the page. If things are going well for them and the audience is responding, they can just focus on the key words and talk from the hip. If the speech is not going well and they feel uptight, then they have the script right there in front of them."

Of course, even the most well-planned speeches sometimes don't work out the way you expect them. "I wrote an audio-visual presentation for the president of a steel company that sold his product to the automobile industry," Anderson recalled. "He was speaking up in Detroit and I was pulling slides in the back during the presentation. "He was a bit nervous, and had a few drinks. By the time he gave his speech, he was oiled. He started skipping slides, and departing from the text. And when you're pulling slides and somebody's jumping back and forth, you're going nuts. But he really did a great job and it turned out okay. But I was going crazy."

While he had to keep on his toes that night, Anderson believes that a speech writer's success goes hand-in-hand with strong preparation before the speech is ever given.

Anderson added: "If you know everything about the audience, you know everything about the speaker and you truthfully understand the issues, out of that mix you can come up with your best speech."

Interview: JOHN CERRONE

Making videos click

You'd be hard pressed to find someone who understands the power of the visual medium more than John Cerrone. From the time he spent as Creative Director for Avon Cosmetics to forming his own video production company, Betawave Communications, Cerrone, who has worked with StaffWriters on projects, has been on the cusp of producing, directing and writing innovative TV commercials, music videos and promotional pieces.

Today, Cerrone's clients include General Motors, Simon & Shuster Interactive, and has won numerous advertising awards for his productions. And, his work on Cyndi Lauper's music video, "She Bop," garnered Cerrone the International Film and Television Society's "Best Video of the Year" award, two Billboard Magazine awards, and an American Video award.

Q: What is the most important factor in producing a successful video piece for a client?

CERRONE: Investing the time to understand the client's business. Some video producers merely take a script and execute it, which really makes them nothing more than production managers. What I try to do differently is spend time with clients to understand their business, and try to direct them into using techniques and ideas that may be relevant.

Q: Can you give an example of how your suggestions can come into play?

CERRONE: I was a director on a shoot [actor] Jimmy Smits did for General Motors. I made the suggestion that we use a virtual set, which allows you to shoot your talent on nothing more than a blue screen and create the set within the computer.

Since it was a press conference to announce GM's new program for buying cars on-line, we invited the press to watch Jimmy Smits and the general manager of General Motors walking around on the blue screen while, on a large monitor, the press could see them moving in and out of this incredible, 3-D environment. So, it allowed GM to introduce its Internet product in a way representative of the technology it introduced.

Q: How has the capability of presenting videos on Web sites influenced your work?

CERRONE: The technology hasn't caught up yet. Video on Web sites is always at a low resolution. They haven't gotten it to a point where real-time video is at high-resolution looking at it from first generation on the tape.

Q: Are you doing any work for the Web?

CERRONE: The bulk of what I do is television commercials that are shown on TV, and promotional videos that are used either as sales pieces or that are shown in stores.

Q: What are the challenges involved in writing a TV commercial?

CERRONE: A TV commercial is all about being creative in a very concise period of time. You have only 30 seconds to make an impact, and communicate a strong message about a product. That's always the biggest challenge.

Q: How do promotional videos and music videos differ in production than commercials?

CERRONE: A promotional video can be anywhere from one to two minutes, to 20 minutes, depending on how it's being used. A music video takes you on the journey of the song, which is very different than a TV commercial. You're not selling a product in a music video. You're presenting a song. It's poetry and music put to video.

Q: Do you see the nature of your business changing as we head into the next millennium?

CERRONE: I don't see the nature of my business changing since the production process still requires you to work with people. I think the nature of the way I edit and shoot [projects] will change in terms of the hardware involved and the software that drives it.

But ultimately, there are always going to be video commercials because people are always going to watch television. As the Internet becomes more sophisticated in its ability to present video, people will eventually start watching at a Web site. But I think that we're a ways from the technology catching up.

Scribbler's Scrapbook

Being Nice at the Post Office Can Save You a Bundle

by Melanie Hauser

One of the interesting by-products of being a freelance writer is the very special relationship you cultivate with the employees at your local post office.

In my case, I'm known as the delusional aspiring author, because I swear I get appraising little stares as the postal employee weighs and stamps all of the various envelopes required to mail one simple piece of writing. But I treat them all kindly, because they literally have my future in their hands. I learned this lesson, however, the hard way.

Earlier this summer, I received a request from an agent I queried to see a certain manuscript that I have spent months of my life slaving over. This was my first such request: I cried; I wept; I wrote bad checks.

Dutifully, I printed out all 350 pages of it and carried it reverently to my local post office. When it was my turn to step up to the window, a strange face awaited me. Then he spoke, and it was immediately clear that his accent and my accent did not match. They didn't even harmonize.

I began to sweat, just a little. I started to explain the whole "2 envelopes, different postage" concept. He gazed at my face with an extremely bored expression during the fifteen or so minutes it took me to stammer this out.

Finally, he said, "You can't send this regular mail."

Confused, I said, "Pardon?"

He tried to explain and I tried to follow. His explanation was something to the effect that a package that heavy (350 pages, remember) might be mistaken as something vile and dangerous -- like a bomb or a copy of Monica Lewinsky's autobiography.

That I had to send my package some super-duper VIP way didn't bother me so much. What did bother me, though, was when he said that the return envelope had to be sent in the exact same, super-duper VIP way.

Now, I've read my magazines and books about how to communicate with agents. I know they will only consider responding to material that includes a SASE -- a secret code of their own making that lets them know they actually requested this material.

So my knees began to shake at the thought of bothering this agent, this Supreme Being, by asking her to send back my manuscript in this super-duper VIP manner.

I tried to explain this to the gentleman before me. He was unmoved. I started to get a little huffy, insinuating (and I'm not proud of this) that he might not understand certain basic words of the English language.

But I had no choice but to move along (as several people behind me stamped their feet and shook their heads at my mounting tirade), but not without one parting shot, the contents of which mercifully escape me now.

And then, I saw it. For the first time, a gleam sparkled in his eyes. As if in slow motion, I watched him pick up my manuscript, and carelessly toss it into an empty space on the counter behind him, a space I suddenly knew to be reserved for tax refunds, Republican candidates other than George W. Bush, and other items that disappear from the face of the earth and are never seen again.

At that movement, I knew he had the power to ruin my life. And I certainly gave him enough reasons to want to do so.

So I did what any self-respecting adult would do; I slunk back to the window. I apologized for my previous slightly careless remarks, and prayed that he didn't take offense. I all but offered to disrobe if only he would make sure my package did not end up in the lost letter pile.

And he accepted all this very graciously, if with a touch of superiority, and bade me good day.

Weeks later, I found that he did, indeed, send my package to its proper destination. (Unfortunately, I found this out not by an offer from the agent, but with the return of my precious manuscript, in that dreaded super-duper VIP envelope.

From that point on, I understood that the most important person in my life, at least while I'm trying to become a published writer, is not my husband, who pays the bills, or my good friend, who edits my work, or even the man at the office supply store who keeps me supplied with printer ribbons.

It is that upholder of all that is good with America: my friendly neighborhood postal worker.

Past Issues:

[March '00 Newsletter]

[June '99 Newsletter]

[April '99 Newsletter]

[February '99 Newsletter]

[November '98 Newsletter]

[September '98 Newsletter]

[July '98 Newsletter]

[June '98 Newsletter]