Joan spent much of her childhood reading and making up stories for her dog. As she got older, she became unhappy and introverted. In high school, she discovered the world of journalism.  “It changed my life,” she says. “Instead of looking into myself, I looked outside of myself and focused on other people. I got a front seat view of life. Journalism saved me.”

Over the past 30 years, Joan has contributed much to journalism. She has been telling stories about others in newsprint and also in her own books, many of them dedicated to children.

At Beetle Press, Janice has many connections to Joan. For many years, when Janice critiqued children’s books for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Janice had the pleasure of interviewing Joan and reading and reviewing her books.

Most recently, the interview tables were turned; Joan got to question Janice for a piece Joan is writing about business networking and development for the Boston Globe. (We’ll let you know when that is published.)

Joan recommends that all writers find themselves a community. Also, she says, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Instead of obsessing about one thing, I have different projects to work on. I look at my writing as a stove. I always have two things on the front burners and two things on the back burners, simmering.”

While a stint as editor for her high school paper got Joan interested in journalism, she majored in history at Boston University instead. “Journalism is modern history,” she says. “I’m a geek for history.”

After graduating in 1980, Joan took a freelance writing class that took her back into the journalism realm. While working at a community newspaper, she met her soul sister, Ann Malaspina, and they both became freelancers for The Boston Globe in 1982. Over the years since, Joan has freelanced on and off for the Globe, writing for a variety of different sections.

Joan married a fellow writer, Fred Contrada, a longtime reporter for The Springfield Republican, and the couple had two children. As Joan read to them, she became fascinated with children’s literature. She began writing books for kids, with a focus on reluctant readers and those with reading disabilities.

“I was a very slow reader and still am,” she says. “I loved reading, but I couldn’t read too much without getting a headache. So, I feel like I can relate to that kind of audience. I think my style of writing is natural for their needs and mine as a writer. It’s been a good fit.”

In recent years, Joan earned a master’s in fine arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts in July 2015. While there, she worked on a draft for a picture book about Sylvester Graham who invented the graham cracker. (It’s the same Sylvester Graham that the restaurant in Northampton, Massachusetts, Sylvester’s, is named for. The book release party, to be announced at a later date, will be held there and copies will be sold at the restaurant.)

Joan is currently working on an essay for the March issue of a monthly magazine called The Writer. The essay is titled “Do Writer’s Need Thicker Skins?”

Joan has also helped coordinate The Write Angles Conference for writers off and on for over 20 years, and she will gear up soon for next year’s event, the date for which will be posted soon on http://writeanglesconference.com.

The post This Writer has Multiple Projects on ‘Simmer’ appeared first on Beetle Press.

As the night managing editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Stan oversees the newsroom in the evening, directing reporters and editing stories. Being the business editor as well, he is also responsible for selecting stories that will be featured in the Business section of the paper from week to week, assigning those stories to reporters, then editing the finished product.

In his current positon, Stan is on the receiving end of many press releases from Beetle Press—and other businesses and nonprofits across Hampshire County. For this reason, we think he’s an invaluable resource on what editors look for in press releases, and he was kind enough to spell it out for us.

Stan is a skilled editor and writer as he has had vast experience in many different roles during his 40 years at the Gazette. He started out as a reporter, covering news on education, social services, mental health and politics. Over the years he has been an editor for all different sections of the paper, such as general news, the website, sports section, business column and overall content.

“I’ve done a lot of different things in the newsroom and that’s been positive to keep me fresh,” Stan says.

One of the most memorable days in his career was working during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 as he had to process and react to that event as both a human being with deep emotions and an objective news reporter. Even though the Pioneer Valley is removed distance-wise from where the attacks happened, the paper still had to plan its local coverage while also dealing with the national crisis on the website.

Journalism has changed tremendously since the Internet was born. Readers now have a variety of media through which they can receive news instantaneously. One effect of this is that, with the digital publishing of news, sometimes the usual checks and edits aren’t done with the same level of thoroughness and precision. This because editors are moving more quickly to accommodate consumers who rely on quick minute-by-minute updates.

Stan agrees with us that press releases are an important tool for business owners and organization leaders to call attention to the good work that they are doing. He looks for releases that highlight:

• A new business
• A business that’s expanding
• A shift in marketing strategy
• An alteration in product
• A change in or adding to members of a staff

When constructing a press release for your business, Stan advises keeping the following things in mind:

Clarity. Be clear about what is the news, what’s new, what’s different, why does your press release deserve space in the paper. Your intent should be immediate, the first thing that you learn about as you read.

Be Concise. Writing a few sentences is better than a few pages. There is not always time for the editor to read your entire release so only report on the essentials; don’t give a history of your business.

Media. Press releases can be delivered electronically by email, which gives you the advantage of being able to provide a link to your business’ website for the editor to reference if they want more information about your company.

Timing. If a press release is calling attention to a future event, it is better for the editor to receive it a month ahead of time rather than a week ahead of time. The more time that you allow the editor, the more time they have to work with you on coverage possibilities.

Contact Information. Be sure to provide the names and contact information for key people in your business that can field phone calls and set up possible interviews and photo shoots or provide more information about your company.

Persistence. If you haven’t heard back from an editor, follow-up with an email or phone call. This gets the attention of the editor and helps ensure that your press release hasn’t been forgotten at the bottom of a pile of work that the editor hasn’t had time to address. Don’t give up!

We help many clients with press releases. We’d be happy to help you as well. Contact Janice to suggest your press release idea. Or if you’re the DIY type, read our blog on sending press releases.

The post What This Gazette Editor is Looking for in Your Press Releases appeared first on Beetle Press.