Product Description

Consider the unique features of Feature and Magazine Writing: Action, Angle and Anecdotes. Its authors have taught magazine writing at universities for a combined 30 years and have earned success and acclaim for magazine writing and editing. Its comprehensive chapters cover the most complete range of topics ever included in a magazine and feature writing text. Its affordability makes it immediately applicable to the hundreds of journalism programs teaching “magazine writing,” “feature writing” or similar courses. Authors Sumner and Miller have written a text that genuinely models its message through lively writing, touches of humor and a conversational tone. Coverage includes content too often missing or deficient in existing texts: finding original ideas; developing strong angles; writing for targeted, niche audiences; practical how-to instruction on the many different types of magazine articles; fresh perspective and advice from professional writers and editors; examples, exercises and sample, illustrative articles; glossaries of publishing terms in each chapter; how to find the best Web sites and databases for background research; and how to locate expert sources who are accessible for telephone interviews. Tightly edited, colorfully written, concise, and moderately priced, Feature and Magazine Writing is the textbook of choice for your future feature writers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #201281 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

Review
“With clear writing and expertly crafted examples, this book goes beyond simply telling writers what to do and what not to do, but becomes a useful tool with its anecdotal evidence, challenging scenarios and actual sample writing how to become better feature writers.”
Tia C.M. Tyree
District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency

"Expertly packaged and sharply written, Sumner and Miller’s engaging text teaches not only basic elements of magazine writing, but also offers practical advice for today’s developing journalist. Everything from sentence structure to story-pitching advice is vividly explained, and the authors wisely include points of view from members of the contemporary working press. Also noteworthy is a wealth of information regarding the Internet, perhaps the most valuable and treacherous tool for tomorrow’s reporter."

David Abrahamson, Ph.D.

Helen G. Brown Research Professor of Journalism, Medill School of Journal,

Northwestern University

From the Back Cover

Feature and Magazine Writing: Action, Angle and Anecdotes genuinely models its message through lively writing, touches of humor and a conversational tone. Sumner and Miller cover a complete range of topics too often missing in existing texts. Topics include:

• Finding original ideas


• Developing strong angles


• Writing for targeted, niche audiences


• Practical how-to instruction on the many different types of magazine articles


• Fresh perspective and advice from professional writers and editors


• Examples, exercises and sample illustrative articles


• Glossaries of publishing terms in each chapter


• How to find the best Web sites and databases for background research


• How to locate expert sources who are accessible for telephone interviews

Immediately applicable to the hundreds of journalism programs teaching "magazine writing," "feature writing" or similar courses, this tightly edited and colorfully written textbook is a must-have for future feature writers.

About the Author
David E. Sumner, Ph.D. is professor of journalism and head of the magazine program at Ball State University, Muncie, IN. He teaches courses on introductory magazine writing, advanced magazine writing, and magazine editing, and advises the student magazine Expo. Within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Dr. Sumner has held numerous offices in its 150-member Magazine Division including chair, research chair, and webmaster.

Holly G. Miller holds degrees in journalism from Indiana University and Ball State University. She is “professional in residence” at Anderson University and has taught at Ball State University, Indiana University and Purdue University at Indianapolis, and at numerous writers’ workshops from Mount Hermon, California, to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Ms Miller is Senior Editor of The Saturday Evening Post, is the author of 13 books and more than 2,000 published magazine articles. Her byline has appeared in such diverse publications as TV Guide, Country Gentleman, Today's Christian Woman, Indianapolis Monthly, Clarity, Reader's Digest, Writer's Digest, The Writer, etc. She has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, Midwest Travel Writers, Society of American Travel Writers, Evangelical Press Association, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of America and General Motors Corp. She has served as managing editor of a daily newspaper, contributing editor to Today's Christian Woman and consulting editor to Clarity.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic text
This book gives is well written and informative. It explains feature writing without trying to bury the reader, and it is well organized throughout. It is somehow enjoyable as well.

Enjoyable, but you shouldn't use this as your only source
I enjoyed this book, which I used as an (unassigned) textbook for a class. If I didn't know anything about feature writing, I would not just rely on this book to tell me everything I need to know, although the information provided is helpful. Sumner could make more use of examples of good feature writing (he does this to great effect with one particular fantastic article, "Mrs. Kelly's Monster" by Jon Franklin, the first article to win the Pulitzer for Feature Writing). In many cases, Sumner uses information given in other textbooks and authors' published books on writing, which means that his book is less of a primary source and more of a compendium of author comments at times. This is not a bad thing. However, the chapters were so short that by the time you really got into the material, it was over. Some of the class assignments would be really useful if done as homework for class.

Overall, this book is helpful, but I do prefer the textbook by Bruce Garrison, which I am currently reading.