The Foreign Service Journal, January 2006

dard, and little intellectual or stylistic adjustment is required for the writing. When in doubt, however, the implicit rule is to make it duller. Freedom of Information Act declassification and review. The U.S. government has a massive and continuing requirement to review State Department classified material for downgrading and release. Virtually the entire reviewing staff consists of retired FSOs who have the institutional expertise and background to pro- vide appropriate judgment. Indeed, more than occasion- ally these WAEs encounter telegrams and memos that they drafted at earlier stages in their lives. The reviewers also examine manuscripts by State Department officials (active and retired) to determine that no classified mate- rial is being revealed. Additionally, they review the manuscripts for the Foreign Relations of the United States series prepared by the Office of the State Department Historian. There is also a steady stream of requests from academics, reporters, retired State officials and ordinary U.S. (and foreign) citizens seeking material on specific topics: e.g., embassy reporting on the late Lady Diana’s activities, the death of JFK or the presence of nuclear weapons in countries A, B or C. Again, the writing is formula-driven and scripted, but once formats are mastered, it is a straightforward, uneventful style. Accordingly, an ex-FSO will be com- fortable with its writing. Creating History The winners write the history books, so you can be confident that your spin is “in.” The State Department historian’s office is the custodian of drafting for the Foreign Relations of the United States series of volumes on the U.S. official view of its diplomatic history. You can be sure that potentially embarrassing information is very carefully scrutinized (and debated) prior to any publica- tion. Each volume is supposed to be released 20 years after the events transpired, but they are invariably behind schedule. (If the volume addressing the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus is a year late, who cares — it’s history, not guidance for the noon briefing.) While the historian’s office keeps a stable of profes- sional, trained Ph.D. historians beavering away on the U.S. foreign relations volumes, there are occasional spe- cial projects that can engage retired FSOs as contract writers/researchers. Such may be prompted by special “one off” requests from senior State officials or bureaus. For example, the Diplomatic Security Bureau may desire a history of its origins and operations or a senior official may want an assessment of the Clinton administration’s Middle East peace process. FSOs working on contract for the historian’s office have done such projects. This work is more intellectually challenging and less scripted: one may do archival research, conduct interviews, peruse highly classified materials and generally produce work of serious substance. It may be rewarding, but the reward could be long deferred as the time between drafting and any public release of material can be years. Commercial Writing If writing for the State Department in one guise or another is familiar and comfortable, there is also the big, F O C U S 30 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 Breaking Into Print Newspaper and magazine editors don’t wait around for bril- liant pieces to fall into their laps. Due to limited time and space to fill before deadline, they usually have a good idea of what they are looking for and where to find it, and slots are often filled by regular columnists, not newcomers. The chances that your op- ed or article will be published are greater if you look into small- er newspapers and magazines, not the New York Times. Establish relationships with the appropriate staff: if you have been interviewed by a journalist in the past, ask them to put you into contact with the appropriate editor. Use your networking skills! Don’t write the Great American Novel. Be concise, simple and direct. Know your audience, know your argument and keep your focus. Make sure you know the style preferred by the pub- lication you are trying to write for. For more tips, take a look at http://newsroom.depaul.edu/OpEd.pdf. If you have written a book, the best way to get published is to do your market research. Determine if there is an audience for your work by defining your target, and identify publishers to contact by browsing bookstores and taking note of the publish- ers who handle books like yours. Check http://www.publishing- central.com/articles/20030511-87-ba56.html for tips. Self-pub- lishing is an increasingly popular low-cost alternative: iUniverse , at http://www.iuniverse.com, is only one of the better known among many imprints. The Internet offers extensive resources for writers. Several of the best Web sites are: http://www.writerswrite.com/, http:// www.internet-resources.com/writers/ and http://www.google . com/Top/Arts/Writers_Resources/. — Caitlin Stuart, Editorial Intern David Jones, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer, is a frequent contributor to the Journal .