Last week I skyped with Zac Bertschy, one of my editors at Anime News Network. As the executive editor of ANN, he pays quite a few people to write about anime.

When our business was finished, I asked Zac if he had any advice for Otaku Journalist readers looking to get a job writing about anime. He listed a few things I expected to hear about writing competency and knowledge. And then, he said something that I sometimes neglect to mention:

“You need to be easy to work with.”

It’s not just how good of a writer you are or how well you know your subject. Like any other job, writing is one where you need to be somebody your colleague doesn’t dread working with.

No, this doesn’t mean you need to be your editor’s best friend. Or somebody who has a lot in common (though in niche writing, you’ll find that you and your editors often like that same niche.) Let’s break down what editors mean when they say they want a writer who is easy to work with:

Responds to Editorial Direction

Editors want to work with a writer who listens to them. When your editor asks you to avoid passive voice or adopt a more conversational tone, they don’t want to have to see the same issues in your next assignment—that indicates you’re not listening. A good writer takes an editor’s suggestions seriously and offers their reasoning politely if they disagree.

Takes Criticism Well

A good writer knows that “this story needs work” doesn’t mean “your skill as a writer needs work.” Even the best writer can learn from an editor, and after years of professional writing, every piece I write still needs an editor’s touch. Getting your feelings hurt every time an editor makes a suggestion means you’re missing the point of what critique is for.

Flexible

A good writer is willing to adjust their writing style to the tone of the site they are working for. They are adaptable, and can tackle different types of stories. It’s less about your skill and more about having a can-do attitude toward the editor’s suggested assignments. Editors want to work with a writer who is enthusiastic, responsive, and communicative about assigned topics.

Meets Deadlines

A good writer is somebody the editor can rely on. They finish earlier assignments before pitching new ideas. They consistently deliver their assignments at the deadline the editor has instructed. If something comes up and they can’t, they communicate early and openly about why an assignment will be late instead of giving the editor an unpleasant surprise.

Notice that none of this relies on your personality. Whether you’re shy or outgoing or anything else, anybody can learn to be a good listener and communicator.

Zac said that when he’s choosing people to hire, he considers “easiness to work with” on the same level as he would consider “writing ability” or “knowledge about anime.” It’s that important.

In small niche subjects like anime, video games, or comics, there are only so many editors in the field. Give yourself a leg up by being somebody they’re thrilled to work with.

Are you interested in taking your niche writing career to the next level, but find that you struggle with confidence? Maybe you’re unsure if your interview questions are engaging enough, or worried your cover letters to editors aren’t compelling enough to get replies.

You don’t have to do it alone.

My new workbook for niche reporters uses processes and scripts that I have used in my career for years. It includes step-by-step walkthroughs to the technicalities of niche reporting—plus actual emails I have sent to land writing gigs, with fill-in-the-blank spaces for you to make them personal.

This 18-page digital workbook includes 15 worksheets, each of which you can complete in 15 minutes or less to make a big difference in the way you kickstart your niche journalism career. As usual, my workbook is targeted at reporters pursuing decidedly geeky niches, and the example text reflects this. It’s all yours for $10.

I am building this workbook as part of the Gumroad Small Product Lab, in which creators each launch a product in 10 days. This workbook will be available on August 6, 2015, but you can pre-order it starting today. Better yet, if you pre-order, you can get a 50% discount by using the discount code otaku.

Pre-order it here

I hope you have as much fun filling it out as I had making it! And, don’t hesitate to email me with any questions about whether this workbook is right for you.

In Build Your Anime Blog, I shared Otaku Journalist’s most popular posts of all time. I told readers each of these posts were successful for two reasons:

• It was on a topic people were already discussing.
• It included original material you can’t easily find elsewhere.

Now, I think there may have been a third reason these posts did well. They each elicited an emotional response.

I was thinking about it this weekend when a story I wrote suddenly got lots of attention. My article was about an organization that Photoshopped pictures of female videogame characters. It’s definitely one of my ConAir stories, as Helen would say. I wrote it on a Thursday and didn’t think about it until Saturday, when lots of people began commenting on my article and sending me tweets and email. Most of these comments had one thing in common—people were angry.

It turned out my colleague, Erik Kain, wrote a follow-up story on the subject that linked to mine and revitalized the topic. Though my story was neutral, many people reached out to me taking offense at my title’s assertion that overweight women can “look great.”

It sucks that the catalyst was how women’s bodies should or shouldn’t look, but what’s incredible about this story is that it inspired people to take action. They didn’t just passively read it, they shared it on social media and reached out to me with their opinions. Their enthusiasm made this my most popular story for July. I pessimistically told my Forbes mentor, Susannah Breslin, that now that I write for hits, this told me I could make more money inciting anger than dispensing information. Her response snapped me out of it:

“I think people click to feel something.”

People come to the news each morning to feel. They want to be uplifted, reassured, and yes, sometimes righteously enraged. But all the best journalism calls us to action. Good blog posts inspire us to comment, and maybe write follow up posts of our own. For example, when I read a particularly striking review from Bobduh or Josei Next Door, it inspires me to try a new anime.

In the future, I’d like to avoid articles that make people angry, but even that can have its place. In the New York Times, an exposé of nail salons in New York inspired hundreds to boycott manicures and pressured the governor into ordering an emergency measure. It was a well-reported story that made people shocked and angry—but for a very good reason.

An article that makes people emotional can be a very positive thing. People come to the news not only to be informed, but to take away a feeling with that new knowledge. What will your next article or blog post inspire people to do?