“Slant” is a commonly used, every day word. You can slant things to the left or the right or walk up a steep slant in the terrain.
In the writing world, slant means you write your article or book to a specific audience. Being aware of those audiences provides keys to multiple markets for your work. You have done your homework by reading the guidelines and several issues of the magazine or several books by the same publishing house. You have an understanding of what they are looking for, what their worldview is, whether or not the perspective is more conservative or liberal. Determining your slant also involves understanding the readers of the particular publication or publishing house.
For example, if you wanted to write an article on some aspect of parenting you might start out with a serious slant such as “The ABC’s of Parenting.”
A different slant might be “Parenting Teens – Life’s Biggest Challenge.”
You could use a variation on that slant such as “Create Boundaries to Keep Your Teens Safe.”
A humorous slant might be “When People Think Your Daughter is Your Little Sister.”
“Daddy Daughter Relationships” could be a good slant for men.
A women’s slant could be instructions on “How to Get Along with Your Mini-Me.”
You might consider a children’s slant like “Parenting the Early Years Well” or Six Fun Games for Painless Toddler Learning.”
Each of these slants could be targeted to a different magazine, giving you multiple opportunities for publication.
The same process can apply to books. In fact, for books, this is a good way to brainstorm your subject and find the focus that works best for you. You might find that as you list possible slants, you may be creating an outline for your book.
Another word you might hear used interchangeably with slant is the word “angle.” The slant, or angle, of your article or book could affect your chances of having your article or book accepted. Knowing the way information is presented to an editor’s specific audience is sure to catch his or her eye.
Why not give it a try? Pick a subject and see how many slants you can come up with. You may find you have lots of articles to write from one subject you are familiar with. Or perhaps thoughts of book slants will yield chapter focus and clarity.
Linda Gilden is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She loves to take one subject and create multiple articles from her research. Linda finds great joy (and lots of writing material) in time spent with her family. www.lindagilden.com
A similar article first appeared on thewriteconversation.com in June, 2016.