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Comment by jasonfried | Hacker News Reader

Something I didn't know when I started writing for Inc: The authors don't write the headlines. The editors write the headlines and subheads.

Please don't hold the "6 easy steps" part against me. Easy steps anything makes me cringe.

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When magazines or newspapers ask me to write things for them, I tell them I'll only do it if they print what I write verbatim. (They can of course choose not to print it at all, but if they print it they have to print it as written.) Most say no, but some have said yes. Of those who said yes, not all actually did, but no one went so far as to change a title.

Good advice.

I never realized the author didn't write the headline/subhead - I love writing headlines and subheads.

Noted for all future writing contracts.

I think it's fairly standard in journalism (both newspapers and magazines). A lot of bigger magazines and newspapers have a full-time headline writer who basically does only that, possibly along with some related headline-ish tasks like pulling out those random quotes from the article that get printed in large font in insets.

Newspapers and magazines also have a stake in their own brand, image, and "feel." They also have a stake in the marketability of their product, or their own idiosyncratic view of such, which in this context would be your essay/article.

I used to work at a newspaper.

This person is known as the "subeditor". They also have influence on page layouts in their section, so they have the power to highlight or bury some stories.

What was your original title?

I'm guessing the one on the 37signals blog: How to get good at making money

Just an FYI to those who haven't seen it in print: "How to Get Good at Making Money" is the cover-line we used for the hard-copy.

What about interviews ? Out of curiosity, did you approve of that 'searching for the next Facebook' headline ?

Jason, on a scale of 1 (I didn't even write that) to 10 (that's exactly what I said), where would you say the final output of this article scored?

I wrote the whole article, just not the headlines/subheads. My editor always tweaks a few words here and there, but I always review prior to publication. So I'd say it's a 9.9.

Anyhoo, this is too many steps. I want to make money in no more than 3 easy steps. Two easy steps would be even better.

(1) Find something that causes people pain

(2) For a fee, fix it

(3 optional) build Scrooge McDuck style money bin to contain your new found wealth

Yes 2, 3, 5 or 7 only for easy steps. Anyone who has 6 easy steps to do anything is clearly an idot.

I think that there's a herd mentality here w.r.t voting. Thankfully the system doesn't let the mob downvote too far

baa baa

edit -4 looks to be the limit to downvoting

What getting -4 really means is that if the 'community' of this webtopia could downvote you more they would

Actually, your karma still goes down, there's just no display-level lower than -4.

idot? is that some new shiny thing from Apple?

(1) Buy low.

(2) Sell high.

In no particular order.

Unless short-selling gets banned again.

What was your headline (and subheads)?

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