Build an editorial brief for a freelance writer

A topic label is not an editorial brief. ‘Write about remote work’ leaves the writer to decide the audience, angle, scope and purpose, then invites the commissioning editor to disagree with those decisions after drafting. A brief should settle the important choices while leaving room for the writer's craft.

Define the article's question

State the specific problem the piece will address and the intended reader. For an imagined business publication, ‘How can a small team decide which updates do not need a meeting?’ is a more workable assignment than ‘The future of collaboration’. The first suggests a bounded discussion and examples that can be evaluated.

Explain why the article belongs in the publication. Link to related material so the writer can avoid repeating an existing piece or understand what the audience already knows. If the new article should challenge an assumption or fill a gap, identify that purpose explicitly.

Distinguish requirements from suggestions

List essential points, factual constraints and exclusions separately from possible approaches. A suggested example is not the same as a required conclusion. Do not ask for independent analysis while prescribing an unsupported verdict in advance. If the piece is promotional, make that nature clear rather than presenting it as neutral reporting.

Provide the relevant source material with short notes explaining what each source contains. An unlabelled archive transfers unnecessary research work to the writer and increases the chance of using an obsolete document. Mark internal facts that need confirmation and identify the person who can answer questions.

If interviews are involved, agree who arranges them, whether the writer can contact sources directly and what approval or quotation process applies. Do not assume access to a busy specialist simply because their name appears in the brief. The schedule should reflect the actual availability of the information.

Describe the form without overengineering it

Give a word range, publication format and any useful examples of the house style. Explain whether the article should be a reported feature, an instructional piece or a short analysis. Avoid dictating a fixed number of subheadings unless the format genuinely requires it; different questions need different structures.

State how sources should be supplied and which factual claims need attribution. Explain any restrictions on artificial examples, quotations or generated material. A writer should not have to infer whether a fictional scenario is acceptable or how it must be labelled.

Make the review agreement visible

Include the draft date, expected feedback date, number or scope of revision rounds and final decision-maker. Agree commercial terms through the appropriate commissioning process rather than burying them in a creative paragraph. A clear brief does not replace an agreement about payment and rights.

Before drafting, invite the writer to flag a weak premise or missing source. They may discover that the proposed question cannot be answered as framed. Resolving that early is more useful than insisting on a predetermined outline and then requesting a different article at review.

The finished brief should allow a capable writer to explain what they are producing, for whom and on what factual basis. It should not contain so much prewritten copy that the assignment becomes an exercise in rearranging the editor's sentences.