The real strategy here is to make the reader feel like they’ve stepped into the middle of a piece by the time they’ve finished reading the very first… - Nicolas Cole

For articles that have three or less Main Points, you are going to want to use a structure that doesn’t cut your explanations too short. The 1/2/5/3/1 structure is a good framework to use when thinking about how to make a solid argument for whatever it is you’re writing about, without getting “lost in the sauce” and rambling on and on. Here’s how it works: This first sentence is your opener. This second sentence clarifies your opener. And this third sentence is why the reader should care. This fourth sentence starts to expand on the point. This fifth sentence is a story, or some sort of credible piece of insight. This sixth sentence builds on that story or insight and tells the reader something they maybe didn’t know. This seventh sentence is a small conclusion. And this eighth sentence is why that conclusion matters. This ninth sentence recaps what you just told the reader. This tenth sentence reinforces the argument you’re making with an additional tidbit or insight. And this eleventh sentence drives the point home. This twelfth sentence reminds the reader of the important takeaway.

The pipedream that a publishing house is just going to swoop in, save the day, and bring you tea and crumpets all afternoon while you stare out the window working on the next great American novel is dead. It doesn’t exist. Hemingway had a good run, but as soon as the internet was invented, that era came to an end. Today, the writers who succeed, and who actually make money, are more than just writers. They are brands. They are solo-run companies. They are the publisher, the creative director, the distributor, and the writer, all wrapped up into one — and they embrace the additional responsibility, because it means they have more monetary ownership and creative control over their work. Instead of shying away from this new world, and wishing things were different, I encourage you to welcome it with open arms. Either way, this is the direction the publishing world is headed. So as my 8th grade math teacher used to say, “You can either get on the bus, or you can get off of the bus. Either way, we’re leaving.

That’s how I learned that staying true to the process is more important than obsessing over the destination.