Removing Material from an Article That is Too Long

 I recently wrote an article for the website, Reference.com. Before I get to work writing my articles, I take note of what my word-count limit is. Nothing irritates a client more than agreeing to pay for a 1000-word article and receiving an article that is 2000 words or more – and the writer expecting them to "just trim off what you don't want." That is not your client's job. That is YOUR job! You are the writer with ALL of the information and all of the sources. You need to be the one to decide how much will get trimmed if an article is too long, as well as what exactly will need to be trimmed.

 

In some cases, it can be difficult to figure out what to remove from an article that is too long. This can be a hard decision, as the writer may feel that ALL of the information is important.

 

I was in that "all of the information is important" boat with my article for that site. I was writing about illnesses in bearded dragons and signs to look for if they are sick. I wanted to include as many illnesses as possible. Unfortunately, that meant going over my word count. So I decided one of them would have to go.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn't sure just what I should remove!

 

So I turned to my oldest, who actually has a bearded dragon and who did research on beardies before having one as a pet. He suggested what I should remove and, after removal, my article was once again in the safe zone. Yay!

 

Here is what got cut from my article:

 

A fatal illness

 

Adenovirus infection is a serious infection for bearded dragons and can usually be fatal. Dr. Vickstrom noted, "Sometimes chronic underlying infections, such as occur with adenovirus, predispose a bearded dragon to other illnesses." It is usually referred to as “wasting disease” and is contagious, so an infected bearded dragon should be isolated from other lizards.

 

This infection is caused by a parasite. Good steps towards prevention are to keep your dragon’s enclosure clean, throw out uneaten and old food, and properly disinfect any tools or equipment after each use. Symptoms include weight loss, a prostrate figure, seizures, an arched head or upright tail, uncontrolled rolling and twitching of the toes and tail. Medication can be administered.

https://reptilesmagazine.com/atadenovirus-this-disease-can-be-deadly-to-your-bearded-dragon/  (Source)

 

 

Reason it got cut: “It’s the least common concern out of all the stuff listed.”