But it’s just as important not to write too little. Print publications know exactly how many words they can fit on a page, which is why they give you a specific number. If you don’t write enough, they will be left with the inconvenience of white space to fill.
Not writing enough often means you haven’t gone into enough depth on your subject.
So, what can you do if your copy is coming up short? The first thing is to go back over the brief you were given. Have you covered every aspect? Is there anything you have written about too briefly that you could expand on?
Another good way to add more to copy is to get some more quotes. Could someone else add another dimension to what your interviewees have already said? Do you need an opposing viewpoint? Could another case study improve the feature?
One thing you absolutely shouldn’t do is just send your feature in with fewer words than you were asked for.
