The Do's and Don'ts of Expert Quotes
Whether you're a writer or an 'expert', this one's for you...
Hi! I’m Amy from LightWriter Media.⚡ I write about creativity, recovery and healing through storytelling. If you are new to this page, drop your email below to ensure you receive my posts. This is a reader-supported publication. If it does not cause you any kind of financial hardship, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5.50 a month (or just $35 per year).
It all started a couple of months ago with an article I wrote for Marie Claire Australia: an investigation into the ways, modern couples are divorcing and the cost-cutting ways they’re ‘unconsciously uncoupling’ financially. I was proud of the piece and it got a lot of great feedback… but then I received a direct message.
My heart sank when I read it. It was from the divorce coach I used nearly 15 years ago, for my own marriage break-up. She was upset because a decade earlier she’d helped me for free. At the time I was going to write an article about my experience but then I got cold-feet: my divorce was so new and I didn’t see how I could write it without triggering my ex-husband.
Fast forward to today and my divorce coach was upset: why hadn’t I included her in the article; this was my chance to repay her for the help and assistance? I felt sick when I read the message because she was right. It was an oversight. More than that, it was an avoidance technique: I do everything I can not to think about that time in my life and how I hurt another person, my partner.
But she did deserve credit for her assistance and knowledge. And here’s my chance: if you’re looking for an amazing divorce coach, check out Jacqueline Wharton at The Relationship Suite—she REALLY, TRULY helped me.
The whole thing reminded me why I still feel all the wobbles when it comes to quoting experts in article. And, yet, if you’re a writer of books, blogs or anything, it’s really so important.
Even when my writer students are penning deeply personal memoirs, I still often encourage them to include someone else’s perspective: a grandmother about the grief of losing a grandchild; a now-grownup child on their memory of an event that happened in their childhood; a researcher or psychologist who can offer research-backed insight.
Yet these quotes have to be handled with kid-gloves because one misplaced word or incorrect accreditation can warp a quote, and lead to a very unhappy expert.
So, whether you’re a writer who wants to include experts, or an expert who wants to be quoted in the media, this is what I’ve learn (sometimes, the hard way!)
Accuracy over Poetry.
I’ll never forget the first expert I ever quoted in an article. Forgive me: I was 23-years-old and this was literally the first ‘hard news’ story I’d ever written. After interviewing a very high-profile philanthropist, I ‘flourished’ her quotes to make them sound …nicer.
My stomach still twists when I think of her complaints letter, sent directly to my editor. I had completely re-written her quotes and, worst, used phrases like ‘third world country’ (an old and, now, derogative term). Eugh, jeez, it’s still sooo uncomfortable.
In a good way, I’m grateful. Very early on in my career, I learnt that you can’t change ONE SINGLE WORD. Yes, even if a quote is dry, clunky and lacks colour. You can hone your skills as an interviewer to learn how to get more colourful quotes from an expert in an interview. But some quotes are just dry: informative and interesting, yes, but not creatively satisfying.
The Power of The Written Word
A lot of journalists will disagree with me but I value email interviews because they make accuracy easy. If you’re an expert, I recommend requesting an email interview if any news publications wants to quote you—it just removes the risk-factor.
Saying that, a long, personal story can require a “phoner” or face-to-face conversation. If that’s the case, you can request that a writer phones you back after they’ve written the piece, and reads your quotes back to you. We don’t love doing that, us journalists, but it is common practise.
A little etiquette: only change quotes that are inaccurate; this isn’t the time to change all your quotes just because you think you can do better.
Freebies Need Flexibility
Often, an expert quote is tied to a freebie, like my experience with my divorce coach. In my younger days, I grabbed every freebie going, and damn the outcome. These days, I have far more respect for the process.
The social media 'influencer’ world will tell you that every freebie must be tied to a very detailed outcome (we’ll give you this, and you’ll praise it in 5 Instagram posts, 6 reels etc). But in longer form writing—books, blogs and article—I think a freebie arrangement needs more flexibility.
I’ll give you an example.
When I was getting married to my now-husband, I decided to fly back to England to buy my wedding dress. The first time I got married, I ducked out for an hour whilst my fiance was in chemo. I thought it would be an uplifting and cheerful article to compare my experience this time around—marrying a man who didn’t have terminal cancer.
The article was commissioned by The Telegraph. A large department store in the UK offered a freebie—a session with their very stylish personal shopper—in exchange for a mention in the article. Easy… until it wasn’t.
Due to a series of events, you can read about here, that trip ended up being highly-emotional and traumatic. The ‘uplifting’ article turned into a powerful story about PTSD, grief and the rollercoaster of recovery… and the department store wasn’t happy!
From a commercial perspective, I could see their issue. But this was a real-life article—and real life happens. Whatever side of the freebies agreement you’re on, I think there needs to be a humility for humanity. And an understanding that it doesn’t always mean someone is out to screw you if a situation changes.
Finally, and this is a big one: let’s all try to control our expectations. As an expert, I know, it’s frustrating when you send a Word Document of thoughts and you end up with a paragraph in an article. But we only have a certain word-count and, in 2024, that’s lower than ever. Likewise, writers, you can’t expect your experts to be poets. You’re coming to them for their wisdom not their wordplay. It’s your job to work around that.
From a commercial perspective, I could see their issue. But this was a real-life article—and real life happens. Whatever side of the freebies agreement you’re on, I think there needs to be a humility for humanity. And an understanding that it doesn’t always mean someone is out to screw you if a situation changes.
The expert-writer relationship should be mutually-beneficial, handled with respect, gratitude and empathy for each person’s pressures and time-commitments.
We’re all just trying to make our mark on the world—and, yes, you can quote me on that.
x Amy