These Words Don’t Fall Out Of My Head
THESE WORDS DON’T FALL OUT OF MY HEAD. As a writer, that phrase courses through my head when a client or editor or graphic artist wants me to “write up a little quick….” If they’re a client, they tick off the purpose for the writing and all its seriousness and sometimes add, “This shouldn’t take you too long.” If they’re an editor, they call panicked that another writer failed to turn in their copy and that I was the next logical call to make. And oh, by the way, the deadline is COB (Close Of Business) same day. If they’re a graphic artist, they’re likely stumped for copy because, well, that’s not what they do for a living.
Writers aren’t taken seriously, I’ve learned over decades of manufacturing verbs, adjectives and pronouns. English degrees are often interpreted as the choice college undergrads make when they can’t decide on a major. J-school is increasingly something you do before going to law school, a career that ensures that you’re really going to make the money.
Of course, writers have to take part of the blame. As writers, and not so much talkers, we tend to put our heads down and write. The only noise in the room is a cd playing, ambient noise that helps us get into our writing space. I’ve been known to play the same cd over and over for 14 hours straight on a writing project. There was the time my upstairs neighbor couldn’t take another stanza of Madonna’s American Girl album and let me know as much, pounding at my door and shouting, “Are you trying to give me a message?! Well, I’ve got one for you!”
At first I was stunned at his interpretation of my choice in easy listening. Then the more bemused I became as I understood that he really had no affection at all for “I’m so stupid” (one of my personal favorites on the recording), the greater he took offense. Let’s just say it did nothing for our HOA relations.
The point is that writing is as much a science as blood testing in a hospital lab. It’s as much an art as architectural drawings. It’s as serious a business as being a teacher, a cop, a judge. I wouldn’t think of performing surgery because I’d had one; but I know doctors who don’t believe their copy needs editing.
So the next time your editor, your boss, the chairman of the volunteer board you serve on asks you to write a little something up, stop them in their tracks. Tell them that you’ll email them a Project Scope that delineates what you need to know about the writing project so that you can deliver copy that’s on target and on time. Then prepare a formal document that sets you forth as the professional you are. You’ll be surprised at how this single step can take you one rung higher. Toward heaven, perhaps?
Tags: copywriting, projects, writers, Writing