What it takes to be a Writer, Editor, or Proofreader

Yeah, yeah. I know. There are thousands of articles about “How to be…” this, or “What you need to be…” that. Well, here’s another one…

To be good at anything, you should have good senses. Not just the olfactory ones, but professional “senses” that serve you well while doing your day-to-day job. It’s no different for writers, editors, and proofreaders. They have to have a storyteller’s sense of flow, an artist’s sense of imagery, a musician’s sense of timing and rhythm, and a drill sergeant’s sense of demanding perfection at every waking moment of the day! Whew. Sorry about that.

Anyway, writer, editors and proofreaders (I’m not going to type that out all the time, so I’ll tap into my government experience and make an acronym out of it: WEP; meh, good enough) are no different than any other profession (Ha! Yeah right!). They need to have their “senses” in order. Here are some additional senses that WEPs should have. And if you want to be one, you should be well-versed in these also.

Sense of Urgency
Every WEP needs to have a sense of urgency when they are doing their work. If you’re commissioned to write something, there’s no need in dawdling – get to it! Do your research, outline, and first draft and have something to show for your time. Impress yourself with your writing speed. Impress yourself with your ability to find mistakes in a draft. Impress yourself by arguing over the use (or not) of an Oxford comma. But don’t mess around. Start writing (or editing, or proofreading)!

Sense of Pride
Every project a WEP contributes to is a work of art. Not everyone will appreciate it. It won’t wind up in the top literary journals or be lauded by your local book club. But, it’s important that you have a sense of pride in your work. Even if your boss rips up your first draft and tells you to start over (or try a different profession), know that you created something out of nothing. Take pride in the…

Sense of Process
That’s right. Process. I’ve written about process before. I actually love the process. As I’ve grown older, it’s not just the written word that excites me, but the process to get there. Thinking. Outlining. Drafting. Revising. Yelling. Screaming. Crying. Punching. Sulking. Yelling more. Talking to myself. Revising. Submitting.

Beautiful, huh?

Sense of Self
WEPing will give you a great sense of self (if you don’t already have one). It will have you soaring above the clouds and thinking you’re the best WEP in world (nay, universe!) or have you rocking back and forth in the corner wondering if you have any value to society at all. But isn’t that cool? You really learn all there is about yourself when you’re creating something. It may not be your mission in life, but give it a shot. Write something. Edit something. Proofread something. You’ll learn something new and leave the endeavor with a good sense of self.

Now get out there and WEP!

Finding your Writing Niche

At some point in every writer’s professional life, they face the moment when they ask themselves: “what kind of writing do I enjoy the most?” A writer may be employed to write advertising copy, business letters, annual reports, or any number of types of documents. He may enjoy the work or not find it fulfilling. If you’re in the latter category, here are some quick tips on how to find your writing niche.

Excitement

Are you excited? Does your heart rate increase a bit when you’re thinking about writing something? I don’t mean that you can’t sit still unless you share your thoughts, but it’s not too far off from that. I’ve found that researching, writing, editing planning documents (strategy, communications, management, etc.) gets my synapses “popping” more than writing, say, a business letter. Now, I enjoy writing and editing in general, but those types of documents get me going a little bit more (yeah, I know, it’s weird).

Interest

What are you interested in? It could be anything. Hamburgers, pet care, politics, sneakers, whatever. If you’re truly interested in something, your reader will be able to tell. Most writers write about what they’re interested in, but sometimes you can tell that their heart really isn’t into it. The writing may be good, but there’s just something missing that bleeds through.

Interest is tied to excitement, so it’s natural that your interests excite you. That’s what you should write about.

Praise

Have you written something and your readers (or your boss) praised your finished product? You may have found your writing niche. You can probably tell that these three tips are tied together. If you’re interested in something, you’ll more than likely be excited about it, which will reflect in your writing and ultimately result in praise from your readers.

Do an honest self-evaluation of what you like to do and you’ll not only find your writing niche, but your writing will improve.

Quick story: 

Just last week, I did this evaluation when I was developing a value statement for potential clients. After feeling confused about what writing, editing, and proofreading services I would offer (and to which clients), I looked at my experiences and interests more critically. What I discovered was that government, nonprofits, and politics were my niches. Writing campaign management plans, disaster recovery plans, researching and reports, communications plans, and other documents that could be beneficial to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and political candidates and groups gets me excited and have received the most praise.

Now of course I won’t cut off my nose to spite my face and turn down writing assignments when offered (I am in business), but my marketing focus will be on those three sectors.

Give that self-evaluation a try and let me know what you find.

Happy writing!