I read an article this afternoon titled, "3 Steps to Finding Your True Writing Voice". The author is a copywriter who has been asked multiple times, "teach me to write like you". I've read many, many other blog posts on the subject of learning to write, but this one made more of an impact.
Brushing aside the gut reaction of "why would I teach myself out of a job?" I know that writers consent to (on the surface, at least) tutor themselves out of work for the purpose of getting their names out there. In enough cases, potential clients will be convinced of the writer's talent, but not motivated to take on their own copywriting as a DIY project. I agree with the strategy, from a marketing point of view.
What I don't agree with is the impression the practice creates. Writing is easy. Here, try these tips and you too will create amazing content. Like many professional writers, I have a writing degree which took a host of instructors and over four years of my life to complete. Added to that is the introspective assessment that I didn't develop truly effective writing skills until I had several years of workplace experience to back up my education.
So with the above context in mind, my question to other writers is, can we genuinely assist self-motivated clients with a few pointers? Or in the end, are we devaluing our industry as a whole if we give the impression that the ability to make meaningful connections with readers can be acquired through a little light reading?
I'm not taking the stance that writers are experts and other businesspeople are not. It is certainly possible to develop advanced skills through self-guided study. But you have to be starting from a place of inherent talent. Almost all of us can write, just as it doesn't break any laws of physics for most of us to sing, dance, paint, take photographs, or craft a sculpture. Will it be any good is the real question.
In creative endeavours, 'good' is always relative. But for the same reason I lift an eyebrow at writers that make our craft seem like neurosurgery (instilling fear in their readers to even attempt as much as a memo), I'm wary of writers that offer to dole out admission to the wordsmithing theme park where you only need to be "this tall" to get on the roller coaster.
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2 comments:
You raise excellent points, Christine. In the olden days when I'd see a title like that, I'd begin reading with a strong yearning in my heart that this time they really would teach me how to write. I wanted it that bad. And then years passed and I saw so many books that lacked the spirit of a true gutwrenching story. You tell within the first chapter that they hesitated reaching deep down for that emotional connection. I still wonder why so many decline to do so. Fear, maybe? Terrified that they'd expose their heart and soul for everyone to see.
Didn't you feel cheated, reading that article or book, getting to the end, and realizing, you didn't have the skills you were promised?
Even though I knew better, I used to buy those books too. Even after I already had a writing degree. I'd taken a degree in professional writing, journalism, and business communication. What I'd really wanted to learn was how to write fiction.
I figured out pretty quickly that those how-to writing books were more about making money for the author than about helping me learn to write fiction. I figured out that if I wanted to write fiction, I'd have to, you know, write fiction. So I did. I just started writing short stories and stopped worrying about whether or not I was doing it properly.
I think the same logic extends to business copywriting how-to posts. They're designed to sell the author's services, not to get the competition set up with all the tools they need. Can't these writers promote their services without promising a lesson they're not properly delivering? Do they intend to teach and fall short or is it a cruel bait-and-switch? And why speak to would-be writers when the people you need to engage are potential clients?
My favourite blogger for discussing copywriting without the skill-enhancing carrot is probably Angela West. She posts impartial information and freelance copywriting jobs. No fluff. No smoke and mirrors. And she's Canadian!
http://www.freelancewritingjobs.ca/
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