If you’re thinking that this process hasn’t involved much actual writing so far, other than e-mails, note-taking and forums or online discussions groups, you’re absolutely right. Getting a project done is more than just about writing and why so many talented writers fail – they don’t understand how much work needs to be done first!
Everyone works differently, and this allows you to market your style and skills much better than some others. This is great but if your writing skills aren’t up to the right standard, then you’re going to fall short of your targets. On the other hand, if you can’t or don’t do the prep work first then you’ll also fail to add depth and meaning to your work.
Having got that balance just right, it’s time to get started!
Aim high at all times
A good piece of advice for any projects and life goals you may have, but in this case I’m talking about the quality of your writing. It should go without saying that only your best writing should be submitted for every piece on a project – after all, you aren’t being paid for substandard writing and that is likely to lose you future business and money.
Depending on the project at hand, create examples first using everything you have learned about the audience, the tone and the product or service you’re writing about. If you have blog posts, articles, product content or various other pieces of writing to do, it can be easier to produce one or two examples of each type for approval first. Once you’ve got that, you have nothing to worry about with the rest of the writing and can plan your time to finish by or before your deadline.
Feedback and criticism
Let’s be honest here, unless people agree with what you write and are totally happy with it, any feedback or criticism hurts a little. No matter how much we say otherwise, it does. That’s one of the reasons writers, and indeed, any creative, usually have large egos when it comes to their work – we need them to make sure we can bounce right back from any and every piece of feedback and criticism.
Any feedback you get will hopefully be positive and constructive, especially considering how much work it’s taken just to get here, but you should be ready for anything. By this stage in the project, you’ll have an idea of how your client reacts and what kind of responses they give so don’t be disheartened if you have to change things or rework certain pieces. This is a natural part of the process and will make the rest so much easier.
Dealing with the little things
No matter what happens, or how good your writing is, some clients will always want to leave their mark on your work. It’s almost like they want to be able to say they had a hand in its creation other than hiring a writer and guiding them to do it for them. You just have to deal with that and make the changes to words or phrases as they see fit – as long as it doesn’t compromise readability. Some clients won’t do this but others will and there will be no real reason other than the above or their personal preferences. At this stage, don’t fight it too much.
That’s it! The whole process from start to finish but don’t think I’ve given you all my secrets. There’s a lot more to writing great, high quality content but this is a good way to get to grips with the basics. It’s important to remember that what works for me doesn’t always work for other people so finding the best methods and styles for you is important for anyone wanting to be successful as a writer.
Hopefully this has given you some insight into how much work we writers have to do, and as the value of high quality content increases with each Google update, our services are going to be constantly in demand!
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