Yes, You Probably Should Hire a Professional Writer

Okay, I'll admit. I'm biased.

I'm going to be really biased in this post.

Clearly I am. Because I am a professional writer.

...But, in my defense, since I am a professional writer, I also have a pretty good grasp on why you should, in fact, pay for someone like me to write the thing you need written.

First of all, let me acknowledge the fact that we are no longer in the heyday of blogging. There were a few years - around that 2011-2013 time frame - when everyone and their mother had a blog. It was pretty much mandatory to have a blog. There were blogs for literally everything, about everything, with advice for everything. But then, thanks to a number of factors, not least of which was the rising popularity of bite-sized consumption of media on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook, blogs - and the era of writing at least 400 words every time you wanted to tell people something - fell a little out of favor.

Still, I think writers are needed. Descriptions, captions, text boxes in Instagram or YouTube posts, Facebook pages... all of it still needs to be conveyed, and now, words count more than ever (literally: there are still word count limits on platforms like Twitter). The platforms may have changed, the word count requirements may have dropped, but concise, clear, comprehensible pieces of writing are still needed. Earlier this year, a study was released that said adults spend 12 hours and 7 minutes per day consuming media. All of that media (well, most of it, at least), probably has some writing attached to it somewhere, whether in a Facebook post advertising it or a description box attached to it.

That is a lot of media being consumed - and even more media being put out there to be consumed.

So why hire a writer?

One of the biggest roadblocks I encounter as a professional writer trying to justify my occupation is people simply believing that because they can speak English, and know English, they can write. To an extent this is, obviously, true. I mean, you can write. You can probably even write decently well.

But this is a bit akin to saying something along the lines of because you can talk, you should become a broadcaster on tv. Or because you can dribble a basketball, you could easily be an NBA star. There is a little more that goes into it than just writing some words down and hitting "post." Below, I want to share a few of the top reasons why it I believe it is important to have a professional writer on your side, especially if you are a business owner, a marketing or sales professional, or basically any person who is trying to market anything, including yourself.

1. Writers are Grammar Pros. I trust that many of you have good grammar. You may have even been a superstar in English class back in your high school days. But the reality is, we have busy lives, and unless you grew up to be an English teacher, a translator, editor, writer or other language professional, your day to day interest in keeping up on grammar and style has probably fallen by the wayside. Writers and editors, on the other hand, live and breathe this kind of stuff. In the same way that an accountant might be really fast and efficient at crunching numbers, or an athlete stays in shape and thinks about their physical well-being every single day, writers are experts at grammar and can spot an error from a mile away. It's just easier and quicker and more efficient for us to write well because we do it all day, every day. We also probably keep up with grammar blogs, have several style guides sitting on our desk (or bookmarked in our browsers), and enjoy dissecting nuances in language. It's quick and easy for us to write technically well because we do it constantly, and are continuously perfecting this ability. If it has been 15 years (or more) since you last cracked open a style guide or a grammar textbook, you may be a little rusty and it might take longer for you to edit your own work... or, worse, you won't even notice when you make a mistake. And even if you don't notice an error, trust me, others out there will. I mean, there are entire blogs dedicated to making fun of grammatical mistakes. You don't want your piece to end up there.

2. Different Writing Styles are Required, and they Change All of the Time. Here, I mean style as in the general feel that a piece of writing has. One of my favorite aspects of being a writer is that there are different styles of writing for different applications. The style I use when writing a sales presentation is so different than what I would use when writing a blog, which is also a different style than I use when promoting something in a Tweet... and so on. As a writer, I basically carry around a toolbox of different writing styles and I pull out the right one for whatever application I am working on. And again, since I do this professionally, it's like second nature. I can switch up my style of writing at the drop of a hat. An individual who is not used to writing in different styles may struggle to get the tone or voice or nuances of a piece just right for the intended application. I should also add that the tastes of readers (or consumers, or whomever your audience consists of) is constantly evolving, and thus styles of writing tend to constantly change. As a writer, it's my job to stay on top of what is trendy at the moment. The voice I used on Twitter 5 years ago, for instance, is not really the same voice I would use to compose Tweets today. Just like fashion, tastes evolve over time. Readers may not really consciously notice the difference, but it's there. Just take a look at a 1960s advertisement vs. the copy in an ad from today, and you will see a dramatic difference. Sure, it's been 50 years, but the seemingly dramatic change happened slowly, in increments over time, every year from then to now.

3. Writers Know How to Get the Point Across. I can't tell you how many times I've stumbled upon a blog post or even an article and wondered what the point was. There is definitely a structure that needs to be followed when writing. Not that it is complicated: usually it just involves a clear introduction, a "thesis" statement, several supporting pieces of information or facts, and a conclusion and maybe a call to action. But so often, I find people get lost along the way, and an article meanders or doesn't really ever get to the point, and can be difficult to follow or make much sense of. I can only imagine that the author behind the article got excited by a little detail and lost sight of the big picture, or perhaps forgot that they needed to provide some sort of structure to a piece in the first place. That's where a writer is important: they will consider the overall structure of the story, or article, or piece, and be able to make sure that the point is getting across clearly and concisely.

4. Time. Writing is a time consuming thing. You many not realize it, because you probably send multitudes of text messages every day, or write emails all day long and don't think much of those words you are pushing into the world. But writing a quality piece, one that will grab (and hold) the attention of readers, a work that is clear and reads well, something that is flawless and totally error-free as far as grammar goes... that is what is difficult and time-consuming to produce. Since writers are incredibly well-versed at different types of writing and write all day (and in some cases, all night), they can probably polish off a piece 20 times faster than you. It's just not worth agonizing over a block of text when a writer can do it quickly, efficiently, and accurately. In addition, I often offer research and interviews with my writing services, because I have gotten pretty good at that over the years, too, and having background information beforehand that I gathered on my own often makes the job of writing the final piece much easier and quicker to do. Writing is a process, and it can be time-consuming to do it right. Getting from the blank page to the finished piece is a less time-consuming (and agonizing) process when done by a pro.

I would never discourage someone from exploring the joys of writing: it can be therapeutic, fun, relaxing, and even a wonderful way to explore new concepts and ideas. But when it comes to professional writing that will be seen by the world, it is so beneficial to have someone who knows what they are doing, do it. A piece of writing is way more likely to be clear and grammatically flawless, and be produced in a shorter amount of time, with a professional writer in charge.

As with most things in life, you really do get what you pay for. Writers are not just writing for fun (although they typically love their craft... at least I know I do!). Writing is definitely a precise art and very much a process, from gathering research, building out drafts, revising, editing, and finalizing a piece. Whether it's a 140 character tweet, an Instagram description, or a full-on blog post, it will probably be consumed by a lot of people, and it may be their first impression of you or your business. Presenting quality writing on social media, a website or blog, is more important than ever before, considering the endless barrage of media that is being pushed into the world on a daily basis.

Reflections on 4 years of podcasting

This week marks four years since I embarked upon an adventure that has enriched my life, connected me with amazing people, allowed me to have some incredible opportunities, enhanced my professional interests, and has taken up most of my free time. It was an adventure that started out simply and innocently enough: my friend and I were rewatching a show that we enjoyed (ABC's "Once Upon a Time"), we kept chatting about it, then we said, hey, maybe we should talk to a microphone about all of this! A few hours later, I Googled some YouTube videos on how to podcast, and as simple as that, a podcast was born.


I am someone with a zillion different interests. And podcasting, four years ago, seemed like yet another idea of something I could do on the Internet (I have been embarking upon random online projects since I was 13 and built a website on Angelfire... yes, that was the 90s, and yes, I'm ancient). Just four years ago, podcasting also was not a popular idea. Today, there are tons of celebrities and "popular kids" doing podcasts, but four years ago, in the pre-Serial days, it was a semi-dried-up way for nerds (I say that with love, I was one) to break out their microphones and audio editing skills and do something random and post it online. It was definitely an... indie thing to do.

Fast forward four years, and whoa. What a ride it's been.

A car that is used on set of "Once Upon a Time" parked in the filming location in Steveston, British Columbia during my visit in 2014

Okay, so here's the thing. I'm absolutely not wealthy off of this podcast. But I can say that it has done a ton of things for me professionally and personally... and yes, as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like a richer (as in, mentally stimulated and enriched by awesome experiences with amazing people) person because of it.

I definitely didn't start the podcast for either reason. I really embarked upon podcasting out of purely selfish, personal reasons: at the time, I was finishing a master's degree, I was working very little (just freelancing from home, mostly editing), and my husband was traveling a lot. I was lonely and tired of walls of text that I had to read through  day in and day out. I needed some sort of change of pace. Plus, I was doing a lot of research on women in the media, and I kind of was itching to just be a woman in the media. I had studied journalism back in the day but never really worked as a journalist... a part of me was still drawn to it, though. As small and as trivial as I figured my podcast would be, I thought maybe putting my voice out there in the world couldn't hurt.

I also knew that a major bonus of this podcast was going to be talking to my co-host regularly. I didn't have coworkers at that time in my life, and my friends had drifted apart for career and family reasons. I was pretty lonely. I didn't know her well at the time: we had casually met online and seemed to share a few interests. We got along well. I felt that there was a good vibe between us. To me, doing a podcast with someone I didn't have a lot of background with or didn't know super well but seemed to have a friendly and amicable relationship with actually seemed much more appealing than jumping into it with an old friend. I had had enough experience with doing projects with friends to know that one difference of opinion could spell the end of a friendship, or at least cause a lot of issues that you don't want to jeopardize a friendship over. Having a co-host who I had no baggage with was actually a good call. At the time, I figured if we didn't see eye to eye, that was fine, we could go back to being mostly strangers. What ended up happening, though, was actually the best case scenario: we grew and learned a lot together over our shared podcast baby, and we became good friends in the process. It has been an amazing advantage for us both to grow together with podcasting. We were also fortunate to discover that we each have different - and complementary - strengths and weaknesses. That has meant that the division of labor around the podcast has felt more natural and more even. We really strive to keep this amazing project alive.

I think our flexibility to change and evolve our podcast as needed, depending on our audience's interests and also on our own sanity (we learned early on if we couldn't sustain our podcast and make sure it fit into our individual lives and generally stay sane, there would be no podcast, so while we had to sacrifice some life things for the podcast, likewise we had to sacrifice some aspects of the podcast in order to maintain balance with the rest of our life). We learned so much, far too much for a single blog post, but I have posted a few videos on the topic, like how to start a podcast on a budget (neither of us invested much money in the podcast at the beginning, which was a good call because financially speaking, we have never earned much in return); I also did a video on how to come up with ideas for your podcast, which reflects what I have learned over time "on the job."

I think the biggest surprise about the podcast was that professionally it actually has been an asset to me. Having a mildly successful podcast does seem to be memorable in the minds of friends, colleagues and family. It's a point of interest, a curiosity, and for me, even though podcasting isn't my professional specialty, it's close enough to the realm of my background in journalism and writing to be a strong complement to what I do professionally. Beyond that, and my co-host has noticed this too, a lot of colleagues tend to remember that you have a podcast and it makes you stick out (in a good way). People seem eager to help us here and there, whether it's getting time off of work at somewhat the last minute to attend an event, to colleagues hooking us up with guests in the industry. When I started the podcast, I actually thought it was going to be another quirky hobby, but it actually seems to command a fair bit of professional respect. Take that as you will... again, this isn't why we got into it in the first place, but it was certainly a surprising, and pleasant, side effect.

We have had a lot of highs. A highlight for both of us was getting to interview some of the cast members of the show two years ago. We had tried hard to reach out to their PR with very little luck. But then we were invited to host a fan event, and everything turned around. It was awesome to be there to participate in an event that connected the fandom with the show's talent. The show's cast members who we spoke with are talented, hardworking artists. Actors get a lot of publicity, but I don't always think it's the right kind. I enjoyed having the opportunity to ask them questions that didn't objectify them or trivialize their work. I am certainly not the next "Inside the Actors' Studio" (and, let's be honest, they most certainly are rehearsed when they do routine interviews so I couldn't stray too far off the beaten path), but I loved the chance to ask them questions that would let them to reveal a little piece of their personality and the hard work they put into their chosen art/profession.

Our official podcast mug + the official mug for the television show.

Not everything has been a total bed of roses, although I have to say at least the good has far outweighed the bad. We have had our fair share of "haters". (Side note, during the worst period of receiving hate, I became super addicted to Miranda Sings' YouTube videos and found her "haters back off" videos cathartic.) Since we were podcasting about a tv show, one of the most bizarre things was when people seemed to get upset at us about stuff that the show was doing. I never expected to be confused with the show itself, but we kind of were. I mean, we don't even get screeners: it blew my mind that we would be conflated with the actual television show in the minds of fans/listeners/haters. Aside from that, we've had our fair share of long nights, technical issues, even "behind the scenes politics" with other podcasters. The usual stuff... just the usual background noise of any semi-professional endeavor.

Through it all, though, we've been blessed with some very smart and kind listeners. One of the most fun parts of podcasting was seeing the community that built up around our podcast. It took a while. Definitely over a year. But eventually, it happened. Now we have a private Facebook group for those who really enjoy our podcast and have bonded with each other over it. I have to say, every moment I felt before that happened, when I told myself, "now I've made it in podcasting!" paled in comparison to the time, about 2.5 or 3 years in, when we realized that there was a community of people bonding with each other because of our podcast. That blew my mind. That was it. That was when I knew we had done something special. (And I have seen that a lot of podcasters, vloggers, and other content creators say this as well. I always thought it was sort of a trite observation. But when it happened to me, I got it. It's true. Seeing a community form around something you created is pretty mind-blowing).

Podcasting has been fun. It has been a blast. And it's not over yet! I can't believe I've been doing this for four years. Where has my life gone?! My college years (4 years) felt like an eternity, and yet these four years of podcasting passed in the blink of an eye. Time flies, and all of that.

I don't know if I will continue podcasting forever. Maybe something else will come along for me to create on the internet. Or, perhaps, we will be podcasting for many more years. I would like that, too. I'm keeping an open mind. And, above all, I am keeping it straightforward and simple. After all, we started the podcast with a simple concept. In the end, it's a simple choice to keep going, and to keep enjoying it.

Check out our podcast, "Once Upon a Podcast," here: iTunes // Twitter // Facebook
Our 2017-2018 podcasting season will start October 10!

Is writing easier in certain times of the year?

I’ve enjoyed writing all of my life. And there's one thing that, as a regular and consistent writer, I have become aware and accustomed to over time: the times of the day when I write the best. I like typing away late at night, long after my “real world” duties are done and when everyday distractions have been placed into sleep mode for the night. That’s when I feel like I can finally switch my mind from “daily survival mode” to “deep into writing mode.”

More recently, however, it dawned on me that there are also certain times of the year when I feel more into writing than others. I think it hit me in late spring of this year, after spending a lot of time editing a novel. As spring bled into the long days of summer, I found myself completely uninspired to write and barely interested in pursuing my craft. Once I reflected on this, I realized that there really is a seasonal trend to my writing. I tend to be drawn towards writing in the winter months. Spring seems to be my most productive wrapping-up period, when I finish up the projects I’ve toiled away at during the cold and snowy months, or get to work editing either projects from the previous winter, or projects that have been sitting around for a while. Summer, as I mentioned, seems to be the time of the year when I wind down, relax, and allow the creative writing part of my brain to shut off. Sure, I may have occasional spurts of energy here and there and scribble down an idea or two, but generally, summer is my time for reflection.

For the past two years, I have been slowly drawn to more nature-based religions and spirituality. What started out as a historical interest in folklore and myth has bloomed into a stronger exploration of the spirituality of both historical and present-day followers of earth and nature-based philosophy and spirituality. Something that many modern-day followers of paganism often discuss is the notion of the Wheel of the Year. As I began to observe the characteristics and patterns of certain times of the year, I noticed that many of my own writing habits somewhat reflect traditional views of certain aspects and characteristics of different times of the year. 

Wheel of the year. Credit: midnightblueowl/wikipedia

Although the Wheel of the Year is a somewhat modern innovation (and is observed by many modern Pagans,) much of it is loosely based on traditional Celtic and Germanic holidays, which divide the year into not only four seasonal festivals (falling on the equinoxes and solstices), but also four other cross-quarter days that land midway between each proper seasonal shift. For instance, instead of just celebrating the first day of winter (in late December), the first day of spring (late March), and so on, one would also observe days that lie midway between (for instance, a celebration between December 21 and March 21, Imbolc, which falls in early February, observes the first early signs of spring). I personally enjoy this view of the year: in my mind, I always felt like the bitter days of early winter have a different feel and tone than late winter, when the snow melts quicker and the sun lingers longer. 

At any rate, I think that my writing follows many of these yearly markers quite closely, in such a way that seems to echo traditional practices or observations around these points in the year. Although the observation of holidays eight times a year are based on earlier agricultural practices, I see my own practice of writing echoing those traditional patterns of planting seeds, growing ideas, harvesting my hard work, and reflecting and resting before setting out again to produce. 

In recent years, I’ve found that I am most inspired to write once the weather cools off and the days grow shorter, usually around October or November. My mind seems to be “rebooting” and all of the ideas or bits of inspiration I had been storing up for the past months seem to beg to be formed into words and placed on a page.

I find that I really start to sit down and dig into my writing around November or December. This is also when I am bravest: I will take sometimes my craziest ideas and commit them to paper, play around, see if the characters and settings and scenarios work.

(Incidentally, November is also NaNoWriMo: although it’s been years since I took part in this annual writing tradition, I find it interesting that it takes place in November and not, say, April… I wonder how many others out there are also partially inspired to write at that time of year?)

I then write through the long winter, often committing to a schedule or pattern of writing. I remember one year, when I was writing a novel, and I wrote every night starting at about 11pm until 1 or so in the morning. I can get a lot of writing done in the winter: living in the north, we are usually in a very long, cold, dark winter from about early November to April. 

In traditional practices, winter is seen as a time when seeds have been planted in the ground and are at rest, quietly waiting to emerge in the spring. I see writing - putting the seeds on the page, so to speak - all winter long as "setting the stage". 

By the time spring comes around in late March or April, I find myself growing impatient with my writing. I am often very ready to wrap it up, to finalize any lingering parts, but have a full and complete draft done. Often I step away from my writing for a while, finally taking a break and allowing myself to not have to write every day. In other words, that "germination" time is drawing to a close, and it's time to allow my work to be "unleashed" into the world and grow. 

I find that spring is the time I go back through my work and re-read it. All winter, I reflected and placed my ideas down on paper, and in spring it’s time to nurture what I planted. It’s time to work the soil, so to speak, and allow the figurative seeds that I planted in the ground over winter to germinate, to flower. I find that I edit best in the spring. It's like "weeding the garden," allowing the "flowers" of my prose room to grow and to breathe and to get sunlight, while taking away the superluous bits that are not contributing to the "garden."

And I have to hurry, because by the time summer is here, and its long days instead of long nights, I of course longer find I can write or edit. The heat seems to stifle my thoughts and work. It slows me down. But it does something else: like the farmer or Gardner who spent all spring planting, it’s time to sit back and let my work do its thing. Some years, I’ve just let my work sit for a while. I take a break from it in summer. Other years, I have finished a project (having edited it in the spring then unleashed it into the world) so I have to let it do its thing and reach its final blossoming stage on its own. That's what happened this past year: I released my first self-published novel right around the summer solstice. 

And then we are back to fall again. (It's a great circle! The wheel...) It’s time for the harvest. In early fall, it’s time to gather up the remaining blooms from the summer and store away the lessons and bounty of the harvest for winter (inspiration! ideas! things that I want to write over the winter!). I find that I write down more and more ideas this time of year, and even test out a sentence or two. I am getting ready, taking notes, so when November comes, I am ready to write once again, propelling me through the long, dark winter.

Do all creative people do this? Does anyone else "write according to the seasons," so to speak?

Can you be a bad communicator... but a great writer?

Ever since the mid-2000s, I’ve struggled with knowing how to label myself professionally. How does a business writer, creative writer, editor, proofreader, project manager, account manager, general liaison, distill all of that into one single title? “Writer” doesn’t begin to cover it at all. It has always seemed to me to be too feeble, too airy to define everything my professional work really covers.

I mean... talk about a crisis. Who am I? Why am I here? Help...!

Somewhere around the year 2009 I settled into a single title for my chosen vocation: “Communications Specialist.” I figured it was sort of a spinoff of the popular (in the corporate lingo of the time) Marketing Communications Specialist, a job title I figured I might want someday. I settled on Communications Specialist: broad enough to not pigeonhole myself into one specific career area (marketing, sales, etc.,) yet concise enough to more or less convey what I did for a living.

Seems logical, right?

However, lately I have really questioned that choice (which incidentally still is the tagline on my LinkedIn profile). I mean, “communications” can imply a lot of things. So many things that, honestly, I think in today’s world it basically means nothing. After all, am I a "specialist" in "communicating" via video? Audio? Writing? Is it just specializing in knowledge about a communications device like a smartphone or tablet? Is it business to business communications? Business to consumer? Business to extraterrestrial? Sales? Marketing? Journalism? Social media communications? Some BS made up job? Overall, Communications Specialist just feels like too many variables... it's become too broad, too generic.

I think the nail in the coffin was when I recently got into a bad fight with someone close to me in my personal life. In a heated moment, they said, “for a writer, you’re terrible at communicating!” 

Okay, that hurt. Not only was it said in the middle of a bad personal altercation, but they were also taking a swipe at my professional life, a big source of my identity.

Sadly, the jab has stuck with me. I mean, in many ways, I am a bad communicator. I am discerning when it comes to who I like to talk to or gather information from. I am so selective that I don't really end up fully communicating. I am more likely to prioritize diplomacy and getting the job done efficiently: sometimes to the detriment of actually telling the full story.. Does that mean I’m a bad communicator? Maybe. Or maybe I'm just an efficient communicator. Or perhaps it just means I’m a selective communicator.

Ugh, this post is starting to sound like a character from a Woody Allen movie wrote it, isn't it? Talk about neurotic!

Okay, so let's say that I’m a reasonable enough communicator in my professional life (after all, nothing wrong with being diplomatic, right?!), but on the subject of other parts of my life, I think I am lacking a particular ease with communication. I don’t know that I always communicate my wants or needs very clearly (I’m usually too concerned about what others’ needs are, or I'm afraid I will sound shallow or needy or selfish if I express what I want). Paradoxically, when I feel I don't have enough of an opinion or a say in things, I get frustrated and stressed. Eventually, I reach a breaking point, and expect everyone around me to understand why I am upset, without having communicated anything at all.

Again, maybe I’m just a selective communicator. Not necessarily a bad one. Just… bad at communicating the full picture?

Or maybe I just need to chill out. One or the other.

So back to writing, and the potential implications of this particular personality flaw on my writing. I am very hesitant - and even, at times, at a loss for words as to how to express myself - so how in the world can I write about situations or people or characters in such a way that can clearly convey information extremely well? I mean, just today, someone told me I was a “real wordsmith.” They didn’t have to take the time out of their day to email me a compliment, but they did.

That was nice.

But also, slightly frustrating. Because my allegedly brilliant wordsmithing seems to be relegated to the page. It doesn’t really extend to my real life.

Why can't I write the script to my real life?! How can I always know what to write when I so frequently don’t know what to say?

Perhaps there is the element of detachment to it all. I write about products, situations, people, places, and characters that aren’t me. I don’t have to live their choices, suffer the consequences - or rewards - of their actions. There is definitely a safety net in all of that.

But more than that, I have to say that I am a good writer because I can see situations. I can so very clearly see - and more than that, build: scenarios, people, places. Whether it’s fiction - getting into the mind of a character - to nonfiction, writing what I see, feel, and believe a customer wants to know and understand about a certain product. In an instant, I can put myself into the position of 1000s of people and characters, real and fictional, and build the world they are in or the world they want to see and understand. 

Perhaps, I’m not a communicator. I am just a builder. And by inserting myself into other situations, places, and minds, I am able to create the outcomes I want, for either my characters or my customers or my clients’ customers or even myself, and then translate that experience into words. I write what it is that I built in my mind. 

My own world often feels too immediate, too real, too different, too vivid, to be able to effectively communicate the barrage of emotions that either I, or the others around me, are feeling in that instant. Of course, typically upon reflection, I can translate an experience I had into words. But that is usually once the experience has been put behind me. In the moment, it is too difficult to clearly communicate what is happening. I get tongue-tied like any other normal human, at a loss for what to say all too often.

So, yes. Perhaps I am lacking somewhat in the communication department in a moment. But I promise I can make up for it later on the page.

As for my made-up job title in my LinkedIn profile, "Communications Specialist," I'm starting to think that I should just stick with plain ol' "writer".