3 Tricks for Staying Productive (Even When No One’s Looking)

Before becoming self-employed, I considered time management one of my greatest strengths. After all, I’d always gotten my homework done early in school, and I never missed a deadline in a professional setting. So, I reasoned, managing my time as a freelancer would be no trouble at all.

I was so, so naive.

It turns out that external pressure from bosses or teachers made a bigger impact than I realized. I can’t count the number of times I’ve started my workday after noon because I spent all morning messing around, or worked late into the evening because I squandered the day.

One thing stayed true, though: I never missed a deadline.

Through the years, I tried a lot of different time management strategies to keep myself productive. Eventually I found a few that reliably work for me.

In this blog, I summarize them so you can see if they might work for you, too.

Strategy 1: Break Up Big Tasks into Their Component Sub-Tasks

I believe one of the most important productivity skills anyone can master is the ability to break tasks down into smaller “sub-tasks.”

To illustrate why, imagine you’ve been tasked by your boss with creating a social media strategy. This sounds like just one tasks, but in reality, there are lots of sub-tasks embedded in that ask: competitor research, brand positioning, KPI development, production planning, content creation …

If you only think of it as one task, and that task is due in, say, two months, it sounds like you have plenty of time. You can do so many tasks over the span of two months, so doing one task in that time is nothing, right?

That’s how deadlines creep up on you.

If, however, you start by identifying all of that task’s component parts, or sub-tasks, it’s easier to internalize the fact that this project will take you a while, so you need to get started soon. Motivating yourself to work at a steady, even pace becomes easier.

Splitting tasks up makes it psychologically easier to get started, too. Creating a social media strategy is a big, complicated, overwhelming task, and overwhelm is discouraging. We naturally avoid overwhelming tasks.

But when you break it down into sub-tasks, you free yourself from the need to think about the whole convoluted package. Instead, you’re thinking about one task – one that’s probably much more straightforward and doable.  

How I Use This Strategy

For most articles I write, I break them into a few sub-tasks: research and outlining, drafting, revision, and proofreading.

I typically prefer to do each sub-task on different days if I’m not in a time crunch (you catch more errors that way). So, whenever I’m assigned an article, I count four days backwards from its due date. That’s the day I’ll start the assignment.

Now, let’s say I have a project where I have to write three blogs, plus social and email copy for each blog. Emails and social copy are short enough that I don’t usually have to split them into sub-tasks. However, the overall project has plenty of sub-tasks. When you think about it, this project is actually nine separate deliverables – three blogs, three pieces of social copy, and three emails.

So, before the client’s due date, I give myself nine separate personal due dates. This keeps me working at a steady pace. (These personal deadlines can overlap and often do. For example, I might aim to complete a piece of social and email copy on the same day.)

Then, I count backwards from the final deadline, using my personal deadlines as milestones, to help me decide when to start the project and what to do each day.

My plan for this project might look like this:

Client deadline: Two weeks (10 business days) from today.

Personal deadlines: Blog 1 complete by end of week one; blog 2 complete by early week 2, blog 3 complete by middle of week two. Email and social copy completed over final two days of project.

Tentative project schedule:

  • Monday week 1: Research topic and develop outlines for all three blogs
  • Tuesday week 1: Draft blog 1
  • Wednesday week 1: Revise blog 1
  • Thursday week 1: Proofread blog 1; draft blog 2
  • Friday week 1: Revise blog 2
  • Monday week 2: Proofread blog 2; draft blog 3
  • Tuesday week 2: Revise blog 3
  • Wednesday week 2: Proofread blog 3; draft all email copy
  • Thursday week 2: Revise email copy; draft all social copy
  • Friday week 2: Revise and proofread social copy. Submit project.

Limit the Time You Spend Working

When you’re self-employed, you can technically work at any time. And you’ll have plenty of days where, technically, there aren’t any immediate tasks on your to-do list. And there’ll be a voice in your head saying that you don’t have to do your non-immediate tasks right away.

Don’t listen to that voice. Do those non-immediate tasks now.

Work is like a gas: it expands to fill the space it’s in. If I have two hours to write something, it gets written in two hours. If I have all day, it won’t get finished until the very end of the day.

I’ve learned from experience that if I want to stay energized and productive, I need to restrict the time I have for a project – even if I have to restrict it artificially.

One of the selling points of self-employment is that you can work whenever you want, but I quickly learned that I actually want to work 9-5. (Well, it ends up being 10-6 a lot of days, but don’t tell anyone.) I work for exactly eight hours (unless a major deadline demands otherwise) because when I limit the length of my work day, it forces me to focus. When I’m focused, I do better work.

On days when I don’t have any urgent client work, I proactively fill my schedule with other things. I list of all the marketing or admin tasks I could do, pick a few to focus on, and put a time limit on each them. To really motivate myself, I’ll stick a personal project I’m excited about (usually a creative writing project) at the very end of the day that I can only do if I’ve finished everything else.

When I give myself time limits and manage to stick to them, I feel accomplished and full of energy. When I don’t, I feel sluggish, both physically and mentally. Sticking to self-imposed time limits takes practice and will come easier to some people than others, but I highly recommend at least giving them a try.

Hide Your Phone

The internet, as glorious as it is, is the biggest time waster ever invented.

The inherent temptation of infinite depositories of information and entertainment is bad enough, but of course the real time-suck lies in social media feeds that have literally been designed to be as addicting as possible.

We all want to believe that we, in our superior wisdom and self-control, are capable of avoiding this addiction and closing our feeds whenever we want. We are all wrong.

These feeds are built around the same principles that keep gamblers pulling slot machine levers all night—that is to say, they are specifically designed to be impervious to willpower and better judgement. The key to beating them is to just avoid the fight.

During the work day, I keep my phone in a different room. Usually under a pillow, or in some other dumb out-of-the-way place, so when I go to pick it up, I have several extra seconds to ask myself, “Are you sure you want to open Instagram right now?”

I’m logged out of all social media on my work laptop except LinkedIn (and that one’s on thin ice). All social media passwords are incomprehensible strings of numbers and letters so, if I have a moment of weakness and decide to log in, I can’t. I don’t remember the password.

Sometimes, on really good days, I’m able to willpower my way out of the endless scroll. But on days when I’m tired or stressed? Forget about it. Better to just keep that endless scroll out of reach, like putting treats on a shelf too high for the dog to get at.

Now it’s time for a quick disclaimer: everyone’s brain works differently, and your mileage may vary.

I’m the type of person who thrives on schedules and structure. If you don’t, some of these suggestions might sound like nonsense to you.

Individualized time management is a process of trial and error. I encourage you to try out all these approaches, see what works, and throw out what doesn’t.

Next month, I plan to write a follow-up blog that gets a little more sentimental about what’s behind procrastination and other motivation issues. Until then, I free you to return to whatever task you were putting off by reading this.

A 4-Step Process for Giving Feedback that Gets Results

Giving feedback is one of those professional skills that everyone expects you to be able to do, but no one actually teaches you how to do it.

We’ve all received feedback on our work that was confusing or landed poorly because the person giving it couldn’t express themselves well. And most of us have also found ourselves in the position of having to give feedback but having no idea how to go about it.

This is a challenge in every profession, but since I’m a writer, I’m going to talk specifically about giving feedback on writing—something that can be especially tricky because writing is so subjective. Add to that the need to explain our reasons clearly and do so without burning any bridges, and it can feel impossible.

Throughout my years as an editor, I learned through plenty of trial and error how to give clear, useful feedback. In this blog, I’m going to share a four-step process I developed that will hopefully make giving feedback a little easier for you, too.

Step 1: Pinpoint exactly what isn’t working

It’s very easy for us to notice that a piece of writing is losing us, irritating us, or confusing us. It’s much harder to identify exactly why we feel that way.

You might feel an article’s subject matter is boring, but in reality, it’s the writing style that’s losing you, and some snappier prose would make it interesting.

You may think the writer is using too many big words, but the real reason you’re confused is because they’re jumping from topic to topic without explaining themselves well.  

When learning how to pinpoint the core problems in a piece of writing, there’s no replacement for time and practice. But most problems fall into a few overarching categories, including:

Logic issues

A piece’s internal logic is the sequence of ideas it uses and how well those ideas build off each other. If the writer jumps between topics without fully explaining how they’re related, or if they assume the reader knows things not explicitly stated, there is an issue in the piece’s logic.

Logic issues are a common reason a reader may feel confused. When this happens, the writer needs to either better organize their ideas, more clearly define concepts, or make the connections between their points clearer.

Pacing issues

Pacing is usually used in reference to fiction (e.g., a fast-paced novel) but every piece of writing has its own pace to some extent. When an article spends too much time on one topic and too little on another, there’s an issue with its pacing. This usually causes readers to feel bored or irritated.

Pacing issues are fixed by shortening slow sections, fleshing out brief sections, and making sure the most interesting topics are at either the article’s beginning (to hook readers’ attention) or end (to leave them with a compelling thought).

Prose issues

When the tone of an article is off or the sentences are convoluted, then the issue with the prose itself.

Sometimes, the writer’s voice will just feel off—too casual, too formal, too meandering, etc. In these cases, the writer needs to reevaluate their word choice and make sure they’re using words and phrases that are appropriate for the publication.

If you find that individual sentences are leaving you confused, the writer may need to revisit their sentence structures to make sure they’re writing clearly and concisely.  

Step 2: Communicate what’s not working as clearly as possible

It will likely be a little tricky, time-consuming, and borderline annoying to dig into exactly why a piece isn’t working for you. That’s perfectly okay. It’s arguably even ideal, because once you’re confident you know what’s not working, the remaining three steps will fly by.

The next step is to write down, with as much specificity as possible, what’s not working. Narrow it down to the paragraph that lost you, the sentence that confused you, or the word choice that irritated you.

Just like that, you’ve finished the hardest part of giving feedback.

Step 3: Give an actionable solution

Now that you’ve written out what needs to change, add a few sentences about how it needs to change.

In some cases, this will be simple. If you’ve noted that a sentence is confusing, the actionable solution is to rewrite that sentence. If you’ve found that an idea isn’t explained well enough, the actionable solution is to add more content explaining it.

In other cases, it may take a little more thought. Logic issues that require reordering a piece are especially tricky. You may be able to come up with a detailed game plan (ex., “move paragraph four to right after the intro and delete paragraph 5”) but in most cases, you’ll be better served by giving vaguer suggestions like “restructure this piece so the most basic ideas are explained first” or “make it clearer how these two topics are related.” It’s the writer’s responsibility to figure out how.

Step 4: Be nice!

You don’t have to coddle writers. No one worth working with is going to get angry about reasonable feedback.

That being said, you don’t have to be rude, either. And when giving feedback, especially written feedback, it’s easy to accidentally come across as rude.

After you’ve written out exactly what’s wrong and how you want the writer to fix it, I recommend doing the following to make sure the feedback goes down easier:

  • Add a couple sentences up front detailing what you liked about the piece. This both cushions the blow and reinforces the kind of writing you want to see more of.
  • Make sure your feedback is in first or third person, not second. Using the word “you” risks making your feedback feel like a personal attack. Instead of saying “you got the tone wrong,” say “the tone is too informal.” Instead of saying “your argument is unclear,” say “I was confused by this section.”
  • Say please. Phrase your actionable solutions as requests instead of commands. “Shorten this paragraph” can easily be read as a barked order, even if you don’t mean it that way. “Could you please shorten this paragraph?” is clearly a friendly request.

Giving feedback is hard. It’s also something that, once you’ve mastered it, typically helps you stand out among your colleagues. After all, professional success is all about soft skills, and that’s exactly what the ability to give good feedback is.

I hope this piece is helpful, and that it makes your feedback process easier. In the meantime, if you want to work with someone who’s experienced at both writing and implementing feedback, feel free to contact me.   

4 Ways to Avoid Writing Like AI

However frenzied the AI hype gets, at the end of the day, people want to read stuff written by humans.

Even AI’s biggest cheerleaders have backed away from writing with AI. Instead, they generally champion using AI to brainstorm, outline, or edit, leaving the actual writing to a person.

This is mostly a good thing for writers, but it does mean anything that reads as though it was AI-generated—regardless of whether it actually was—gets dismissed. Readers stop reading; editors send you less work.

So, how do you make sure your writing sounds human? While there’s no foolproof strategy, there are some best practices you can follow. Generally speaking, AI content tends to use vague, cliched language and make predictable conclusions. If you avoid these things, you’ll sound like a person—and become a better writer in the process.

Here are four ways to avoid sounding like an AI when you write.

Make a Point

The most important strategy for sounding human is knowing exactly what you’re trying to say and deliberately choosing the words that best help you say it.

I know, this sounds obvious. This is basically the definition of writing, rights?

But it’s not uncommon to “zone out” while writing and just say things that are generally on topic until you’ve reached your word count.

Resist that temptation. Determine the main idea of every article and write it down, even if you’re working on a painfully straightforward listicle. As you write, periodically check that every sentence is in service of that main idea.

Generative AI works by associating related words, which means that it can talk forever about a given topic, but it struggles to have something to say about a topic. If you focus on making a point, your writing will inevitably come across as more human.  

Use Real Life Examples and Verifiable Statistics

AI makes assumptions, jumps to conclusions, and sometimes “hallucinates” (which is a euphemism tech companies use for being dead wrong). Avoid doing that, and you’ll avoid sounding like AI.

In a lot of cases, this means doing your research— even if you’re already an expert on the topic you’re writing about. AI can’t interview people, so find experts and quote them. It can find statistics, but it’s not as good as you are at figuring out which statistics are 1) trustworthy and 2) of interest to your audience. So, find relevant statistics and link to your sources.

AI also hasn’t had your life experiences, so where appropriate, use real-life anecdotes to illustrate your points. Of course, AI can make up anecdotes, but they won’t be as vivid as what you can share from personal experience. People can typically tell on an instinctual level if an anecdote is generated or genuine.

Generative AI usually doesn’t provide examples, anecdotes, or sources unless specifically prompted to. Even then, it’s a toss-up whether it’ll hallucinate or say something accurate. So, an article that draws from real-life sources will stand out as more authentic.

Avoid Overused Buzzwords

This is probably the most popular technique for avoiding sounding like AI, and for good reason. AI being trained on existing web content means the more overused a phrase is, the more likely AI is to use it.

In my field of B2B marketing, the most overused phrases are typically insufferable corporate buzzwords. “Synergy.” “Digital transformation.” “Leverage.” “Robust.” “Ever-evolving business landscape.” If it sounds like it belongs in a presentation given by the most out-of-touch boss you’ve ever had, generative AI will use it.

Other fields have other cliches, and I’m sure you know the ones in yours. (And probably used them as an early writer—we all started out mimicking how everyone else in our industry wrote.)

I recommend listing out a few of your industry’s buzzwords and challenging yourself to not use them. It’ll help you avoid sounding like AI, and better yet, it’ll make you a more creative writer.

Remove Unnecessary Words and Phrases

It’s very tempting to use extra words, extra long words, and otherwise elevated language to make yourself sound smarter. But unless the longer sentences or fancy vocabulary convey a unique meaning, they don’t actually make you sound smarter. They just make you sound like AI.

When I was just starting out and trying to write like every other content marketer, I would often say things like:

“In today’s ever-changing business environment, organizations are challenged to utilize robust, innovative technologies and embrace digital transformation to achieve competitive advantage on the global stage.”

Whereas today, I’d write:

“Today’s businesses need to adopt new technologies to remain competitive.”

The first sentence uses far too many words, most of them terms not used in everyday conversation. Worse, it lacks clarity and specificity.

By contrast, the second sentence makes its point in a straightforward manner and is easier to understand as a result. (It also contains notably fewer cliches.)

AI writes like the first sentence because that’s what the average content marketing piece it’s trained on sounds like. Talented humans write like the second.

AI’s Ultimate Tell

There has been a lot of talk online about what AI’s “tells” are—hints that immediately give a piece away as AI. But most of the tells people propose (like using a lot of em dashes) are things human writers might also choose to do.

However, there is one “tell” I’ve noticed in all AI-generated content, and it’s this:

If my eyes glaze over and my mind wanders while I’m reading, it’s likely AI.

If a piece is grammatically perfect and structurally fine, but I just cannot for the life of me bring myself to care about it, it’s likely AI.

AI is dull, impersonal, and vague. No matter how good AI gets, these things will likely remain true.

Write with specificity and authenticity, and you’ll stand out as human.

Contact me to partner with a human dedicated to helping your content stand out.

Fluff(y) Piece: Everything I Know I Learned from My Cat

When you’re stuck in your career, it’s helpful to look to the wisdom of others. To learn from the people who really have things figured out, who know exactly what they want and how to get it.

People like my cat, Levi.

Levi’s confidence, people skills, and expertise in his field (that field being napping and stealing chicken off dinner plates) make him someone to truly look up to.

I’ve learned quite a bit from him, so now, I’m going to impart some of his valuable wisdom to you. Here is some tried and true freelancing wisdom I’ve learned from my cat.

Don’t Be Ashamed to Call Attention to Yourself

My greatest challenge as a freelancer has been getting in the habit of putting myself out there. Calling attention to myself doesn’t come naturally. I have to push past imposter syndrome, the fear of “bothering” people, and a hatred of posting on social media generally.

Levi doesn’t have that problem.

No, Levi knows the importance of calling attention to himself to get the treats and attention he so dearly needs. Not only that, but he has gathered data on the actions most likely to get a response. A meow, for example, typically elicits a “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it,” from me. Rolling over on his back and exposing his tummy, though, is guaranteed to earn him whatever he wants because it’s just so darn cute.

(He didn’t do this when I first adopted him. He has learned to do this over time after realizing that it’s an effective way to manipulate me.)

Levi reminds me that if I want more business, I need to learn what gets me the most attention – and to not be afraid to show others my vulnerable belly in the process.

Stretch Yourself

Several years of writing similar content can lead to complacency, but Levi reminds me to always stretch myself – in whatever direction I can.

That’s why I try to give myself simple writing challenges (avoiding overused words, for example) to keep myself sharp. And more importantly, I try to go for jobs or clients that are just a little bit more complex or advanced than what I’ve done in the past. Because even if something feels like a stretch, I know I’m a quick learner and great at understanding what clients are looking for. Whenever I stretch myself, it tends to work out.

Arrange Your Environment So You’re Comfortable

The nice thing about freelancing is that I don’t have to work on someone else’s schedule or in a place of someone else’s choosing. I can arrange my workspace and my time as I see fit.

Yet traditional approaches to working can be hard to break free from. And sometimes I’m just too lazy to improve my physical space or find a new organizational approach that works better for me.

But Levi understands that if a certain way of doing things isn’t working for you, you change it. He’s not afraid to alter his surroundings to suit him.

He reminds me that if I’m not comfortable – physically or otherwise – I owe it to myself to rearrange things to change that.

Explore New Heights

Promotions aren’t technically available to freelancers, so it can be tempting to forget that I’m supposed to climbing a career ladder – even if I have to first build that ladder myself.

But advancement is always an option for anyone willing to be proactive. Levi reminds me of this by always climbing to new heights.

How did he even get up there, you ask? I was baffled by that, too, the first dozen times he did it. It turns out he performed a strategic series of jumps from the counter, to the fridge against the adjacent wall, and finally to the top of the cabinets. He plotted a strategic path and executed it. Truly a career inspiration.

Remember to Rest

Taking time off and giving yourself space to rest is difficult to justify when you’re self-employed. But burnout isn’t worth it in the long run. When I’m tempted to pull extra long hours or take on more assignments than I can reasonably complete, Levi reminds me to let myself rest.

At the End of the Day, You Just Need to Get Your Paws on the Keys

It can be hard to maintain motivation when you’re solely responsible for motivating yourself. But when I’m tempted to procrastinate, Levi reminds me of the importance of getting my paws on the keyboard. (I then get delayed further because I have to remove his paws from the keys, but the thought is there).

If you enjoyed this article and would like work with me so I can buy more treats for Levi, get in touch.

How Good Is AI, Really? Part 1: Critiquing an AI’s Critique

I’ll be honest with you: I don’t like generative AI.

I’ve done my research on the technology and written about a dozen pieces on it for various clients, and through it all I’ve tried to keep an open mind. But even ignoring the environmental concerns and the fact that it is, in a sense, a professional competitor, I just don’t think it offers much value.

But I’m willing to be proven wrong.

So, I’m starting a new series of blogs testing different forms of writing or editing AIs. I’ll try out a few AI tools, then analyze the results.

I picked some low-hanging fruit for this first installment: I host this blog on a WordPress platform, and WordPress has recently introduced an AI-powered editor. So, I ran the editor on a few of my recent blogs.

Here’s how it did.

Blog 1: What Content Editors Wish Writers Knew (and Vice Versa)

My most recent blog explored some communication breakdowns that can happen between writers and editors. This is what WordPress’s AI had to say about it:

“The content offers valuable insights from both the editor’s and the freelance writer’s perspectives, providing practical tips for better collaboration. To enhance the post, consider adding subheadings to break down the sections for better readability. Additionally, incorporating specific examples or anecdotes could further engage the audience by illustrating the communication challenges described. Lastly, including a concluding paragraph summarizing the key takeaways would provide a cohesive ending to the piece.”

I thought this was a bit of a mixed bag of advice. To take each suggestion individually:

  1. I have subheadings. I’m a little confused why it suggests adding subheadings when I have eight throughout the piece. Does it want even more subheadings?
  2. Adding specific examples and anecdotes is generally good advice, but I chose not to incorporate any in this blog because doing so would risk painting former clients or colleagues in a negative light.
  3. I have a concluding paragraph that summarizes the piece’s overall main idea. I’m not sure what more the AI wants.

Article 2: Why I Won’t Use AI for My Writing

The next blog I tried evaluating was one on why I don’t use generative AI in my work (the irony entertains me).

The AI’s feedback was:

The post presents a clear perspective on ChatGPT and its implications for the writing industry. It effectively communicates the author’s decision not to integrate ChatGPT into their business. To improve the post:

1. Consider providing specific examples or statistics to support the points made.

2. Engage the reader by including personal anecdotes or experiences related to the topic.

3. Break up long paragraphs to enhance readability and engagement.

In my opinion:

  1. Tip #1 good advice, and something I would definitely do if I were to write the piece today. At the time of writing, gen AI was only about six months old, so trustworthy statistics were a little sparse.
  2. This is an interesting point because the whole blog is summarizing my personal experiences. That being said, I don’t get very specific in it, and it’s true that some more vivid anecdotes could have brought the piece to life.
  3. My longest paragraphs in this blog are only five lines long on my desktop. That might be too long for an SEO article, but I think it’s fine for a personal blog targeting other people interested in writing.

Article 3: What I Learned from My First Two Years Freelancing

Finally, I ran the editor on my most popular blog, “What I Learned from My First Two Years Freelancing.” Here’s what the AI thought:

The content provides a personal and insightful perspective on the freelancing journey, highlighting the importance of communication, embracing individual work rhythms, dealing with client interactions, and the value of networking. Consider adding subheadings to break down the content for easier navigation. Emphasize the key takeaways to create a stronger conclusion. Ensure a clear call-to-action for readers to engage with your writing services.

  1. This one actually doesn’t have subheadings, so points to the AI there. It’s true that I included more content between headings than I generally do, but in the context of this blog, additional subheadings would make it choppy.
  2. I honestly don’t think emphasizing takeaways is the right move for this blog. While I do give direct advice at some points, I’m ultimately inviting readers to hear my perspective and decide if it’s helpful for them, not being prescriptive.
  3. The final sentence of this blog is, “Contact me to learn how we can work together.” I’m not sure calls to action get any clearer than that.

The Takeaways

So, what did I learn from this experiment, other than the fact that AIs apparently don’t know what calls to action are?

The suggestions were pretty hit or miss. Some were genuinely helpful; others were so off the mark I’m wondering where they came from.  

I also noticed that the AI only seemed to offer variations on a couple different themes. It called out conclusions, subheadings, and the absence of specific examples and/or statistics.

These are all important elements, but the lack of variety is concerning. In the infinite world of writing, are those the only elements the AI is aware of? What about clarity, conciseness, even grammar?

Ultimately, this AI editor isn’t awful, but it definitely isn’t worth using unless you’re 1) pretty new to writing and 2) in a pinch and unable to ask anyone else for help. In general, it’s probably best to work with a human.

What Content Editors Wish Writers Knew (and Vice Versa)

I’m a freelance writer now, but before that, I was a content marketing editor. I’ve been on both sides of the content writing equation: the one editing freelancers’ work and the freelancer receiving edits.

Spending time in both roles has made it clear that there are a lot of opportunities for communication breakdowns to happen between editors and writers. This is especially true when all communication is digital, making tone harder to read.

There were several things I wished I could tell every freelance writer when I was an editor, and now, as a freelance writer, there are a few things I wish all editors understood. Here’s a brief list, based entirely on my personal experiences, of things I’ve wanted to tell the person on the other side of the email exchange.

What Editors Wish Content Writers Knew

It’s Better to Ask for an Extension than Turn in a Rushed Draft

In an ideal world, you’ll always be able to turn in a quality draft on time. But life happens, and sometimes you have to choose between good quality and timeliness. In those cases, good quality is usually the preference.

From an editor’s perspective, a rushed draft can ultimately lead to more delays because it takes longer to edit, and there’s a greater chance that it’ll have to be sent back to the writer for revisions.  A clean draft can be turned around relatively quickly. Besides, most good editors or project managers will build some buffer time into publishing schedules that allow for unexpected delays.

So unless you have an unmovable publication date breathing down your neck, occasionally requesting a one- or two-day extension so you can turn in your best work is not only fine, but even appreciated.

Clarifying Questions Are Expected and Welcome

It can be a little uncomfortable to ask a question that seems obvious, or to imply that a brief wasn’t clear. But any lack of understanding is going to reveal itself in the final product no matter what. Most editors would much rather have an email exchange to clarify things than receive a submission that misses the mark.

Half of Edits Requested Are Related to Pub-Specific Guidelines

Or, in other words, it’s not you, and it’s also not me—it’s my style guide, my client’s stipulations, my manager’s subjective preferences, and so on.

Almost half the time I had to request edits from a writer, it wasn’t because the submission was “bad” in any objective sense. It just didn’t match the specific, borderline arbitrary rules of the publication.

Editors Are Often Beholden to Office or Client Politics

When you’re only emailing one person in an organization, it’s hard to remember that the rest of the organization exists. But the editor can’t escape it.

Sudden changes in assignment volume or unexpected delays in production don’t happen because the editor is capricious. They usually happen because of any number of upheavals within the publication, agency, or client company. (And odds are, the editor is as frustrated as you are.)

What Content Writers Wish Editors Knew

We Appreciate Regular Updates—Even When There’s No Work

Every freelance writer has been ghosted by a client or waited in vain for promised assignments that never materialized. It’s an agonizing position to be in, not knowing what your budget next month is going to be because your emails are going unread.

Updating freelancers on the status of upcoming work is more than just good etiquette. Knowing what work we have in the pipeline means knowing what our cash flow is going to look like in the near future—something that has ripple effects for everything from our marketing efforts to our grocery budgets.

Often, when I was an editor, I would only remember to reach out to writers when I had work for them. Now, I know that regular communication—even if that communication simply states that no work is available—is immeasurably helpful.

We Usually Can’t Handle Sudden Requests

I generally have about six or seven active clients at a time, and each of those clients has their own project schedules to keep track of. Needless to say, that gets a little hectic.

So when a client asks if I can turn around an assignment in two days, my initial response is usually to laugh. I can absolutely write a blog post in two days if I have nothing else going on. But I almost never have nothing else going on. In fact, I usually have the next two business days fully scheduled.

Sometimes, tight deadlines are unavoidable, and I have a rush fee policy to account for those instances. My advice isn’t necessarily to never make time-sensitive requests. It’s just to make them in a respectful way, understanding that you’re working with someone who’s probably very busy, and to not be surprised if the answer has to be no.

We Appreciate Regular Feedback

Sure, no one wants to be told that their work stinks. But not being told anything is almost as bad. We want to know if our work is meeting expectations, and if it’s not, we want to know what we can do to improve it. Few professional writers will take criticism personally if it’s delivered in a constructive, respectful way.

We Want Specific Instructions

Freedom to be creative is great for hobby writing. For professional writing, I want to know exactly what’s expected of me in unambiguous terms.

Specific instructions in clear briefs help me make sure I deliver exactly what you’re looking for. That saves me time, saves you time, and generally makes everyone’s lives easier.

A writer working in isolation and an editor enmeshed in a corporate environment are approaching the same content projects from two wildly different lenses. But a little understanding and extra communication can make the partnership work smoothly regardless.

If you’re looking for a writer who already understands your job and is committed to clear communication, you know where to find me.

Why I Won’t Use AI for My Writing

Recently, it has become impossible to scroll through any social media feed without seeing opinions on ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is the future, apparently. Except, according to others, it’s not actually going to change much. It’s going to put all writers and marketing professionals out of jobs. No, wait, we’ll all still be employed, it’ll just make our work more efficient and enjoyable. It’s the beginning of a sequence of technological developments that will lead to the singularity. It’s actually not intelligent, just a “stochastic parrot,” and so won’t change daily life too much.

The number of “hot takes” people have is frankly astounding – especially considering how young this technology really is. As of mid-2023, no one can possibly know all the implications of generative AI. But everyone sure acts like they do.

Well, I’m willing to admit that I don’t know how generative AI will transform the content writing industry, or any other industry. But given its potential to impact my business, I’ve made an effort to read up on it and try to understand what place it may have in the work I do. While I don’t have all the answers, I have reached a key decision:

ChatGPT will not be a part of my business.

I have decided that it’s better, both for myself and my clients, if every word I write is exclusively from me.

First, A Few Clarifications

This is a topic a lot of people have strong opinions on, so before I continue, here are some disclaimers:

I don’t think that anyone who uses ChatGPT in their own writing is automatically doing something wrong. A lot of professional writers I trust and respect have explored using it to generate ideas or produce rough drafts. If that works for them, great. Just because it isn’t right for me doesn’t mean it can’t be right for someone else.

Similarly, I’m not writing this out of any Luddite-esque, anti-technology bent. I don’t think we need to stop progress. I don’t believe there’s anything inherently wrong or amoral about generative AI. I simply believe that new technologies need to be applied in the use cases that make the most sense for them. And, for the reasons I’ll explain below, I don’t think my business is a good use case for ChatGPT.

To Preserve Writing Quality

The primary reason I’m not be using ChatGPT in my business is simply because I’m a better writer than it is.

I can always tell when an article has been written by generative AI. AI writing bore me. My eyes slip away from the screen. My mind wanders. I have to force myself to continue.

That’s a natural result of how ChatGPT was developed. It’s trained on all other writing that exists on the internet, and while some of that writing is good and some is bad, most is just profoundly mediocre. ChatGPT analyzes all that mediocre content in order to produce word choices and sentence structures that emulate what it has read before. The result is predictable, mediocre content.

A common counter-argument is that ChatGPT will get better as time goes on, and I’m sure that’s true. But better by what standards, exactly? Better at understanding how to choose the right words, syntax, and overall structure to engage the specific audience you’re trying to reach? Or better at sounding like the average human writer?

Given what we know about the technology underpinning ChatGPT, the answer is probably the latter. I, on the other hand, am an expert on the former. As such, I will always be able to provide more value than ChatGPT, no matter how much “better” it gets.

To Preserve Accuracy

There’s an incredibly important risk to using ChatGPT that I feel isn’t acknowledged as often as it should be: it’s not factually accurate.

This is not necessarily a flaw – it’s not built to be factually accurate. It’s built to mimic human writing, a capability completely unrelated to retrieving accurate facts. As a result, there have been several reports of ChatGPT providing completely misleading or outright made-up information.

Much of the writing I do is informative content, so it needs to be factual. My clients trust me to do my research and back up all my claims with reliable data. Using ChatGPT would run the risk of betraying their trust.

I could, of course, fact check the content ChatGPT produces. But how is that any more efficient than doing my own research to start with? Ultimately, it isn’t in any way that’s meaningful.

To Preserve the Value of My Work

On a deeper level, I don’t believe using generative AI wouldn’t be fair to my clients. Generative AI is about churning out content with an assembly line-like efficiency. Some companies are interested in this, but not the companies who choose to work with me.

Instead, my clients hire me with the understanding that I will bring dedication and attention to detail to all their content. Using ChatGPT would perhaps be fine if clients were paying me for content and nothing more. But they are expecting more; they expect me to be a trusted partner and an expert in my field. They expect me to be creative, to be original, to be insightful.

If a client wants bland, serviceable content, they can use ChatGPT to make it themselves. I offer a much higher value – value that’s built on expertise, enthusiasm for our shared goals, and the kind of personal touch that only a fellow human being can offer.

The Human Touch Still Matters

These days, no technology is being hyped more than AI. But it’s important to take a step back and remember that Silicon Valley loves hyping things up. (Remember the Metaverse? NFTs?)

Generative AI may fizzle out with the next hype cycle. It may also become an entrenched part of our everyday working lives. Either way, I’m convinced it won’t make writers obsolete.

Writing is about more than producing content. It’s about communicating – one human to another – about something that matters. For that, you need someone who understands the written word, understands your audience, and understands what type of written content your audience will respond to.

I’m not using ChatGPT in my business because my value lies in being that person.

To learn more about how I provide that value, contact me today.

Contact Me

4 Steps to Better Organization in Your Writing

Back in middle school, most of us had to memorize a very specific formula for organizing our essays. It went something like this:

  • Introductory paragraph that states a main idea
  • Three body paragraphs that support the main idea
  • Concluding paragraph that restates the main idea

We had to practice this five-paragraph essay format over and over, scribbling some of the world’s dullest essays. As a pretentious, literary-minded teenager, I had a lot to say about how those formulaic essays were disrespectful to the essence of writing.

So, it’s with a lot of resignation that I admit to you that this is actually a good structure, and I still use a version of it to organize my writing today.

Of course, what I write now is worlds better than what I wrote as a student. But at the end of the day, every piece of content I write still has:

  • An introduction that explains a main idea
  • Body paragraphs that support the main idea
  • A conclusion that reemphasizes the main idea

It’s the exact same thing, just a little more mature.

Not only that, but referring back to this basic structure has helped me develop a four-step process for outlining any article.

This process is fairly quick, it’s applicable to the vast majority of client work I do, and it guarantees that everything I write is clear, focused, and well-organized.

Here’s a deep look at that process and how you can use it.

Step 1: Decide on a Main Idea

The first step, before you even begin outlining your article, is deciding what its main idea is.

A main idea is typically one complete sentence, or at least a detailed phrase.

If you’ve come up with a vague phrase or a single word, that’s not a main idea—that’s a general topic. A main idea is specific. It’s the exact message you want your reader to take away from your piece.

-Not a main idea: Home remedies for upset stomach

–A main idea: Five home remedies for an upset stomach and how to make them

–Not a main idea: Climate legislation

–A main idea: Progressive climate legislation is necessary for preventing worst-case climate change.

–Not a main idea: How to improve SEO

–A main idea: Strategically using subheadings, secondary keywords, and backlinks improves SEO.

Once I’ve developed my main idea, I write it in big letters at the top of my outline. This keeps me focused on it as I finish the outline and work on the article. Your main idea is your piece’s north star, and keeping it in front of you guarantees you won’t stray from your point.

Step 2: Plan the Body Sections

Now it’s time to decide what goes into the bulk of your article.

If you’ve settled on a main idea, this step usually becomes pretty easy. Ask yourself what facts, arguments, or ideas you need to explain to prove or fulfill your main idea. The answers you come up with are potential topics for each subsection.

I recommend keeping the topic of each subsection as simple as possible, especially if you’re writing for a digital audience. This helps break your piece into small sections that are easy to read.

The classic middle school essay asks for three body sections. In adulthood, you can include as few or as many subsections as you need.

That being said, I usually default to three sections unless I have a really good reason not to. Western audiences are primed to expect lists of three more (there’s even a literary device called the Rule of Three). That means that sometimes, breaking a piece into three sections will make it more memorable.

Step 3: Develop the Introduction

Now it’s time to structure the introduction. Even though it’s the first thing in your article, it should be one of the last things you plan—after all, you can’t know what should go in your introduction until you know what you’re introducing.

When writing digital content, you’ll typically want to keep your introduction short. If you have an interesting concept or story to explore in it, that’s great. But if you don’t, it’s better to get straight to the main idea as soon as possible.

One of my favorite pieces of writing advice is to think of your introduction as a V. It starts broad with some kind of audience hook—a compelling idea, a story, a quote, etc. Then, it gradually narrows in its focus until, by the last sentence, you’re explaining exactly what your main idea is and how you’ll explore it in the article.

Step 4: Consider Your Conclusion

Now, let’s conclude with a look at conclusions.

But first ask yourself if your content really needs a conclusion. Many types of journalistic articles don’t bother with conclusions. SEO articles usually do to pad the word count, but let’s be honest—people rarely read those conclusions. A conclusion is not always necessary for digital content.

When done well, though, a conclusion can be a powerful way to make your main idea stick in your reader’s mind.

How do you do that? Well, just as an introduction is a V, your conclusion is a ꓥ. The first couple sentences should be a narrow-focused reexamination of your main idea (though not a direct restatement). The last couple sentences should then broaden into an exploration of the broader implications of the main idea.

I know “broader implications” is very vague, but unfortunately conclusions are often vague bits of writing. Exactly what they need to include will vary depending on the piece. In marketing content, your conclusion may be a couple sentences that introduce a CTA. In a thought leadership piece, it may end with a big-picture look at why your topic should matter to the reader, or with a final question you want your reader to ponder.

For example, now that it’s time for me to conclude this piece, I need to start with a reexamination of my main idea. To do that, I might say something like this: Anyone can produce well-organized writing by using the basic essay formula to guide their outline.

I might then broaden my focus by saying that though some aspects of article writing, like conclusions, can take some time to master, understanding and practicing the basic principles of essay organization can help you get there.

And then, since this is secretly a piece of marketing content (marketing myself and my writing abilities), I’d wrap up with a CTA like this one:

If you need a writer who will deliver well-organized work every time, contact me!

What I Learned from My First Two Years Freelancing

I feel like I started freelancing yesterday. But according to the calendar, two years have already gone by.  

These past two years have been some of the most professionally fulfilling years of my life. While I won’t lie and say that everything’s been smooth sailing, it has been a journey well worth going on.

What I’ve learned over the past two years, and how I’ve grown as a writer and a business owner, could probably fill a short book. But here’s a brief summary.

Half of Success Really Is Just Showing Up

As a freelancer working from home, I obviously don’t literally show up anywhere. But virtually showing up means just as much.

By “virtually showing up,” I mean being proactive about keeping communication open: replying to emails in a timely manner, following up about the status of projects, delivering work on or ahead of deadline, and communicating about potential delays ahead of time.

To me, these types of tasks feel as obvious as showing up to a traditional job would be. But obvious or not, clients really appreciate these small actions.

It’s Okay to Work at Any Time of Day

One of the primary reasons people freelance is for the flexibility to work whenever they want to. But even so, I found it surprisingly difficult to break free from the 9-5 mindset.

Without any reason to work odd hours, I initially thought I’d stick to the 9-5 schedule I was used to from working a traditional job. But the truth is, I’m incredibly unproductive at 9am. My mind doesn’t seem to come online until late in the morning.

No matter how hard I tried to start writing early, I ended up spending half my mornings staring blankly at my computer. I would then mentally berate myself about my inability to focus — a habit that only made focusing harder.

All this angst over a few hours of lag time was incredibly silly. My clients were getting their deliverables on time, regardless of what time of day I started working. If it didn’t impact my output, why did it matter?

Once I realized this and embraced my natural rhythm, I became more satisfied and more productive.

I know people who do their best writing after midnight, and others who feel most productive getting up at dawn. Everyone has their own natural rhythm.

When you’re not forced into someone else’s schedule, you usually end up settling into the one that works best with your rhythm. You generally get more done when you follow those instincts instead of fighting them.

You’ll Get Ghosted When You Least Expect It (But You’ll Hear from People When You Least Expect It, Too)

Ghosting — when someone stops replying to your messages — is unfortunately a common part of freelancing.

I’ve been dropped by prospective clients countless times, and more upsetting, I’ve been ignored by people I had been just about to start working with. It’s incredibly frustrating, and it’s hard not to take personally. But it’s not personal, and I’ve learned that it’s just one of the punches you have to roll with in this business.

Working independently, without access to any updates (or gossip) from the companies I’m doing business with, means circumstances often change without my knowledge. Work will unexpectedly dry up, points of contact will leave a company, and people will have family emergencies that make freelancer management a low priority.

There’s so much more than I’ll ever know going on behind the scenes with my clients, and sometimes that means people or projects will disappear.

The upside is, it also means that people and projects will sometimes appear at the most unexpected times. I’ve been hired by former colleagues I hadn’t spoken to in five years, been referred to new opportunities by old clients who I thought had forgotten me, and been contacted by prospectives I thought were dead ends after months of silence.

I believe the takeaway is to just be forgiving and accepting. Ghosting hurts, but if you remain open to connection, new opportunities will come when you least expect it.

The Best Gigs Aren’t Found Through Ads

The majority of opportunities I’ve found on freelancer job boards have been low-paying and uninteresting. For work that pays fairly and matches my skills, I’ve mostly had to rely on networking.

The thing about job boards is that they attract a lot of beginners who don’t have much experience. This lowers the average rate available on these boards. When you’re finding work through your network, though, you have more power to explain what makes your services unique and why you’re worth what you’re asking.

I hated hearing this when I was starting out. I’m extremely introverted, and the word “networking” made me a little nauseous. But it’s actually not as hard as I thought it would be. It doesn’t involve jumping in the DMs of everyone I know and aggressively asking for work. It just involves staying alert to how I can support people I already know.

Building a network isn’t quite as difficult as I thought it would be, either. If you’ve worked any kind of job before, and you were kind and diligent while you were in that position, every colleague from that role is now part of your network.

So is every classmate you’ve had, friend you’ve made, and person you’ve met in your neighborhood. Nurturing those relationships is a much better use of your time than sending a dozen applications a day to a low-paying job board.

You Have to Be Proactive About Making Connections

New clients don’t magically appear without you doing anything. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it?

But when I started out two years ago, it kind of felt like business was magically coming to me. After just a couple LinkedIn posts, old acquaintances were pouring out of the woodwork to ask for my services. I had a period when every prospective client I connected with turned into a real client. It was wonderful. And it lulled me into a false sense of security.

I realize in retrospect that these good times were partially due to economic forces. In early 2021, people were optimistic about the economy roaring back and eager to spend money on new projects. 2022 tempered that their optimism. Just as quickly as clients had arrived, they began to disappear.

Even in difficult economic times, though, there’s a compelling business case for working with freelancers. Freelancers can help organizations save on personnel costs while still turning out high-quality marketing and other projects.

But a lot of hiring managers don’t know to turn to freelancers for support. We have to be proactive about making connections and finding appropriate opportunities to propose our services.

I tended to be fairly passive in the past. But I’ve learned that passivity doesn’t help anyone — not me, and not the clients whose lives I could make easier.

It’s Worth It

Freelancing isn’t perfect. I’ve dealt with sudden ghosting, delayed payments, and the loneliness of working for myself, and my earnings haven’t yet surpassed what I was making in a 9-5.

And I wouldn’t give it up for a second.

The freedom, flexibility, and fun of being in business for myself is worth every struggle. I’ve learned so much from so many different clients, and I’ve had opportunities to tackle exciting, challenging projects. And I’ve never had more pride in what I do.

Could your business benefit from some writing or editing expertise? Contact me to learn how we can work together.

What to Put in a Creative Brief

I freelance now, but I used to work on the other side of the equation — I was the content marketer who assigned work to freelance writers and edited their submissions.

While in that role, I discovered an important formula:

More time spent writing a creative brief = Less time spent editing a submission

When I was careful and thorough with the briefs I wrote, I was much more likely to get the results I wanted from freelancers. When I gave them sparser briefs, I often got decently-written but ultimately off-topic submissions.

A little extra work on creative briefs upfront saved tons of time and effort overall.

Being a freelancer — and thus receiving creative briefs instead of writing them — has only made me a bigger believer in the importance of good briefs. I love having all the information I may need about an assignment from the moment I start working.

So what, exactly, is a “good” creative brief? Based on my experience both writing and receiving them, here’s what I think every creative brief needs to include.

What the Content Is

Let’s start with the basics. Your creative will obviously need to know what they’re creating in the broadest sense — whether it’s social content, a case study, an infographic, etc.

This seems easy, but there can be situations when a client and a contractor have slightly different concepts of what a certain type of content entails. So, it’s always better to overexplain than underexplain by including details like:

  • The length of the content
  • The scope of the content (i.e., how much information it should cover)
  • The content’s publishing format (print vs. digital, web page vs. PDF download, etc.)

Who the Content Is For 

It’s also important to be clear about who the content’s target audience is. Knowing who will be accessing the content — and how they’ll be accessing it — helps a creative make choices about their tone and overall approach. To help them make the best choices, a creative brief should mention:

  • Who the target audience is
  • Where the target audience is in the marketing funnel
  • How and where the target audience will encounter the content

What the Content Should Accomplish

Once those basics are established, it’s time to explain what the content is about.

The question of what something is about, though, is a very broad one. And I personally think that its broadness makes it a little useless.

Imagine, for example, that three writers receive a brief asking them to write a blog post about bunnies. One might write about how to keep bunnies as pets, one might write about the characteristics of the offspring of different wild rabbit species, and another might submit a Buzzfeed-style listicle of cute bunny pics.

All of these writers would have followed the instructions to the letter. It’s not their fault that the instruction to “write about bunnies” can be interpreted in so many different ways.

This is an extreme example, of course, but I have seen plenty of instances in my career of a writer going in a different direction than expected because the brief wasn’t specific enough.

To avoid this kind of misunderstanding, I believe the best briefs focus not on what a piece of content is about, but on what a piece of content should accomplish.

That means detailing:

The content’s main idea

Ask yourself what you want the reader to learn from the content. Then, put your answer into a full sentence. This full sentence is your main idea.

A marketer for a pet care company producing a blog post on bunnies may want readers to learn that bunnies are challenging but fulfilling pets. That’s the post’s main idea.

They can easily turn this main idea into a very specific instruction: “Write a blog that explains why bunnies are fulfilling but challenging pets.” This is much clearer than “Write a blog post about bunnies,” so it’s now more likely that their writer will submit what they want.

What actions the content should encourage

Some content is intended to just convey information. Other content is intended to push the audience — subtly or not — to take an action that moves them farther down the marketing funnel. Explaining which category your content falls into is another important dimension of communicating what the content should accomplish.

If your piece about bunnies really is just intended to share information, the writer can include any bunny care tips they find relevant. If it’s to drive readers to buy rabbit food and toys from your company, though, you’d want the blog post to include sections on nutrition and enrichment.

Describing the actions you want readers to take in your brief helps ensure that you get content that’s not only well-written, but that also helps you reach to your marketing goals.

Anything Else Unique About the Content

The above are what I consider creative brief “must-haves.” Every company has their own quirks and requirements, though, and it’s good to take a minute and consider whether you have any unique needs a freelancer should know.

For example, if you have a preference for how the creative approaches SEO or how many cross-links a blog should have, write that down in the brief. If you like bulleted lists or hate passive voice, those are things a writer should know.

Additionally, if there are any details you definitely want to make sure are in the final product, now is the time to add them. You may assume that any article about bunny care will include a section on nutrition, but your writer may not. If there’s anything you know you want from your content, no matter how small or obvious, it’s safer to put it in the brief.

All this may seem involved, but if you get in the habit of writing thorough creative briefs, the process will gradually become quicker and easier. (The headings in this post can be used as a checklist, if you want.) You won’t regret it when your creatives start submitting drafts that barely need editing.