I write. Here's what I DON'T do

I write.

Like any freelancer, I spend a lot of time telling people what I do for a living. Often, people can guess what a copywriter does, though they may need a bit more info regarding what a ghostwriter does. Either way, I’m happy to explain my role, the type of work I engage in, and the benefits that hiring someone who can really write can bring to any potential client.

Ultimately, though, I would hope that the presence of writer in my job title explains fairly clearly what people can expect my skill-set to be and the talent I can therefore apply to their project. I love my job and I enjoy the opportunity to talk about it, but I get a bit down-hearted with the fact that I often need to remind some insistent potential clients of what is NOT covered as part of my role.

Whilst I appreciate that this post may come across as a little bit of a moan, its real purpose is to save people time and/or confusion. With that in mind, here is a list of things I don’t offer as part of agoodwriteup:

• I don’t arrange the printing or uploading of any materials
• I don’t get involved with graphic design, layout or typesetting for books
• I don’t provide exhaustive information about printers, publishers or publishing options
• I don’t serve as an agent to source a publisher
• I don’t provide information for free to any third parties, such as PR agencies requesting a synopsis, or publishing companies requiring proposals… if they want it, they can pay for it

However, as a budding writer of any form, you may very well need advice and support regarding all of the above points. My existing clients will tell you that I’ll happily chat to you about such things, give you my point of view, and share my experience, but it’s not my ultimate responsibility to research or provide such information for my clients. It actually wouldn’t be ethical for me to take on such responsibilities, as they’re simply not within my professional skill-set.

In addition, as a freelancer in general, there are ways of working I don’t, won’t and can’t sign up to:

Firstly, I don’t agree payment terms based on commission of how well a publication goes on to do in terms of sales or impact. I simply provide a professional and outstanding piece of copy to fit a client’s brief, so if their product at the centre of what I’ve written about is not viable in its respective marketplace, then that’s not something I can fairly be accountable for.

Secondly, I won’t agree a split with a client on the profits of their publication in place of full payment. Any professional person providing a service deserves to be paid in full and in a timely manner for the work they’ve done, and investing my time, energy and talent to write up a client’s vision in the most professional way is no different.

And finally, I can’t simply accept any free item or session of a client’s product or service in return for waiving my charges. This is not to say I’m against the idea of a tradeswap – for example, I provide all copywriting services for a web designer client of mine who, in turn, creates, updates and manages the agoodwriteup website each month. As with any tradeswap, however, this works because both parties feel the agreement is equal, fair and beneficial to reflect the work put in from both sides.

To reiterate, I simply don’t like wasting anybody’s time. Therefore, I hope that this post serves as a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ resource for anybody who may like my style and who may value the true service that I am able to provide; a fantastic piece of professional and engaging writing for their business, project or venture.