A career in writing: 5 things to embrace for success

The day job.

For eight hours a day, 5 days a week (ish) — I am a senior copywriter for an innovative, emerging, super rad tech company. But, I have been writing professionally for my career for the last 10 years or so.

After getting my masters degree in writing and rhetoric, I landed a job in the nonprofit space as a communications director. There, I not only wrote, but I learned the field of marketing and digital communications. As my career grew and I took on new opportunities, I become more focused on digital media and marketing and less on the actual writing. This was great experience, but ultimately, I missed putting words out into the world on a regular basis.

Then, about two years ago, after over six years in nonprofit marketing, I accepted a coveted senior copywriter position for a booming tech company. I made the decision to leave nonprofit for two reasons. First, to write more and get back to my skills that I most relied on, trusted, and enjoyed. And second, for more career growth, money, and upward mobility. I was ready to leave the nonprofit world behind and join the ranks of the fast-paced, innovative, exciting world of tech — as a writer. And boy, has it been all of those things and more.

It was an intense transition. More intense than I could have anticipated. I had become used to being knowledgeable and fluent in the language my nonprofit world had given me. The tech industry was a whole new universe, with new challenges and a new language all its own (blockchain, IoT, scrum, software languages, or GIT anyone)? Whew.

But, through the transition and now 100% focused on creating copy, I’ve learned so much (with still a lot ahead of me to figure out) about what it means to be a writer. Not a creative writer — but a career writer.

Let’s break it down:

1. Embrace the red pen

The most important lesson you can learn as you embark on your career in writing, whether a copywriter or content creator of any kind, is to embrace (and not fear) the very real and also metaphorical red pen. This can be especially hard for early writers in their career, and it was super hard for me for a long time.

After writing in college and graduate school for so long focused on creative writing and poetry, I became very aware that the less red pen on my papers, the better. But it’s much different when writing for your job. Sure, it is nice to have something come back with little or no edits — but if you want to really grow and understand the brand you are writing for, you have to embrace, expect, and appreciate edits and changes made to your work.

You absolutely cannot take edits personally or internalize them, even thought that is impossible to do 100% of the time. But, I have become a better writer because people I respect and admire have made crucial edits to my work. You will also have to definitely re-learn once you move to a new job or brand because edits are totally different based on messaging and organizational writing guidelines. Oxford comma, no Oxford comma (team Oxford comma forever here, btw). We say ‘this’ and we don’t say ‘that’. Position it ‘this’ way for ‘this’ audience only, etc. It is ever-changing and always should be. Don’t get attached to one way of writing anything, and don’t get hung up on the old way when things change — it’s just a recipe for irritation.

Embrace the new and understand that your reaction to edits is your own responsibility.

2. Learning new messaging is difficult, don’t rush it

Just because you can write, doesn’t mean you will automatically nail the messaging. When I started in nonprofit, it took me at least six to eight months to start feeling comfortable producing the language, tone, and personality that was expected of my copy. It took probably two years before I would say I was nailing it on a regular basis. And even after six years, I had to re-frame and retrain my habits as we grew and adopted different messaging when things became more important or faded into the background.

When I entered the world of tech, it was like moving to another country. Totally foreign. Sure, I knew I could write — but there is nothing that will make you second guess yourself more than trying to write in a new language. I googled a lot of things. I probably spent half of my days learning messaging and branding and trying to understand tech lingo (it didn’t come naturally to me whatsoever). I watched endless videos and scoured my company website. And, I am still not proficient.

I am however, finally finding a groove. I am also totally capable of finding answers on my own or speaking up with questions (even if I think they might be silly or novice). My job is to get all of the information I need to write, and sometimes people honestly don’t know what I need. Everyone is always learning, and no one is going to punish you for asking questions.

Having confidence to find the information you need before you start writing will be vital to your success.

Above all, be patient with yourself in the process.

I went through about three months of second guessing myself and my abilities as I transitioned to writing in the tech world. I had to find my confidence and give myself grace and understanding (which all of my co-workers offered up so willingly). We are hard on ourselves and we should give ourselves more room for learning and growth without the guilt and shame of feeling like we ‘can’t’.

(Also, cocktails help).

3. Write for your editor, not yourself

Get to know the person who will be editing your work the most. Pay attention to the edits that they make, because they will likely make the same ones over and over until you start nailing the copy.

Get to really understand the lens they read your copy through and what they expect from it. Do they always cross out superfluous words? Do they constantly nix specific jargon or rearrange phrases? Are they always putting statements into more actionable or active language? Pay attention. Take notes.

Maybe you think your copy does the messaging justice (and you can usually argue your point), but in the end — if you write with your editor in mind, it will save you a lot of time.

4. Your personal writing persona does not matter

Or more so, your personal writing voice needs to take a backseat. That voice mostly doesn’t matter. But never fear, that doesn’t mean you can’t be creative, catchy, clever — or whatever else you need to be.

You need to embrace the voice of your brand or your client or whoever it is you are ghost writing for. Practice putting your voice away and work on bringing forth the persona your brand needs. For me, this is a true test of the craft of writing and much like taking on the dialogue of a character in a fiction piece. Your voice is not authoring the copy, but rather you become a conduit to the message of your character. It’s the same with writing for your brand. It can actually be really fun and rewarding when you get it right.

I found that when I used too much of my personal voice in my branded copy, that is when I would get the most edits. And that is also when I would take edits more personal. Leave your personal voice behind and embrace the chance to be an word-actor for a while.

Then, go back to your personal writing to get your voice out into the world, because I am sure it is beautiful.

5. Give edits with grace

I’ve been behind the red pen many times. And I always have to remind myself what it can feel like on the other end. Especially with a new copywriter.

Don’t just edit. Give worthwhile feedback with comments about WHY you are making your edits. And give praise where you can as well (I can’t stress the importance of calling out what’s been done right).

A writer who comes away from a project feeling mostly good about their writing will only write better. Yes, they can learn something and improve, but never let someone feel awful because you edited their work. There really isn’t a need for that. Think of it like this: Try to edit by coaching to what someone is good at, not by continually pointing out what they lack.

Ultimately you want to be kind and offer solutions and reasoning. And, always, ALWAYS give an example of copy they slayed.

In the end:

There is a ton I am learning everyday, but I know that writers out there are constantly searching for career paths and how to land the perfect writing gig. My personal goal for my career was just “to write”. So, I feel lucky that I have been able to take my career in a path that is fulfilling to me as a writer, and that allows me to, you know, live in the world (aka: make money). And if you are looking to have a career in writing, copy, or content — getting through some of these initial sticky points can help.

Last — if there is one last piece of advice I can give it’s this: Always keep writing for yourself outside of work. Nurture the creativity that made you want to be a writer in the first place. Don’t let that part get washed out or pushed aside because you’re writing all day for someone else. Letting the passion go from your personal writing can be a fast track to self-resentment. Find a project. Journal. Start a blog. Write on Medium.

Don’t lose your voice.