Getting support for our writing is a tricky thing to do. AI is useful but not perfect. We want to reach our audience by being authentic and professional, yet writing, alongside all the other things we need to do as small businesses and authors, takes energy and time. And we can’t be good at everything.
There are ways around this and it is not cheating! But you need to delegate (trust!) a good writer/editor, create a strong brief or develop a good relationship with the person you delegate to, and make time to do some aspects of the work (providing the first draft, checking the final before publishing content).
You need to decide what type of writing support you need. There are many freelancers and small businesses offering writing services. Below, I’ve listed the variety of services. Hopefully, this will help you to identify what you need. (If you want to know more about book editors, you can read my previous blog here).
Content writer
This usually means someone who specialises in writing online content (blogs, web pages), but it can sometimes be used to include people who write brochures and booklets. Some sell themselves as ‘researchers’ who will research and write for your business. It’s advisable to hire someone who already knows your area of work/industry. They should know how to write for your audience and how to use relevant keywords and phrases for search engines to pick up (i.e. Search Engine Optimization – SEO).
The skill of a content writer is to draw your ideal audience in and keep them on your website with good content. Be wary – you don’t want someone simply copying and pasting content from other pages. You want someone who will produce original content in the style and tone of your brand.
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is someone who writes for someone else, i.e. they do not take the credit. Ghostwriters are used widely – celebrity books and a lot of online content is written by others. (AI is not good with long-form content yet.) Ghostwriters can be used for books, speeches and presentations.
Ghostwriters are often freelancers. You can find them online and on freelance websites. Find someone who writes in your genre/field and has a style you like.
Copywriter
This person will be skilled at writing to sell or get a Call To Action (CTA). This person needs a strong grasp of language and should not make grammar and punctuation mistakes. They will be skilled in making every single word land in the right way, and excell;ent use of punctuation can help. A copywriter is really useful for blurbs of books, homepages, landing pages, product listings and catalogue pages, adverts, apps, packaging labels and social media. AI does write copy well it tends to be quite bland agains the noise of other marketing. Human copywriting is still preferable.
Highly skilled copywriters are expensive. Choose someone with a good portfolio and a history of working with clients in your field/subject area.
Proofreader
The proofreader checks for clarity by looking for grammar and punctuation issues. Proofreaders are not only used for manuscripts of books, but also to check website content, social media content as well as business documents and packaging. If proofreaders look at text in its designed format, they will correct layout and formatting issues too. (You can see my blog about working with a proofreader here.)
Proof-editor
A proof-editor will improve the writing from a structural and technical level but apply a lighter hand as it’s a service typically offered by proofreaders. This service is appropriate for online content. (More info available here.)
Copyeditor (UK)/Line editor (US)/
The terms vary according to where you are on the globe. In general, this role involves checking the writing at the technical level and will look to improve the structure, messaging/narrative as well as correct punctuations and grammar. They will ensure the branding (in terms of writing, layout and formatting) is consistent across all formatted pages, blogs, articles, social media and website too.
Authenticity Reader (AR) (sometimes called Sensitivity Reader)
This is useful for texts written by people who do not have the experiences or background that they are writing about. Despite good intentions, in writing about people that are marginalised, maligned or often misunderstood and under-represented, it can mean you are inadvertently perpetuating tropes, stereotypes or ignorance causing further harm and misunderstanding. You can also seriously hurt your own work. An Authenticity Reader will give you feedback and explain where there are issues (if they see any). It is at the client’s discretion whether to make changes. To understand more, check this podcast or blog. (Both are aimed at editors but writers can benefit too).
The cost of using an AR is quite low because the editor will provide a letter or a simple report of their thoughts and findings, which is simpler to prepare than providing proofreading and editorial comments (i.e. it takes less time).
Beta readers (useful for self-publishing a book)
Beta readers are volunteers who offer to read text in the genre that they enjoy and give feedback. There is no need to pay a beta reader! Please avoid those who take payment! You can approach people in your network to look at your work (a beta reader should not be a friend or family member) or groups set up on social media. Offer an early draft of your material and ask for general feedback as well as a few questions for them to consider. For example, is it engaging? What doesn’t work? Give a reasonable deadline and be receptive to negative feedback.
The advantage of using beta readers is that you have more confidence in what you are writing and know you are on the right track. This is better than writing the whole thing, only to find you need to revise big tranches of it because it doesn’t land the way you presumed it would.
Writers worry about ideas being stolen. This is a risk but early drafts tend to look nothing like final drafts. Also, you don’t need to give the entire book.
Fact-checker
Getting facts wrong can completely discredit you and your book. You might feel it’s worth getting certain things checked. This could be references to the past, the use of foreign words and phrases, maths and coding. Some editors include fact-checking in their services (you need an editor who knows your subject area). Assessing the risk and how much margin of error is tolerable is up to you.
Finding the right fit
Once you have identified what you need, allow yourself time to find the right person. It is important to feel your writer/editor understands you, your business or what you want to write about. You can begin by:
- Seeking recommendations from people in your networks.
- Find a social media community where people advertise their services.
- There are many freelance websites: find one that works for you. Bear in mind that these websites charge the freelancer quite a lot (around 20% of the contracted amount) plus transaction fees, so fees may look high. Steer away from people charging very low amounts.
- After posting a job, allow for a few days before you make a shortlist to allow people time to apply.
- Make sure your project brief is as clear as possible to get the best types of response. Good briefs attract strong, qualified freelancers (they will see you are a client worth their time).
- Inevitably, there are a lot of rogues out there. it should be easy to sift out the terrible ones. They tend to be too cheap, the response contains too many errors (allow for a small margin of error), and the response looks like a copy and paste with no tailoring to your brief.
- Check reviews and testimonials.
- You can request samples of their work
- Request a sample edit or proofing (you provide a sample of your text and let them work on it).
- Read their Terms and Conditions.
- Ask to know about their working methods and payment methods. It’s typical to pay a deposit and then in parts as milestones are reached (for long projects) or once the project is completed.
If you need further guidance, feel free to get in touch! I’m always happy help.