WritingThoughts

As a work-at-home writer, I rarely have face-to-face contact with a client. Typically I apply through e-mail or with an online application, often sending a resume or samples of my work as an attachment. My job acceptances come the same way–through e-mail.

I am in the midst of a debate with my darling husband who feels that I should have business cards printed up. He believes that printed business cards will help people will take my business more seriously.

I, on the other hand, see no purpose for business cards. The one time that a client requested a business card, I e-mailed a mock-up template of a card I had designed. I got the job, so it seemed to be enough. Since I mostly communicate with clients through e-mail, I see no reason to go to the expense of printing cards.

What do you think? Do you have printed business cards? If so, what title do you give yourself: owner/proprietor or an actual description of what you do.

I look forward to your input.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Which is more important to a writer: native ability or training?

Consider the following fictional scenarios:

Scenario A–In this scenario is an individual who is very talented with words with a tremendous vocabulary and perfect spelling, but who has never had a formal English class.

Scenario B–In this scenario is an individual who has no natural talent with words and struggles with spelling, but who has had years of formal training in writing classes.

In your opinion, which of the preceding individuals would make the better writer (and why)?

What’s your take? WritingThoughts wants to know.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Angela Booth has a number of excellent resources for writers. Among her resources are the following blogs about writing:

• Pro Write Blog
• Angela Booth’s Writing Blog
• The Creativity Factory: marketing copywriting
• business writing: write today
• Fab Freelance Writing Blog
• Fab Web Writer: Join The Instant Publishing Revolution
  
• Top eBook Writer

With so many choices, I had a difficult time featuring just one of her blogs. However, I’ve decided to focus on Angela Booth’s Writing Blog.

Recent topics on Angela Booth’s Writing Blog include an installation in a series called Weekend Writer in which Angela provides writing ideas and inspiration and an article entitled “Freelance Writing: Make Your Own Freelance Writing Jobs.”

Writers who want to improve their writing skills will want to add Angela Booth’s Writing Blog to their list of regular reads.

If you missed last weeks “Of Note” feature, click here to discover more about Anne Wayman’s blog.

Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in “Of Note” yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time…)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

This is part two of our examination of ghostwriting at WritingThoughts.

In part 1 of this series, I pointed to some other posts on the topic. I also invited other writers to respond.

Updated 8/1/2014: This is one of the earlier posts on WritingThoughts. As a result, many of the links to the ghostwriting discussions on other sites no longer work and have been removed.

To date, here are the writers who have responded (if you responded to the topic and I didn’t put on the list, send me the link to your response and I’ll add you):

• Mihaela Lica was the first to respond to the original post by leaving a series of comments. Mihaela blogs at eWritings – Online Public Relations.
  
• Finally, Merry Jelinek gave the topic some serious consideration.

First of all, I want to thank all those writers who responded. One of the reasons that I started WritingThoughts was to explore writing-related issues and questions.

I’ve always considered myself a type of “ghostwriter.” As a technical and business writer, I have rarely gotten credit or acknowledgement for my writing. That’s because most of the projects I work on require me to sign a confidentiality agreement in which I agree that the writing I produce belongs solely to the client.

To tell you the truth, the lack of acknowledgement doesn’t bother me for the type of writing that I do, nor do I consider it unethical. To me, an online help system or a manual for XYZ Software makes no sense if it’s not accompanying XYZ Software. The study guides that I write can be interesting, but typically they are not on topics that I would choose to write about.

That’s not to say that I would always give my work away. There are cases where I might feel that I’ve put enough of my heart and thoughts into a work that I wish to retain rights for it. For example, the contents of this blog are copyrighted. Readers are encouraged to link to it, but may not reproduce entire posts without express permission. However, I always identify these instances before a writing project begins.

The ghostwriting discussion (and I’ve lumped in the use of pen names since it also deals with the writer not getting credit for their work), however, forced me to take a deeper look at possible issues surrounding ghostwriting. I think that this type of examination is good and healthy for our industry.

The Good About Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting is an established tradition. I still remember being disappointed as a child to learn that Carolyn Keene, “author” of the Nancy Drew children’s series was not a real person. Mark Twain, of course, was really Samuel Clemens. There’s even been some discussion about whether or not Shakespeare actually wrote all that is attributed to him.

Not only is ghostwriting common in the literary world, but it exists in other arenas as well. The political arena is a prime example of an area in which ghostwriting flourishes. Nearly every president in the last century used a ghostwriter to write speeches, memoirs, and other public communications.

The Bad

Some of the bloggers make the point that ghostwriting enables the purchaser to exploit the actual author. In this scenario, a celebrity (or other moneyed person), pays the actual writer a mere pittance of the actual proceeds of the ghostwritten work.

Another point against ghostwriting is the deception point. Blogging is an example that has been raised. For example, should a corporate CEO pay someone to blog while posing as him or her?

Conclusion

Ghostwriting, as I believe it is most commonly used, is intended to positively contribute to society and to the body of written work by helping those who cannot write benefit from the skills of those who can. When used in this fashion, I believe that ghostwriting is not unethical.

I think most people are not fooled when a celebrity or politician “writes” a book or speech. In fact when I see such a work, my first assumption is that it was ghostwritten.

(I do think that it would be healthier and a bit more honest for celebrities to acknowledge the ghostwriter as their collaborator on a work, and some celebrities actually do this.)

In the end, however, ghostwriting is an agreement between the writer and the celebrity. To be honest, most of these books would not sell as well without the celebrity’s name on them.

That’s not an excuse for exploitation. I definitely feel that writers should earn their worth. However, it is the writer’s responsibility to make sure that they do not enter into unwise business arrangements. Ghostwriting a celebrity’s memoir or novel for a few hundred dollars is not a wise business arrangement.

A possible ethical problem I see with ghostwriting is when it is used to intentionally deceive or mislead people. I would have an issue with a blog of glowing product reviews supposedly “written” by Suzy Smith, satisfied customer of product XYZ, if it turned out that there was in fact, no real Suzy Smith. I think that is an example of intentional deception.

However, I wouldn’t have an issue with a blog written Fido, the family pet, endorsing XYZ dog food. Why not? Because everyone knows that dogs can’t create blogs, therefore there’s no deception with that blog example.

I asked the other writers to answer some questions, so it’s only fair that I answer them as well.

1. Would you completely write a book, play, or other creative work and allow someone else to have the credit?In most instances I would not allow someone else to claim an original creative work of mine as their own. However, I have sold exclusive rights for my work that required that the work be attributed to me. I would (and do) provide editing services for other writers.
2. Would you write a blog and allow someone else to claim it as their own? In most cases, I would only do this if the other person were extensively involved in the process. For example, if a CEO wanted me to blog for him or her and was willing to provide an outline of what they want to be covered and signed off on each blog post as being accurate, I might create such a blog. However, I would be happy to serve as a blog columnist or in a blogging position.
3. Would you use a pen name or pseudonym? While I don’t use a pen name for those few pieces that I write that get a byline, I’m not opposed to their use. For me, it’s just convenient to write under one name.
4. Would you write a nonfiction piece and allow someone (or something as in the case of a company) to have the credit? Yes. As a technical and business writer I pretty much do this all the time.
5. Would you write someone’s term paper for them? Absolutely not. The purpose of writing a term paper is to allow the student to learn. Part of that learning experience is doing the work for themselves.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

I’ll posting some longer posts later this weekend, but I wanted to alert my readers to the fact that Kate at kate blogs about writing & web design is hosting a blog carnival today.

In addition to this piece from WritingThoughts, the Writerly Types blog carnival includes 35 other thought-provoking and informative entries.

Good work Kate! (Thanks for hosting this excellent carnival.)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Do you have anything special that you do when you finish a hard deadline? Or, do you just proceed to the next project without a single break?

There are a number of things that could be done at the completion of a tough deadline:

• Celebrate
• Reward yourself
• Rest
• Collapse

What do you do? I’d like to hear.

As for me, I was all set to do the second blog in this series tomorrow. Instead, I’ve decided to take option 3. I’ve decided to rest for a few days.

I definitely will finish the series, probably this weekend. But, for now, ethics can wait.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

While the demands can be strict in the corporate world, work-at-home parents face a temptation that their corporate counterparts seldom experience.

I am talking about the temptation to work 24/7 (especially when a deadline looms). I am talking about the difficulty of separating home from work because work IS at home.

Can’t sleep at night? The office is just a room away. Does that stack of dirty dishes seem daunting? You can always go to the office and work instead of facing it. Want to get away from fighting kids? The office makes a convenient excuse when you don’t even have to get into the car to go there.

That’s not to say that I didn’t ever bring work home when I worked in the corporate environment. I did. It’s just that the boundaries were much clearer between work and home.

When I brought work home back then I knew that I was crossing a boundary and intruding into my homelife. Now, with my “office” housed in the former breakfast nook behind the kitchen, the boundaries between work and home are less clear. It’s all too easy to slip away from what should be family time and closet myself in that home office.

When those temptations occur, I sometimes find it necessary to remind myself why I became a WAHM in the first place: to find greater balance in my life.

What about you? How do you handle the temptation to work 24/7?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved

There is a discussion going around the writing blogosphere about whether or not ghostwriting is legitimate.

Updated 8/1/2014: This is one of the earlier posts on WritingThoughts. As a result, many of the links to the ghostwriting discussions on other sites no longer work and have been removed.

Finally, I ran across the topic again on Lillie Amman’s site. Lillie also references a number of posts and articles on ghostwriting. After commenting on Lillie’s site, I decided to bring the topic to WritingThoughts, but with a different twist.

The twist is this: please share with us (either in the comments here, or on your own blog referencing this post) where you would draw the ethical and moral line concerning ghostwriting. In order to keep from tainting the results, I’m going to hold off on publishing my own opinion for a few days (that will be the Part 2 of this article).

If you’ve never thought about it here are a few questions (in no particular order) to get you started:

1. Would you completely write a book, play, or other creative work and allow someone else to have the credit?
2. Would you write a blog and allow someone else to claim it as their own?
3. Would you use a pen name or pseudonym?
4. Would you write a nonfiction piece and allow someone (or something as in the case of a company) to have the credit?
5. Would you write someone’s term paper for them?

This is not an official meme, per se, but I would sure like to at least hear from the following writers (one way or the other):

• You. That’s right, if you’re reading this and want to share your opinion then I want to hear it.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

This is where we get to know one another a little bit better. I’d like to invite you to share the type of writing you do with WritingThoughts and with the readers here on the blog.

To help get the ball rolling, I’ve listed a number of writing professions below. Because I believe in the value of networking, I’ve also included a link to a national-level professional organization for each genre.

(Note: I am not specifically endorsing any of these organizations. My own positive experience is limited to the Society for Technical Communications.)

Have I missed a few genres of writing? Almost certainly, although not intentionally. That’s why I’m throwing this open to the readers. If you know of a genre and a national-level writing association please let me know so that I can include it here.

I learned a lot during the creation of this post. For example, I didn’t know that there was a society for dog writers. When I discovered that I searched and found a cat writers society also. (Welcome to any visiting dog and cat writers!) I hope that you learn from this post also.

• Business Writers. Society of American Business Editors and Writers Inc.
• Cat Writers. Cat Writers’ Association, Inc.
• Construction Writers. Construction Writers Association.
• Christian Writers. American Christian Writers.
• Dog Writers. Dog Writers Association.
• Education Writers. Education Writers Association.
• Environment. Society of Environmental Journalists.
• Football Writers. Footballwriter’s Association of America.
• Golf Writers. Golf Writers Association of America.
• Greeting Card Writers. Greeting Card Association.
• Horror Writers. Horror Writers Association.
• Journalists. Society of Professional Journalists.
• Medical Writers. American Medical Writers Association.
• Mystery Writers. Mystery Writers of America.
• Poets. Poetry Society of America.
• Romance Writers. Romance Writers of America®.
• Science Writers. National Association of Science Writers.
• SciFi Writers. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.
• Technical Writers. Society for Technical Communication.
• Trainers. American Society for Training & Development.
• Web Content Writers. The HTML Writers Guild.

I was looking for organizations for SEO writers and marketing writers, but failed find any. Perhaps one of you can help me?

Now, let’s hear from you. What type of writing do you do?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Lillie Amman of A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye recently tagged me for this meme on work/life balance. If you’ve been reading WritingThoughts a while, then you know that this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart.

Lillie’s meme invites bloggers to answer any of five questions. I chose to answer all of the questions. Here are the questions with my answers:

1. How do you achieve balance in your life? I achieve balance by focusing on the things that are most important and by not overextending myself.
2. What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life? My biggest challenge is handling the unexpected. I’m a planner–the type of person who likes to lay out in advance what they’re going to do and how they are going to do it. Dealing with the unplanned challenges me and allows me to grow.
3. What are your priorities? I list my priorities in this order: serve God, be there for family and friends, and perform all tasks as though I am doing them for God himself.
4. How have your priorities changed over time and why?My priorities have definitely changed over time. My energies are now focused on those things that are eternal: God and people. I used to believe that I would get around to focusing on the important things “later, when I had time.” I’ve come to realize that later may never come and that now is all that I can count on. The time to live according to priorities is now.
5. What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives? Treat setbacks and obstacles as opportunities for learning and growth. Remember, setbacks and obstacles seldom turn out to be permanent. Even if they do turn out to be permanent, you will view them much differently in five years.

Now it is my turn to tag five bloggers. I pick:

• Carson Brackney
• Paula Neal Mooney
• Mihaela Lica
• Gayla McCord
• Harmony Cornwell

I look forward to seeing the responses.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.