Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of emerging writers in our industry? As someone who’s creativity was first expressed with a pen/keyboard before code and PS, its a great thing to see! After that feeling dies down, a certain question starts to brew in your head. How many of these people actually have the skill to be called a professional writer?
Before anyone goes and thinks I’m saying I don’t like writers coming from other career paths. The issue arises when those said people aren’t skilled enough, or willing to grow their ability. It makes sense since most could care less for the craft, but they overly indulge in the possible popularity it brings.
So to help better expand on my point, we’re going to go over a few select attributes that separate those that care for the craft and those in it for the perks.
Originality Is a Requirement
How many times in the blogosphere do you go to a site and think, “Oh, someone else has decided to write on this too. Great!” That feeling is a lot like how in pop music when someone has a hit, the duplicates start riding the wave. I like to look at this as a double edged sword.
In one way you get great articles written by authors that took the time to take in the original piece and enhance the idea by expanding on a detail, or going about it with their own unique twist. In another way you get a lot of articles posted where there is no difference besides word choice. Granted there are times where each serve a purpose, the later more so for list articles.
However from my experience, and the writers I’ve associated with other time, an original piece always holds more excitement and importance to them. Just to note this is in no offense to those who make list articles, those things take a lot of time for a good one!
Never Take Ideas of Others
If there is one thing I know, its an idea for a written piece can only be done proper justice by its originator. Of course there are barriers like skill, experience, and understanding of material blocking the final product, but that doesn’t change anything. Sadly though, this basic concept isn’t often understood by clients.
A common tactic used by those who don’t get it will be to get in talks with a writer, get the writer to spit ball ideas, and then take those ideas and/or outlines and run them to a writer that’s cheaper or already affiliated with them to produce. Some of you may be thinking this could never really happen, and that the creative industry is way too friendly for that.
To honestly think that shows you’re either way to inexperienced, just don’t come up with piece ideas that are worth stealing, or is the cheaper writer.
Quality of Content Outweighs Going Viral
I know I’m going to sound very hypocritical saying this since a lot of my articles have gone viral, a few less super viral, a select few mega viral, and one so viral that everyone(radio stations, news channels, college professors, and probably your parents) was one person or social media share away from.
Despite these feats, I’m still going to say that being viral is not important because in all those articles not one was written with that intent. The goal for each and every one was to be a well written body of work that smoothly delivered the new material to my readers.
Don’t get this confused though, I’m very proud to say that I’ve achieved the majority levels of high exposure a writer can get today. The point being made here is that the high exposure was only possibly because I put a heavy importance in the quality of my content.