Photo Credit: hha124l on Flickr

Professional writers and editors do not exist solely to make your copy shine. (Although they will.) They, like most creatives, are invaluable assets to your business, as contractors or employees or service providers. The best writer is a skilled craftsman but, more importantly, a problem-solving critical thinker.

Whether you’re wondering if you’re a good writer, or if you’re worried that you have a bad writer on your hands– or you’re considering hiring a writer, but you can’t figure out what a writer “does”– let this list be your guide. I’m printing it out right now so I can measure myself against it. It’s possible I’m only a good writer 1 or 2 days a week. I’d like to make it 7.

Writers who take paychecks will find much to enjoy here too. Ways to improve, ways they already excel, and  more than a few reasons to keep pushing for the same professional success your “non-creative” peers expect:

1. Good writers are agile. They interview CEOs and the homeless. They profile leaders and losers. They pore over inch-thick reports in order to tease out just one compelling fact or tie-in. They know how to talk to people, they know how to find information, and they know what’s happening around them.
2. Good writers connect dots. Organizational dots, literary dots, logistical dots. Their job is to pull in data, facts, and anecdotes from multiple sources and connect them effectively, to make a point, to sell a product, to move you to tears. They are extremely good at consolidating information and acting on it.
3. Good writers are independent innovators. Writers don’t actually like a lot of direction, because it confuses us, especially coming from you. Give your writer core concepts and notes on tone or goal. Let them handle the rest. Our brains are already working on the lede.
4. Good writers learn. All the time. A thirst for knowledge goes hand-in-hand with a desire to write. I’ve met plenty of mediocre writers who don’t read or learn much. I’ve never met a good writer who does not. Nicholas Cardot expands on this for bloggers. Writers are a fantastic source of information, and we’ll find anything you need.
5. Good writers love challenges. Writers didn’t read obscure poetry in college for nothing. They’re fascinated by roadblocks, communicative or otherwise; something tantalizing must be on the other side of that door. We break in.
6. Good writers make mistakes. I’ve never met a really good writer who is a presumptuous snob. Beware snobs; writers make mistakes constantly. It’s a precision game and mistakes are part of the job. Anyone who claims otherwise is not worth her salt.
7. Good writers stay on top– of everything. I have already talked about this before, but amazingly, I just met a writer recently who (a) disdained all social media (even LinkedIn!?) and (b) seemed proud about that. I gawked but kept my mouth shut. Writers who want to write for a living (i.e., I’m discounting you ravaged Rimbauds dumpster-diving and living off your art– wish I could be like you, but I like having a roof) can’t pretend they exist in a bubble. Why? Because 10 other writers do not, so they’re all immediately more qualified than you. No job for you. Duh.
8. Good writers love great editors and actively desire feedback. This is also true in an office setting. Lots of writers double as editors. But even the best writer needs an editor, and knows when she finds a great one. An editor can transform your work. An editor’s notes stay with you forever. In the workplace, your editor might be a manager; that’s OK. The point is, writers love learning and precision, and we crave leadership that helps us cultivate our talent.

A Final Note for the Writers in the Crowd

Stan Carey in an interview for the WM Freelance Writers Connection remarks at some length about what editors must do to be successful.

I implore you, good or OK-writers of the world, to listen up. You can apply this advice to your own writing– and you can seek it in your next editor. Writing is an evolution. It’s not about not making mistakes, but learning from them, and remaining passionately engaged in the process of learning, writing, and crafting. Stan’s take is too beautiful not to share:

” Be able to identify and argue against pseudo-rules: they are legion. Investigate contentious points of usage. Collect and compare language style and reference books. Be ready to let go of cherished assumptions. Better yet, discover them before they surprise you. Don’t get hung up on pet peeves. You can be passionate and dispassionate at the same time. Be objective but not remote, fussy but not judgmental.

Write and keep writing. Learn from mistakes. Read everything.”