Jennifer Jeffrey, Writer & Editor

Decoding the Word “Writer”

A couple of years ago, I realized that most people had no idea what I meant when I said: “I’m a writer.” Do you write poems? They asked. Children’s books? An advice column?

I couldn’t fault them for being confused; “writer" is a very broad term. With so many different kinds of writers writing so many different things, how could anyone guess what I do from day to day? That’s when I started using the term “copywriter” – it was more specific, and a few people knew what I meant, but still – most people asked what section of the bookstore they could find my books in.

Then a friend introduced me as a “copyright.”

That’s when I realized that we writers need to get better at explaining this wild world of words that we inhabit from day to day.  So I created this short list of the major categories that fall beneath the word “writer.” For you. Because you might want to know.

Different Kinds of Writers – Or, What Writers Do

(in alphabetical order)

Authors. Broadly defined, an author is someone who has published a book. Not always, but usually. She might be a romance novelist, or a crime writer, or a cookbook author, but in general, an “author” is defined as someone who has her name on the cover of a book. Most authors identify themselves as “novelists” or “nonfiction writers” – but if they have an ISBN number, they're authors. Historically, this is the gold star category that all writers aspire to.

Job description: Write books that people will buy. Preferably more than 10 people. Bonus points: write  books that tens of thousands of people will buy.

Bloggers. Are bloggers writers? Hey! Don't be such a snob. Bloggers are a newfangled addition to the genus writer, and may or may not overlap with other writer types. There are copywriters who blog. There are journalists who blog. There are novelists who blog. There are people who had never written more than two sentences a row before they started blogging, and now their blog is popular, and they’re getting writing assignments and book deals. It's all good.

Job description: Keep readers coming back. Make friends with other bloggers. Don’t let a war break out in the comments. Don't ever say: "newspapers are dead."

Copywriters. A copywriter is someone who primarily creates marketing-related materials. We work with advertising agencies or directly with companies; we write about brands, products, or campaigns. Copywriters write for the web, for print (brochures, catalogs, press kits, postcards – anything you can hold in your hand), packaging (including wine labels, product boxes, jars, and bags) and any and all advertising mediums. Our audience is usually “the consumer” – that means you, if you’ve ever bought anything in your whole life.

Job description: Make people want to buy things. Provide them with the information they need to make a decision. Bonus points for being clever, insightful, or memorable.

To Those About to Lose Their Jobs

Oh, relax. You’re not about to lose your job. I just needed a catchy headline. You: you’re going to wear the seat out of the chair in your cubicle.  You're going to watch your boss go grey. You're going to make a fool of yourself at more than one company holiday party in the years to come. Trust me, you will.

Or not.

I mean, in this economy… (How many times have you heard that phrase in the last 3 months? I bet you can't even count. I know I can't.)

The economy: It keeps popping up in conversations. It's the lead story in every publication. It’s on my mind; it’s on your mind; it’s on that guy’s mind, too – the unshaven banker-type sitting over there, frantically punching the keys on his Blackberry. It’s tough out there. Rough seas. Stormy weather. Insert your own analogy or pithy phrase here.

If you have a job, I feel for you. I do. How do you handle the constant stress, the not knowing? Are you doing okay?

I had dinner the other night with a few other freelancers – call us independent professionals, contractors, small business owners, whatever – and we all agreed that our reaction to the current economic crisis is slightly more subdued than other “employed” types we know. The world is falling to pieces around us, but we're still sleeping through the night... most of the time.

Are we worried? Of course we are. We’d be stupid, or naïve, or worse, if we didn’t feel the tremendous stress our country is under. We do indeed grasp the gravity of the economic crisis, and yet – the capricious nature of the markets feels remarkably similar to our everyday reality. Look, we’ve had to pay for our own health insurance for years. The insanity? We know all-about-it.

Here's why we’re still (somewhat) sane:

1. Freelancers grasp the fleeting nature of employment.  The first lesson we learned when we struck out on our own was that things change. Fast. A project appears out of nowhere one day; another disappears without warning the next.  Up economy, down economy – we've been on the roller coaster for a looong time, so we aren’t shocked when things change.

2. Freelancers know where the buck stops.  When we checked “Sole Proprietor” on our tax return, we suddenly realized: whatever happens is up to us. How much money we make is up to us. Whether we have health insurance is up to us. How many hours we sleep is up to us. Whether or not we have happy clients is up to us. Gulp. So we hustle. We say “yes.” We accept criticism. We answer the early calls, and the late ones too.

3. Freelancers always have a Plan B. And C. And D.  Due to items 1) and 2), freelancers don’t (or try not to) depend on just one or two clients. We juggle multiple projects. We run ragged for weeks at a time. The moment we decide to pare our client list back, three drop out, and we’re SO. GLAD. WE. DIVERSIFIED.

4. Freelancers understand the importance of saving for a rainy day.  Since we don’t have a predictable paycheck (see items 1-3), we inherently understand the need to sock away extra cash. We stash as much as we can, and we try not to touch it, and then when we have a gap between clients, we can still afford the mac ‘n cheese. We don’t understand why most Americans think “savings” is a dirty word; to us, it means “salvation.”

5. Freelancers don’t cry.  When we lose a client, or don’t win a bid, or when one of our plum accounts hires someone to do our job “in house”, we shed a tear. Then we move on. Time’s a-wasting, and slamming our foreheads against the desk won’t pay the rent. Freelancers know that to stop moving is to lose ground. Hey! Maybe we should write a book, titled: “Your Company Just Isn’t That Into You.” Joking. They love you.

Bottom line? We’re not heroes, or special, or immune to disaster; we're just survivors: a little bit jaded and a whole lot scrappy.

So, from us to you: hang in there. It’ll get worse. Then it’ll get better. Then it’ll get worse again.

It’s called Life, baby.

And in this economy, you have keep your chin up. 

365 Days of Looking Through the Camera Lens

A few years ago, several people had the brilliant idea that it would be fun to document a whole year in photos - one photo per day. The idea resonated, and soon thousands of people all over the world were documenting their lives one day at a time. I followed along, on and off, via Flickr and other websites, but never participated.

Until this year.

Naturally, in keeping with my slow start in 2009, I didn't start on January 1st... or 2nd... or 3rd. Nah. I started 9 days ago. How's that for fashionably late?

The daily challenge of taking at least one photograph has been surprisingly enjoyable. It has motivated me to carry my camera with me more often, and I find that I'm paying closer attention to things that I might otherwise have rushed past.  It has also helped me to silence my inner critic, knowing that I've committed to posting something, even if it's not "good" or doesn't live up to my artistic standards.

What's even more fun is to see the photos others are taking and what they're discovering on the other side of their lenses. It's a party, of sorts.

Want to play along? Button up your pretty dress & slip on your shiny shoes. It's never too late to join!

You can check out my Flickrstream here:  A Year in Photos

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Here are a few fun 365 photo sets I've found by people I've never met. Completely random. 

+ 365 Days of Bokeh

+ 365 Self Portraits

+ 365 Photos by Leah

Careful - if you get lost in Flickr, you might never find your way back to the real world.

Happy Friday the 13th...

Catching Up

Oh, look!

Brand new baby 2009 is already 42 days old, and I'm just now getting my first post up.

I'm not much for writing grand apologies, nor for making resolutions about how I'm going to be a better blogger (no really,  I mean it this time!). I feel like I'm constantly writing, working on one project or another, fingers typing endlessly, and sometimes blogging feels like yet another chore, a task that will keep me in my seat even longer, when what I really want to be doing is prowling the streets with my camera or standing in tree pose in a yoga studio, or sitting down to a great meal.

Was that just one enormous run-on sentence?

I'm getting all talky, and I haven't even asked about you yet.

Hi. Happy New(-ish) Year.

How have you been?

Talk to me. I'll be around. I promise.