“It is just one blog post. It shouldn’t take you more than a few hours.”
“It is only one line, no? Why can’t you send it immediately?”
“We need this post to go up right now.”
WhatsApp message at 10 PM: “Please give me a bio for Instagram. We are launching it right now.”
“That is how much you charge? This is easy work!”
The Woes
Apparently writing is a piece of cake or so I have been told zillion times. Friends think I have the easiest job in the world, maintaining a team of writers and many clients are under the impression that we somehow have content stuffed in our brains, which flows out at the push of a button.
In fact, being able to write fast has turned into a negative for me because I get replies such as, “It took you only X minutes/hours to write this. Why are you charging this much?” I am tired of explaining that it took years of effort to be able to do something in X minutes/hours.
The Efforts
I run a startup with a handful of writers who are dedicated to what they do. When we acquire a client, we go all out to impress because each client means the world to us. We own their business and sweat it out for it. After a point, though, our efforts are taken for granted and we are expected to do things “right now” despite clear deliverables. Once in a while, such anomalies are manageable but it hurts that clients fail to understand that we have other clients too. Each client expects us to deliver immediately and it all comes crashing down for us.
Content is the need of the hour and that is why (touch wood), my business has been doing well since the day of establishment. Yet, I do not understand why something so important is so under appreciated and why writers even today are told they have the best/easiest job in the world! Even designers, I have heard, face the same.
To write “just one blog post” that will help your website’s rankings, we put in hours into research, understanding, and writing. The same goes with proofreading and editing a copy. Another misconception is length. Many think it is easy to write one-liners. The fact is that, the shorter it is, the harder it gets.
The Appeal
I know I speak on behalf of all writers (and artists) when I say that writing and creativity are very difficult. Giving us time is the best way to help us blossom, making it the best way to make your business blossom! No, I am not requesting you to accept unreasonable deadlines that we put forward or to accept breach of the deadlines already agreed upon. My only request is that you understand that we hate compromising on our work. When you repeatedly push us unreasonably and/or slander our work, it exhausts us and that directly affects our output.
Me
I am Kritika Ponia, a 2-year-old entrepreneur and 1-year-old Rodinhooder. I run a content writing startup in Hyderabad, which is my bread, butter, heart, and soul.
Please reach out to me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter
Twitter: @kritikaponia
asha chaudhry
🙂
kritika, i’ve been a professional “writer” in advtg since 1993. and even then, when there were no sites to write content for, writers were the most unappreciated species!
every client thinks they are creative and a copywriter and that writing doesn’t involve any/much research or thinking or ideating. while the fact is, very few people actually know how to write great copy or content.
am sure every content writer will relate to this post 🙂 i think having a deadline policy in place and sticking to it MIGHT get clients to understand the process of writing.
idea – why don’t you make a flowchart of how content is created at your office and have it as an attachment in your signature? perhaps that would give folks some idea how much effort it takes?
do it as a creative exercise! you could even send it out as a creative email if you like 🙂 and do put up a big poster at office! you never know….
good luck! keep writing and ranting 🙂
Kritika Ponia
Asha,
Believe me, I have tried everything including documents and files that explicitly explain how long each part of writing takes. In the beginning, it feels okay for the client but in a couple of weeks, I get calls suggesting a change in deadlines and impromptu tasks and what not!
I plan to make it a part of the pitch so that they know in advance that it is not practical to accommodate unreasonable requests.
Thank you! 🙂
Perzen Darukhanawalla
Kritika, I loved your little post and I bet even writing this took effort and thinking on your part which luckily our awesome Rodinhood editor appreciates (but many don’t). As a food blogger I face this often when brands want me to not only write a post but also create a recipe for them and don’t want to pay more than ₹ 2 a word which is highly insulting. Or worse, when someone just wants to “repost” my article for free and give me a link back. I’ve been lucky enough to get many link backs and if you’d like my content, be ready to pay for it!
Sanchit Goel
Hey Kritika. Congratulations for Writing Aces, pretty sure you guys are doing a great job. Your rant is completely acceptable. Writing is an art. Those who cant, don’t appreciate it, out of those who do, few end up paying. People usually find it hard to understand the effort that goes into it. It is difficult to change the viewpoint towards what you do but undoubtedly the value that content adds is huge. We are in the publishing business, hence I can vouch for you. It will be good to stay in touch though as we do require editing services. Good luck and a great post. 🙂
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
Hmmm…
I’ve written over 200 articles and understand the ‘holiness’ of writing content thats pure, clean and delivered without pressure.
This is why Haiku – the shortest form of very impactful literature – a few mere words takes years (and sleepless nights) to learn…
Writing is a Tapasya… It will redeem you
Reetu Bhagat
Hi Kritika
I totally agree with you on this…I think you will need to keep writing such posts from time to time to help those who don’t understand the kind of effort you guys put in 🙂
Good luck!
Reetu
Kritika Ponia
Perzen, thank you!
Exactly my thoughts. Hope perspectives change soon!
Kritika Ponia
Hi Sanchit! Thank you very much. 🙂
Let’s get in touch via phone: 998 558 3638 or email: kp@writingaces.com
Looking forward to staying in touch!
Kritika Ponia
Thank you. 🙂 Feels very nice to be appreciated by the likes of you.
Kritika Ponia
Reetu, haha. I will try but I hope the need doesn’t arise!
Thank you. 🙂