Writers are easy to find.  

In the world of work-at-home-dom, freelance writing seems to be one of the first things people turn to when faced with bringing a paycheck in through the computer screen. For instance, just imagine poor Jack, sitting at home after a stressful day at work. His back hurts from his cheap office chair and his head is pounding after the verbal beating his boss gave him. He really wishes he could work at home, comfortably seated in his ergonomic chair with a little Bach playing in the background. “I know,” he thinks to himself in what he considers a stroke of genius, “I used to write memos every week. I have experience. I could be a writer.” 

Good writers are hard to find. 

Perhaps Lorna and I are a little picky, but we HATE it when we read a piece of writing with errors in it. I’m not saying that Jack sucks as a human being. I’m not saying that we never make errors. I’m not even saying that there are rules decreed in stone when it comes to the written word. What I am saying is that when we come across an article that has consistent errors—a misuse of semicolons, crazy commas all over the page, or just plain bad grammar—it hurts us both mentally and physically.    

I know I’m going out on a limb here and opening myself up to all sorts of critiques from people who love to tear grammarphiles limb from limb. But someone’s got to say it. 

Being a professional writer is hard work.  

Writing is not about putting words on a page and hoping that someone will buy them. Education, experience, and consistency are all necessary to stay at the top of this game. This is not something Lorna and I take lightly. We feel that our commitment to these three qualities is what makes us actual writers instead of freelancers with delusions of grandeur.   

Education 

Do I think that having a degree in Creative Writing or English is necessary to become a writer? Absolutely not. Some of the best writers I know are as removed from an English degree as I am from brain surgery. Do I think that the fact that I have a degree in English helps me out as a writer? Absolutely.  

Four years of English-intensive college classes taught me a few things. Grammar, for one. Punctuation, for another. Not to mention creative license in writing incomplete sentences. It also taught me to love and revere the Chicago Manual of Style, the APA writing guide, the MLA writing guide, and all other publications dedicated to instructing me on the different ways of conveying my message.  

Experience 

Experience in the writing capacity can mean a lot of things. It can mean being a well-read individual who knows the ins and outs of writing a good sentence. It can mean knowing absolutely everything there is to know about a particularly difficult topic and being able to break that topic down into words that others can understand. It can mean having spent years perfecting your craft so that your style and voice cannot be duplicated. 

Experience is the one thing everyone can access. Even Jack, my poor office-slave friend, might have enough experience in his field to make him a successful, if grammatically-challenged, writer. The one thing I ask is that if you are great at writing, if you have something important to say—but you cannot convey that something without making errors in subject-verb agreement or even correct punctuation—hire yourself an editor. You’d be amazed what an expert and a fresh pair of eyes can do. (This is something just about everyone can benefit from. I always run everything I write through Lorna first. That second person makes all the difference.) 

Consistency 

Here’s where I think Lorna and I have an edge. Not because we have outstanding education or experience, but because we are committed to the craft. Between the two of us, we occasionally have conflicting ideas of what “correct” means. Personally, I have a strong aversion to serial commas in the AP style (found in most newspapers, journals and magazines). I love my commas in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style (found in many academic documents, books, and all things written by me). Lorna agreed to make the switch so that our work is consistent.  On the other hand, she recently asked me to please, please stop ending sentences with prepositions. Before, it was something I never really concerned myself with. (Yes, I was just being clever there.)    

These are just a few of the many examples we have decided are important to us and to our world of grammar. As such, we have created The List. The List contains all of our style guidelines. When we outsource our work, or if we simply need to remember our own rules, we can consult The List. It keeps us consistent with each other and with ourselves so that everything our company produces meets the same (read: excellent) standards. The List is a living organism that changes and grows with the dynamics of the English language, with updates cheerfully provided by the Chicago Manual of Style every year, with our own whims, and with the nature of the document we are writing. Because I would never start a sentence with a conjunction in a formal business document. 

Write, and Write Well! 

I’m not perfect, and I’m not a perfect writer. Some of you may carefully search the blogs of my past, present, and future in hopes of being able to gleefully point out my errors. That’s fine. Point away. I’ve been known to get petty satisfaction from the same actions myself from time to time (okay, as recently as yesterday).  

All I ask is that you take writing seriously. It’s a gift, an art, and a science. If you don’t know the hard-and-fast rules of writing, study them. And if you don’t want to study them, hire someone else to do it for you.

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