Copywriters: Stop whining about client edits
April 4th, 2017 by Bob Bly
A lot of people are complainers and whiners.
We copywriters are no exception.
One of the most common complaints I hear from copywriters centers
around clients requesting edits and changes.
But the great novelist and poet, Charles Bukowski, had a more
positive take on rewrites.
In his book “On Writing” (Ecco, 2015, p. 163), Bukowski writes:
“Writing has never been work to me, and even when it comes out
badly, I like the action, the sound of the typer, a way to go.
“And even when I write badly and it comes back, I look at it and
I don’t mind too much: I’ve got a chance to improve.
“That’s the matter of staying with it, tapping away … until it
sounds and reads and feels better.”
Three quick points for freelance copywriters to think about:
1–You may know more about copywriting than your client. But he
may know more about his market than you — and almost certainly
knows more about his product than you.
2–You will have some clients who know as much or even more about
copywriting than you do. You know who they are. Writing for these
clients takes your skills to the next level.
Once, when my client MF, one of the masters of copywriting, was
reviewing a draft of mine, his comments were all so on target I
was moved to say to him aloud, “I am learning so much — I should
be paying YOU.”
He wryly replied: “You’re damned right.”
3–We don’t always write as well as we would like to. But we must
always write as well as we can.
Of course, it helps if you — like Charles Bukowski, Isaac Asimov,
and David McCullough — belong to the segment of writers who not
only like but actually love to write.
“There is nothing more magic than lines forming across paper,”
said Bukowski. “It’s all there. It’s all there ever was. What
comes afterwards is more than secondary.
“I can’t understand any writer who stops writing. It’s like
taking your heart out and flushing it away. I’ll write to my last
breath. I was meant to be like this.
“And when my skeleton rests upon the bottom of the casket,
nothing will be able to subtract from these splendid nights,
sitting here at this machine.”
Bukowski’s words remind me of when Barbara Walters interviewed
Isaac Asimov.
She asked Asimov, “What would you do if you found out you had
only 6 months to live?”
Without missing a beat, Asimov replied: “I’d type faster.”
My kind of guys….
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 4th, 2017 at 10:38 am and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 4th, 2017 at 6:21 pm
Hey Bob,
You’ve made some awesome points here. And you know what? I’ll admit to being guilty of having a moan to myself when clients request an edit.
But after reading this, I’ll try and look at it in a more positive way. After all, if those edits are gonna make the copy convert better, then it’s gonna benefit me.
My only problem is when clients who have barely no clue about copy try to edit your work like an English Lit teacher. I tell them how copy should be conversational.
Yet still they get stuck in “school essay” mode.
(These clients are rare, I must add.)
One thing I wanna ask you about is this:
You said in your first point that your client may know more about his market than you.
If this is the case, is it a sign the copywriter hasn’t done his job properly?
I mean, knowing your market’s the most important part of the whole process, as far as I’m concerned.
And I would argue that, if a copywriter doesn’t know the market at least as well as the client does, then he hasn’t done enough research…
Meaning he hasn’t done his job properly.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks for a great read, Bob.
Tom
April 10th, 2017 at 11:11 pm
Thanks for sharing your point of view.
April 15th, 2017 at 3:53 am
Thanks for sharing the post!
November 1st, 2017 at 4:08 am
Your article is detailed, thanks to it I solved the problem I am entangled. I will regularly follow your writers and visit this site daily.
January 15th, 2018 at 10:42 am
These are genuinely enormous ideas in concerning blogging.
You have touched some pleasant things here. Any way keep up writing.
March 30th, 2018 at 1:23 pm
I am in fact Thankful to the owner of this site who has shared this impressive article
May 19th, 2018 at 6:55 am
This article is very important to me, raises very important issues.
Italian Dential Clinic In Clapham Junction
August 8th, 2018 at 3:17 am
I think if there is initially agreement between writer and a client about certain number of revisions like it is at Essay Dune, where client has a right for 3 free revisions, then writer has no right to complain and should stop whining.
August 13th, 2018 at 11:26 am
Must be glad to given this amazing blog here you have to look the all update and best working forever to know how to use alarms in windows 10/ this is the process for set the time easily in windows app thanks.
September 25th, 2018 at 11:57 pm
Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed! Very useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such info a lot.
driving directions
September 28th, 2019 at 8:31 am
I agree 100% that sometimes, customers are incredibly responsive. Therefore, for me, the motivation is my friend https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/peterphillip/about-me/, who is now engaged in essays related to the Antigone book and is always happy to look at the work from a different perspective. Unfortunately, I can only dream of such a skill.
September 30th, 2019 at 5:58 am
The best collection Hire Php developers India of topics is the main attraction of this page. The readers can easily make use of this page for doing various tasks easily that are making this page more impressive for all readers. which provides good services in all manners.
October 10th, 2019 at 6:23 am
Husband often get intimidated or influenced by various unwanted circumstance as they can be attracted by other women and not bother or listen to any talk of their wives and midway their current relationship
Shohar ko kabu karne ka wazifa
November 20th, 2019 at 10:15 am
I read your blog post and this is nice blog post.. thanks for taking the time to share with us. have a nice day buy canvas shopping bags
March 11th, 2020 at 1:10 am
THANKS
Videobuddy Apk
Videobuddy
Videobuddy
THANKS
March 21st, 2020 at 12:47 am
goodclick
March 21st, 2020 at 1:40 am
It is really an interesting article and it gives me more information about these copywriters and client edits. helpful resources It is really informative and you gave a detailed description. What is the use of these client edits? I think this client edit is not needed.
August 6th, 2020 at 4:11 am
When I read this article, I got some information about copywriting. Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing the text for advertising or other forms of marketing. Your post makes me more informative. cbd products Anyway, thanks for sharing the information for us.
August 7th, 2020 at 1:28 am
Thanks for the best post and i love it
September 23rd, 2020 at 5:30 am
My Local Mothercare is the feedback or customer satisfaction survey portal introduced by Mothercare retail store chain.
papasurvey.info
December 25th, 2020 at 8:34 am
Your article is very good and special. Instead, I like the way you present your writing scientifically. This will be an article worth discussing
January 21st, 2021 at 1:05 am
Hey such an incredible writing skill you have got. I inspired from your writing and posted an article here: How to test webcam
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:30 am
as d sad a sd sa
divorce and khula lawyer in pakistan
children custody lawyer
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:31 am
asd sa d sad sa
nikah procedure in pakistan
online nikah registration
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:32 am
asdas d sa
corporate lawyer in pakistan
property lawyer in pakistan
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:35 am
as d sa da sdas da sd as da sd
criminal lawyer in pakistan
civil lawyer in pakistan
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:36 am
asdsa d asd a sd sa
court marriage in faisalabad
court marriage in faisalabad
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:37 am
sa d as d sa d sad sa d asd as d divorce lawyer in pakistan
divorce procedure for overseas pakistani
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:38 am
asd sa d sad sa as da s
court marriage in pakistan
court marriage in pakistan
June 11th, 2021 at 5:55 am
Home Pug puppies and French Bulldogs make wonderful family pets. Above all, they are hardy and an ideal pet, especially for first-time owners. Selecting a new pug puppy or French Bulldog is a daunting task. You want one that is healthy but also comes with a pleasant personality and is adaptable to your lifestyle.
https://pugslandbreeder.company.com
June 12th, 2021 at 2:26 am
All of Pitbull AKC registrationincludes a basic health guarantee and a 3 year genetic health guarantee. They have been raised in our home around small children, kittens and dogs of every size to help them develop well round personalities accustomed to daily home activates. We encourage families to ask question and to stay in contact with us.
All puppies sold as pets will go home spayed-neutered! We also sell puppies along with breeding right. Note this will an additional fee.
https://pitbullbreeder.company.com
June 24th, 2021 at 10:17 pm
Throughout the years,exotic kittens and the occasional litter of gorgeous Bengals, Servals, Savannah and Caracal kittens.my family encouraged me to pursue my dream and develop my own line of Exotic kittens.
https://savannahbengal.company.com/
August 19th, 2021 at 4:14 am
Visit and get many happy birthday whatsapp status images and quotes just click by https://statusarena.in/happy-birthday-status …
November 7th, 2021 at 11:39 am
Get Coin Master Free Spin Link
January 18th, 2022 at 4:39 am
Wisdom Pharma offers you all the best self-care products in one convenient place, such as their dark circles. So, buy from Wisdom Pharma and get high-quality dark circle Creams online. Wisdom Pharma brings the best eye creams for dark circles in Pakistan.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:25 am
This is a very good article and very helpful. I will suggest you to visit TamilYogi, If you are interested to read articles related to entertainments. This article helped me with many sides. Ayurveda is a very good thing from India.
April 29th, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Freightliner M2 106 26ft box truck is one of the most popular medium-duty on our bestoftrucks.com website.
https://bestoftrucks.com/freightliner-m2-106-26ft-box-truck/
April 29th, 2022 at 4:10 pm
adet olduysan?z kanaman?z varsa hamile oldu?unuz anlam?na gelmez adet oldum ama hamileyim diyorsan?z dikkat edin babannenizi ça??r?r?m
https://hamilelikbelirti.com/normal-adet-oldum-ama-hamileyim/
June 1st, 2022 at 12:59 am
Thank you for giving us such good information for us, I really liked this article, it will help many people. – Mahindra Arjun 605
June 19th, 2022 at 9:27 pm
This is something we should all consider
June 25th, 2022 at 12:25 am
Movies Downloading from isaimini movies Website is a easy task. You must also checkout now.
July 27th, 2022 at 9:08 pm
cool type of article! having best info update knowing for a good copywriter that makes me learned something thanks, for sharing. immigration lawyers melbourne
August 8th, 2022 at 2:42 am
what an awesome way for a good copywriter which is full of knowledge, sharing best information that looks very amazing. bathroom renovation melbourne
September 13th, 2022 at 2:36 am
One of the leading shoes brands in Pakistan is Ndure, always offering their customers quality footwear.
September 18th, 2022 at 9:24 am
PUBG UC is used to buy different items in PUBG Mobile and they find it difficult to convert them to different currencies. You can visit Common Values of PUBG UC In Different Currencies and see the table where you can see values on UC in different currencies.
October 13th, 2022 at 9:05 pm
truly glad receiving best information knowing all about the proper way as a copy writer, keep it up! affordablelectricians.com.au/croydon.html
December 22nd, 2022 at 4:59 am
Estos son pensamientos absolutamente gigantes con respecto a los blogs. Ha acompañantes en Avellaneda tocado algunos asuntos de primera clase aquí. De cualquier manera mantener la escritura.
January 23rd, 2023 at 6:16 am
Business Analyst produces reports that will be presented to Microsoft end-customers, sellers, and partners. You will take data collected from their infrastructure environment to create business analytics and a Cloud Migration Business Case for presentation to Customers. You will have strong Business Analysis and Power BI capabilities to empower customers to better understand & manage their current infrastructures.
January 30th, 2023 at 6:38 am
Affordable Flights by FlightsnTravel give you an amazing and relaxing flight zone to move from one country to another with your family, friend, or with your love one where ever and when ever you wanted to go.
January 31st, 2023 at 6:40 am
Your post is very nice, I love that you post like this.
Ashok leyland truck price
February 6th, 2023 at 4:23 am
I am very impressed by your blog
https://www.truckbazi.com/
February 27th, 2023 at 11:35 pm
If you are having trouble driving to unfamiliar places then mapquest directions is a great solution for you.