A writer friend and I were recently discussing writing for trades and doing the other-than-average gig, to which I pipe up “I don’t understand how a writer can look at a paying gig and not find a way to get interested in it. Can’t they just find something interesting in the subject matter?”
His response: “Isn’t that what writers are paid to do?”
Both this writer chum and I work in trade magazines and in some pretty uninteresting topic areas. But we both love writing for these publications because we make the work interesting. Add to that a check and hey, we’re good to go.
There are gigs we all turn down because the level of interest just isn’t there. I can’t offhand remember the last one I rejected out of pure boredom, but I know I must have. More often, I turn them down because the work involved in coming up to speed does not equal the amount of money offered.
I’ve heard writers profess “I’ll never work for XX industry!” or “You’d never catch me writing something that boring!” But isn’t that counterproductive to your success? How do you know you’ll hate it if you don’t give it a go? By attempting other areas of writing or other industries, you might find your niche. You might find also a cash cow, for some of the seemingly more boring fields pay incredibly well. Don’t believe me? I make $1 a word writing for an insurance publication. Are you still awake? Guess what I write? Company profiles. If you’ve ever written a feature story, you can write a company profile. Mind you, there’s jargon involved and it does take a dose or two of knowledge in that particular industry, but if you decide now that it might be interesting to learn about a totally unfamiliar territory, you may find yourself working much more often than you do now.
Thoughts?
I’ve written brochure copy for the Society of Protective Coatings. Which is paint. I’ve written about paint drying.
I ditched a cash cow last year because, although they offered me HUGE money, the industry was one promoting something I believe is unethical and dangerous. I believed that working for them would compromise my integrity — to myself, to heck with what anyone else thought — so I refused.
I can get interested in most topics, especially if they’re waving cash at me, but there are certain industries in which I choose not to work for personal reasons, and, so far, I haven’t been offered the amount that would make me compromise. If six figures won’t make me do it, would seven? I don’t know, but I doubt it.
I think your friend hit the nail on the head with his comment. People pay us to make uninteresting things sound interesting. It’s a challenge, but I welcome it.
Although I’m not sure I’d go so far as emartin … paint drying?! for real? that’s awesome : )
One of my clients is real estate overseas. I cover news, property reviews and feature articles. If only I could get the client to get work to me in a timely fashion, I wouldn’t be nearly as bored. That said the project does make me wish I had the money to afford to live in the places I review.