What I’m reading downstairs: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
What’s on the iPod: Moondance by Van Morrison
Yesterday was like slogging through mud. I had one small project in the morning, then the administrative stuff for this weekend’s one-day Webinar. Hey, if you’ve not signed up, please do so. It’s 79 bucks – a cheap investment in your business (and a tax-deductible one). For that, you get nine sessions from Devon and me. Nine new ways to look at your creativity, your writing, and your business. Here’s the link – we’d love to have you join us!
As I said, slogging through mud. I’m trying to get a new site up and running, and it’s proving more than I bargained for. I have next-to-zero knowledge in SQL, PHP, and other acronyms related to technology. So I’m downloading like I’m told, but with no idea what to do with any of it. All this for a free platform? I’m not sure I shouldn’t just pay to avoid the complications.
And it wasn’t the best time to realize I’d not reinstalled all my programs when I upgraded to the new computer. I’m still missing FrontPage, which means I now have to use the ISP’s online version. That they have one is damn nice. They have a lot, including password protection capabilities. I’m loving this ISP (WebHost4Life), where my site has been for the last seven years.
I managed a round of blogs and forums yesterday, too. One thing stuck out – there are a good number of writers who are practicing what I call the “fake it until you make it” method of business development. Nothing wrong with faking like you’re a big shot until you become one. In fact, I’m a big believer in adopting the attitude in order to attain the goal. The one thing I don’t believe in – faking experience you don’t have.
It’s disturbing, but I’ve seen a handful of writers claiming all sorts of experience. Yet a closer look at their portfolios shows none of the so-called background OR expertise. Is that really the way you want to present yourself?
If it’s not lying, it’s damn close to it. Remember to inject a heavy dose of truth in your communications. If you’re making claims, you can still sound great without stretching the truth. For instance:
Winner of Several Blog Awards versus Award-winning Writer. One says you’re an excellent blog writer and presenter. The other muddies the water too much. Pulitzer? No, a top-ten blog award. Why disappoint your clients when they ask? Tell them the truth up front.
Business Writing for Consumer Markets versus An Extensive Background in Business Writing . This seems to be the worst offense I’ve seen – writers claiming business writing experience when in fact they’re really used to writing business-related articles for consumers. For example, if you write about business career advice, you need to be very clear that the audience is the average lay person and that these are not the trade version of a business article. Otherwise, that client who hires you to handle an in-depth report on the state of workers compensation and how it affects mid-sized businesses may be sorely disappointed in your approach.
Working Knowledge versus Extensive Expertise. Writing two articles or blog posts for a technology company does not make you an expert, nor do you have extensive anything beyond a line of bull. If you blogged or published on say mobile applications and business use, you can’t claim the same level of expertise as say a veteran technology editor who writes about the impact terrorism on the current state of IT security and risk exposure.
If you have experience, by all means tout it. Just be careful not to cross the line between fact and fiction.
What questionable claims have you seen?
9 responses to “Faking It: Knowing Your Limits”
This one I have to borrow from Men With Pens-yesterday James had a post that at a conference several people explained what they did by replying, I change lives. Puh-leeze. My response was that if I was a Mom, I would have replied, I change diapers. Get over yourself. Come to think of it, I may not be a Mom, but I have changed plenty of diapers.
Anyway, that ranks up with one of the all time worst claims. Who knew there were so many Nobel Peace Award recipients at one conference? đ
LOL! Oh Cathy, that's puke-inducing! Not the diaper part, either. I change lives? Really? You write! You edit! You change copy! How about "I change the way people approach their business communications." That's much more relevant – and has some actual truth in it.
I think the "faking it" approach can be what helps writers push themselves to take the leap and just do it – start working. HOWEVER, there is a fine line between faking it for the sake of simply building confidence and being dishonest about skills and experience. Lying about what you can do for a client can come back to bite you on the arse. You don't want to build a business on a shaky foundation of dishonesty or cultivate a reputation of inadequacy.
Amen, Kim. Exactly the point. You can fake confidence, but faking experience is just wrong.
Kimberly has a good point — early on, there's an urge and often a need to make yourself sound as good as possible. I'm reminded of my first newspaper gig, where my "professional" qualifications included having written a half-dozen golf articles for my high school paper. But, I was lucky enough to have a guy take a chance on me.
That said, I'm now old and diversified enough that I can pretty much find a clip to relate to just about any project in any topic â but you're 100% correct that the last thing I'd want to do is blur the Working Knowledge/Extensive Expertise line. (Danger, Will Robinson!)
No. Wait. Strike that. The *last* thing I'd want to do is claim that I can change any life but my own.
Not long ago, someone I barely know asked me if I could look at her resume. She knew I was both a professional writer and a resume writer, so she wanted ideas on how to create a resume for her freelance writing work.
I can't recall the exact words she used in her summary, but it implied vast experience writing for print and online publications. What was her actual experience? She wrote three blogs (all her own, none for hire) and had stuff published on several mills. All in the past three years. Not what you'd expect from the description she provided.
A Will Robinson/robot reference! You've made my day, Jake. đ
We all want to sound as good as possible – I totally agree. I just see so many writers doing so while stretching the truth to the breaking point. That's going to snap back on them.
Oh Paula, that's what I feared. Too many of those types of "experts" are muddying things.
I think some (not all, of course) of this comes from internet marketers and affiliate marketers that target those who want to work from home. There have been ebooks and guides telling newbies that one âsecretâ to landing the job you want is to pad the resume. They donât specifically say to lie, steal and cheat their way to the job, but they donât exactly go out of their way to explain the proper way to handle it either. They give the general statements that leads one to believe they can put their 6th grade essay on the workings of the presidential election as âPolitical writingâ experience.
Wendy, there you are! Haven't seen you in a few days.
So true. I don't mind telling writers that unpaid experience is indeed still experience (for those starting out), but embellishing is troublesome. Too close to saying you've built the house yourself when in fact you simply hung the drapes after the contractors left.