Leadership

To be a writer is to be a leader, and to be a leader you have to have followers.  Everyone has their own ideas, but not all ideas are created equal.  When you consider leadership, consider conflict resolution.

To be a persuasive writer you have to learn to be a diplomat.  To convince anyone of anything you have to beguile them with your charm.  Or at least write clear sentences and meaningful paragraphs. (Perhaps paragraphs are passé.... Think PowerPoint^® bullet points.)

Write it down and they'll read it.  Lead and they shall follow.

Prototype Your Assignment

What do you prototype?

The urge to provide quicker and quicker turnaround can result in sketchy work—but creating a quick sketch can be good. Think about prototyping your next assignment. Give them what they want in the end, but in the beginning give them a rough draft of what to expect.

Prototyping allows for change. You can work with the client in lockstep, develop the desired copy not only to specification, but to ongoing revised specs as well.

Take a page from computer software prototyping, and be both the first with the right answer, and the one who goes the distance and provides every nuance the client wants—in revisions.