Recently, someone posted on Quora:
I am looking for a writer to write about a subject that I know a lot about. So I have a very precise idea of what I want. I’d love to hire a writer, but I can’t figure out how a writer can write what I want him to write without me giving him so much details that I would be better to simply write the article myself.
What is the best approach to work with a writer? How can I communicate clearly my ideas with him so that he write a great piece of content?
What is the information that a writer generally need?
This question is indicative of one of the most common misconceptions about freelance writers. That is, if one knows all the facts or details about a topic, then you don’t really need a freelance writer. Here is how I replied:
Knowing about a particular subject is one thing. Writing a coherent article or book or white paper that people will want to read is quite another.
You say that you have a very precise idea of what you want. That’s good. Most of the companies that I work for don’t really have that. So, the first thing that I do is to try to get them to focus on what they really want to say and who they want to say it to.
Once that’s been done, the next step is to create an outline for how you’re going to meet that objective. This is the framework, if you will, into which all the facts and details you know about a subject are going to fit.
Finally, there’s the actual writing. What happens at this point is that you take all those facts and details and express them in a way that will make people want to read them in a way that will be either entertaining or useful to them.
Writing is a lot more than just knowing facts and details. It’s taking those facts and details and telling a story. That’s the skill that writers bring to the table.
Another thing that I didn’t mention in my reply is that often a business owner just doesn’t have the time to write content. With all the other things that a business owner must do, writing an article or some blog posts quickly falls to the bottom of the priority list. Even so, that content can help a business succeed. Hiring a freelancer helps get the job done.
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