Business Writing I Can’t Show You

In addition to the business writing that I usually do (such as brochures and website copy), there are some kinds of confidential writing assignments that I can’t show you on this site. However, I can describe them in general terms.

Letters

Most executives write their own business letters, or perhaps have an There are times when a letter is so important (or so confidential) that it should be professionally written. assistant or staff writer create them. But there are times when a letter is so important that it should be professionally written, or so confidential that nobody on staff can work on it. In situations like these, I’m called in to help. Of course, the final version will be printed out by the client onto their own stationery, and sent with the exec’s signature on it. In some cases, it’s not even necessary for me to know who the actual recipient will be. My name is never connected to the letter, and I never show it — or specifically identify it — on this website or anywhere else.

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An executive or professional who hires me to write a letter can be confident that:

I’ll focus fully on the assignment, not regard it as an incidental chore, no matter how short the letter may be.
The assignment is as confidential as my client wishes to keep it. Nobody, even on their own staff, needs to know that I wrote the letter. (If requested, my bill can be phrased something like “consulting services.”)
The text will be delivered to the client by the agreed-upon deadline. (Letters are often much more time-critical than are, for example, marketing campaigns.)

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a freelancer to write a business letter. Disadvantages include increased administrative overhead (discussion of price, a short written agreement, getting & paying a bill), and the need to spend more time explaining the situation than might be necessary with a staff person. (Sometimes, the client writes an outline of the main points to be covered before ever calling me, which shortens the time required for explanations.) Advantages of going outside for a letter may include: not derailing staff members from their ongoing projects; the potential for greater speed, confidentiality, and general writing quality; and, in many cases, greater clarity in the content of the letter.

Why greater clarity? When someone inside your company writes a letter (or technical description, or marketing copy) aimed at someone outside your company, your staff member may unconsciously assume background knowledge that the recipient does not in fact have, or attitudes that they don’t necessarily share.

Hiring a good outside writer like myself can avoid this problem: An outside writer should be able to look at a situation the way an outside reader would. when you explain the situation to me, you are in effect pre-testing your description. If I don’t understand it, then the intended recipient may not either. In fact, a key part of the service I provide is simply to think about and question the raw materials you give me. (The “raw materials” may be as little as a phone conversation, or any of the following: previous attempts or drafts, written notes, existing company literature, or perhaps a meeting.)

Although a client may do whatever they like with the letter I write, and sometimes use it in exactly the form I provide, they may also change it before putting their signature on it. The client is free to revise and “put it in their own voice” — although if the letter is going to total strangers, this may be unnecessary.

Speeches

Writing a speech for a client is different in a few ways from writing a letter:

It’s generally much more work (and therefore requires more time, and is more expensive).
It requires more interaction with the client. Unless the speech is just a few minutes long, I’ll probably need to learn quite a bit about their company and related topics, and perhaps even evaluate their natural speaking rhythms.
I can, if desired, coach the client on the delivery of the speech. (I’m an experienced public speaker myself.)

Tests

I’ve written many tests over the years. Some of them were multiple choice; for those that weren’t, I’ve also written comprehensive grading handbooks to help evaluate the answers. The tests I’ve written include:

Copywriting tests to evaluate professional writers and editors for major agencies
General tests for literacy and reading comprehension (back when I was an English teacher)
Technical tests covering a wide range of computer graphics, prepress, and website development skills

Creating a test for a client isn’t typically confidential in the sense of keeping my participation secret, but the contents of the test must be strictly confidential, for obvious reasons. You can be confident that I’ll never leak or resell any test or test components that I’ve written for you — and that the only assignments I accept in the first place are in areas where I’m technically competent.

You can read more about some of the technical tests I’ve written in this site’s Tech Writing page.