professional writers and editors legitimate

professional writers and editors legitimate

The Importance of Professional Writers and Editors

1. The Value of Professional Writers and Editors

Though the primary publication is not always created with the help of a professional writer or editor, often times the logic of the message is summarized and placed into writing by the source which may seek to hire a freelance professional. A great example of this is a case in which a writer for the Cancer Letter took a memorandum from a Department of Defense official and was able to simplify the message into an article which raised awareness on breast cancer research funding. A poorly written message can result in a tragic loss of funding for an important cause and a clear and understandable message can have a positive impact on public opinion and lead to further support. Professional writers and editors have a great potential to influence the world through messages such as these.

Professional writers and editors impact public opinion and the image of an organization through writing. Messages from organizations are often delivered through print media in the form of press releases, in addition to electronic media and direct contact. It is very simple to put a message into writing, but even the slightest mistake in grammar or excessive wordiness can alter the intended meaning of the message. Non-profit organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have recognized the importance of getting a clear and understandable message out to the public. The CDC website states “The primary goal of CDC’s website is to provide information and resources to the American people to protect the nation’s health and safety by preventing disease, injury, and disability.” This information must be written well in order to achieve its goal and it is at this point that a professional writer or editor may be sought.

One of the most important characteristics that a professional writer or editor can have is the ability to write a word correctly. This sounds very simple and very baseline, but the implications of this qualification are vast. It has been argued that the lack of good writing costs the United States billions of dollars every year. This is due to poorly written and unclear instructions in public administration and private businesses, and also because of poor marketing and public relations writing. Professional writers and editors can save organizations massive amounts of money by assuring that the writing that is being disseminated is well-written and easily understood. This is important not only for English speakers, but also for the emerging global economy. Global interactions are becoming more and more common and the ability to write clearly for non-English speakers has become an important issue.

Professional writers and editors create written content for non-profit organizations, public administration, various communication industries, and the corporate and business sector. The importance of professional writers and editors will be overviewed, as well as the impact they have on various organizations and industries. The lack of good writing costs money and the impact of writing and editing on an organization ranges from the quality of information presented to employees, clients, or publics, to the effect the writing has on image or public opinion.

Content for section 1: The Value of Professional Writers and Editors

2. The Role of Professional Writers and Editors

The professional writers and editors bring material knowledge and wealth in written communication procedures. They can help to fine-tune messages and ensure that they are reaching the desired audience in the most clear, accurate, and efficient ways possible. They work side by side with decision makers and subject-matter experts in almost every industry and sector. Generally, the writers and editors collaborate with others in a team environment, stepping in as needed and providing subcontract services. Writing has never been more important – or more potentially overwhelming – than it is today. With the explosion of communication channels in the digital age, there are more ways to reach audiences than ever. Each of these channels requires content. The professional writer or editor can cut through the information overload and provide messages that are effective.

3. How Professional Writers and Editors Enhance Credibility

Readers’ association of good writing with high quality research exists. The reverse is also true. Even if the research is of the highest quality, if the writing is not clear and precise, it will not be considered credible. Many believe that good writing must be a matter of personal talent or ability. But writing is a skill to be learned, not a genetic endowment. Professional writers are masters of the skills needed to present a study and its findings in the best possible light through clear and precise language.

4. The Impact of Professional Writers and Editors on Quality

Professional writers and editors carefully review and revise every word in a document. What they do may seem like a simple task, but the implications of their actions are critically important. A well-documented study by the National Commission on Writing found that more than half of the companies surveyed are asking employees to write, but only 15 percent of those consider the employees well prepared to do so. For a point of comparison, 98 percent of those same companies have a business dress code, which would indicate that they view writing as less important than dressing for their overall business model. Professional writers and editors help to create a different mindset for writing within a company. When all documents are held to a higher standard, the value of writing increases and people take it more seriously. With projects in the hands of experts, companies and individuals attain a higher level of confidence in their writing. Professional writers and editors can guide the original author to be more creative and proficient in their writing; learning from the experts, employees may take the advice of the professional and improve on their own skills for the future. A little more intangible benefit, but seemingly always noted through the various authors who have sought professional writing help, is peace of mind. Often people are too close to their writing projects and get extremely frustrated with what they feel are an endless correction process. In sadness, they will admit that they are just sick of the project and want it to be finished, but more often than not, it lacks the desired effect. People who specialize in professional writing and editing are trained with a skill set to look at someone’s project, decipher what the true meaning and objective is, and carry it out to its full potential. This can often be a refreshing experience for an author who is feeling overwhelmed with the task.

5. Conclusion: Investing in Professional Writers and Editors

Professional writers and editors may not be a separate class of intellectual worker, but the skills and knowledge they require are rarely found together in the subject specialist who is an academic. Investment in recruiting and training professional writers and editors can pay dividends in the quality of the documents they produce. Academic and other specialists will then be freed from the task of endlessly reviewing and correcting texts, and professional writers and editors will be able to add more value to what they produce in collaboration with subject specialists. Investment in writing and editing should be justified against the value of the information being conveyed and the audience for it. The role of professional writers and editors in communicating research and scholarship is a major, if much ignored, concern. A great deal of academic time is spent on writing about research and things that have already been written and could be better used in more reading and in further research and thought. And though it is always tempting to think that one’s own prose is good enough, better communication can always enhance the impact of research and increased readership is not only likely to influence teaching and knowledge transfer more than writing more text, but also add to the chances of it having impact in the real world outside education and scholarship.