That subtle breeze you felt today was my sigh of relief as I handed in a project I’d been fretting over. Great people, interesting subject, good source — it shouldn’t have made me crazy. But it was my first project for a new client — well, old colleague and friend from a previous job, now in a new company, and a damn good writer in her own right — which always involves stage fright. What if I forget how to do this? What if I write something totally inane? What if her boss asks her, “Where did you find this bozo?” What if they hate it? What if they hate me? It’s junior high all over again. And it’s exhausting.
For a while, though, once you hit that send button, it’s pure, unadulterated joy. I even got back some positive initial feedback. Life is good in this brief moment before “we love it” shifts to something else entirely, something like:
Hi. Bob has some changes.
1. The first paragraph is too informal. I am not sure what suggestions to make but it doesn’t start out how Bob would like it to.
2. Add these buzz words anywhere into the article- Profitable Growth and Operational Excellence
Please let me know if you have any questions.
This is actual feedback I received from another client a few months ago. To her credit, my friend/client from my current project had this to say when I shared this with her at the time (in a commiserating way):
Tell Bob his name is too informal and he should go by Robert.
Priceless.
What was I so worried about? I’m working for another writer. Someone who gets it. Who’s been there, done that, right there with me.
So what if tomorrow brings markups and rewrites. My work couldn’t be in a better editor’s hands. I’ve had my moment in the sun. And I’m still happily blinking.
I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because
someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.
~ English Professor (Name Unknown), Ohio University
Writing by Ear 
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