That’s NOT IN MY JOB DESCRIPTION!
I don’t think my mom understands what it is I do.
I have been our family’s official proofreader, ghostwriter, copy editor, spin doctor, for ages now.
Hardly a written communiqué of any importance leaves the hands of any immediate family member before I have given it at least a once-over.
Resumes, scholarship requests, application letters, essays, speeches, presentations,…I do it all. And that’s just outside my job responsibilities.
It’s typically heralded by a request from my mother to “Work your magic.”
Maybe some of you can understand a little of what I'm going through. You have a reputation for being good at something not everyone can do well - drawing, or computer programing, or baking, or singing, or whatever, and when the subject or need arises your friends and family flippantly volunteer you. ("Oh don't worry about it! We'll get [Soandso]. She/he can do it easy!")
Don’t get me wrong - I love it.
And, frankly, I am pretty good at it.
Writing is something I have always done and always enjoyed, but it wasn't until my junior year in college I learned that I was also an editor. What surprised me is how incredibly fond I am of editing. (Thank you, Dr. Clark!)
Editing is also a much easier skill to use for the good of others. I typically wouldn’t mind writing something from scratch, but most of the time the project needs to come primarily from them. (Scholarship application, personal essay, speech they have to give, etc) I just help them refine and target their message, tailoring it to their audience.
That’s what PR is, after all.
Yeah, in my job (and personal life) I still do tons of writing. But much of when I’m working that “magic” for family/friends it’s as an editor. And there’s a big difference between “writing” and “editing” - something I’m not too certain my mom is clear on.
Consider this past weekend:
We were helping my Older-Younger Sister complete (in this case "complete" means “BEGIN ON and fill out from start to finish”) her scholarship applications for her freshman year this Fall.
Which are due TODAY.
Naturally.
(The only reason they got finished last night is because she works all day today.)
Could I help format the spreadsheet templates for her high school transcript? (Homeschoolers, remember?) Sure! Would I mind editing and “tweaking” her resume of extracurricular activities and her answers to the application questions? Not at all!
I worked over a couple different things and then I got the following email. The original message is from O-Y Sis giving an essay question off the application and suggesting a possible topic. The first sentence below is how Momma forwarded it to me for “editing”
Can you whip this one together with all the details of ALLLL they did and how they led ?
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2009 12:55 PM
To: mom
Subject: LEADERSHIP
“Describe your most significant leadership experience.
NEVERLAND?????????
That’s it.
That’s the sum total of material I was given.
To “edit”
*facepalm*
You know, sometimes I feel like no one has a clue what it is I do and have done for the last five, six years of my life!
(Oh, and for the record - “Neverland” refers to what is undoubtedly her most significant leadership experience - the eight to nine months of her junior year she spent creating, directing, and producing a full-scale two-act theatrical play from beginning to end. She and her younger sister and another friend did everything from adapting the script; to managing auditions and rehearsals for a cast of about 25 children; to overseeing costume and set design; supervising stage crews [which included about a dozen adult volunteers]; to setting ticket prices and marketing sales; to acting as emcees at the actual performances. Yes, they had a lot of assistance, but they had the reins throughout. It was an amazing experience [and an extremely impressive production, too!]
…And I was supposed to adequately expound on her leadership skills gleaned from that experience, given the content in that e-mail…by “editing.”
That really WOULD be magic.
I have been our family’s official proofreader, ghostwriter, copy editor, spin doctor, for ages now.
Hardly a written communiqué of any importance leaves the hands of any immediate family member before I have given it at least a once-over.
Resumes, scholarship requests, application letters, essays, speeches, presentations,…I do it all. And that’s just outside my job responsibilities.
It’s typically heralded by a request from my mother to “Work your magic.”
Maybe some of you can understand a little of what I'm going through. You have a reputation for being good at something not everyone can do well - drawing, or computer programing, or baking, or singing, or whatever, and when the subject or need arises your friends and family flippantly volunteer you. ("Oh don't worry about it! We'll get [Soandso]. She/he can do it easy!")
Don’t get me wrong - I love it.
And, frankly, I am pretty good at it.
Writing is something I have always done and always enjoyed, but it wasn't until my junior year in college I learned that I was also an editor. What surprised me is how incredibly fond I am of editing. (Thank you, Dr. Clark!)
Editing is also a much easier skill to use for the good of others. I typically wouldn’t mind writing something from scratch, but most of the time the project needs to come primarily from them. (Scholarship application, personal essay, speech they have to give, etc) I just help them refine and target their message, tailoring it to their audience.
That’s what PR is, after all.
Yeah, in my job (and personal life) I still do tons of writing. But much of when I’m working that “magic” for family/friends it’s as an editor. And there’s a big difference between “writing” and “editing” - something I’m not too certain my mom is clear on.
Consider this past weekend:
We were helping my Older-Younger Sister complete (in this case "complete" means “BEGIN ON and fill out from start to finish”) her scholarship applications for her freshman year this Fall.
Which are due TODAY.
Naturally.
(The only reason they got finished last night is because she works all day today.)
Could I help format the spreadsheet templates for her high school transcript? (Homeschoolers, remember?) Sure! Would I mind editing and “tweaking” her resume of extracurricular activities and her answers to the application questions? Not at all!
I worked over a couple different things and then I got the following email. The original message is from O-Y Sis giving an essay question off the application and suggesting a possible topic. The first sentence below is how Momma forwarded it to me for “editing”
Can you whip this one together with all the details of ALLLL they did and how they led ?
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2009 12:55 PM
To: mom
Subject: LEADERSHIP
“Describe your most significant leadership experience.
NEVERLAND?????????
That’s it.
That’s the sum total of material I was given.
To “edit”
*facepalm*
You know, sometimes I feel like no one has a clue what it is I do and have done for the last five, six years of my life!
(Oh, and for the record - “Neverland” refers to what is undoubtedly her most significant leadership experience - the eight to nine months of her junior year she spent creating, directing, and producing a full-scale two-act theatrical play from beginning to end. She and her younger sister and another friend did everything from adapting the script; to managing auditions and rehearsals for a cast of about 25 children; to overseeing costume and set design; supervising stage crews [which included about a dozen adult volunteers]; to setting ticket prices and marketing sales; to acting as emcees at the actual performances. Yes, they had a lot of assistance, but they had the reins throughout. It was an amazing experience [and an extremely impressive production, too!]
…And I was supposed to adequately expound on her leadership skills gleaned from that experience, given the content in that e-mail…by “editing.”
That really WOULD be magic.