We’ve done quite a bit of talking here on Freelance Parent about all the different “specialties” we freelancers have picked up over the years based on the clients we get and the projects in which we immerse ourselves. The results always tend to be amusing; with everything from body armor and beekeeping to vibrational medicine and carrier pigeons, we freelancers represent a smorgasbord of random information.
However, while the laughs are (in my opinion) a vital component of the work we do, it’s only fair to note that the topics we address are not always entertaining. For every ebook I write on one of my personal interests, diving in and learning about the subject from all angles, I write one that requires a bit of daily self-motivation that consists primarily of, “Tamara, suck it up and do this. It’s not as boring as it seems. Don’t put it off. Just get it done.”
And it’s not just the big projects like ebooks; it’s SEO articles, website content, and blogs. Let’s face it: there are some pretty dull and less-than-endearing topics out there, and in order to meet financial goals, these topics sometimes wind up on our plates.
While I’ll admit that my writing and project commitment are at their peak when I am in love with the topic (or am at least interested in it), I like to think that the boring topics get equal consideration and care. In fact, I sometimes think they get more, since I work extra hard to give the appearance that I don’t think the topic is a bunch of junk. It’s like a quote from Emma (the movie version – not the novel, I’m afraid), where Emma decides she must throw a party for her nemesis, because “otherwise everyone will feel at once how much I dislike her.”
That brings me to the point of this post: do you have to believe in a topic to write about it?
I say no. As a writer for hire, it is my job to make a topic appealing to the audience, despite their initial reservations or lack of interest (or my own initial reservations or lack of interest). This can be done by:
- Presenting the facts with minimal embellishment. If I am writing about payday loans, I do it in a way that garners interest without lying or luring people into something they cannot afford. This is not always the easiest thing to do – especially if sales are the expected outcome – but I try very hard not to let my work conflict with my morals.
- Finding the interesting angle. Yes, even subjects like paper shredders can be at least a little bit interesting. There are always little factoids to be discovered about things like the annual output of a paper shredder and how that compares to the weight of a queen-sized mattress. If you can find even small things that make you smile, your article and/or web content will be much richer.
- Using your imagination. So what if you will never have a need for cloth diapers in the Phoenix region. Imagine you are a parent whose child is allergic to paper diapers but who still has to live in the stifling heat of Arizona. Imagine you really are curious about the ecological benefits of going cloth. What information would you most want in that situation?
- Breaking the project down into manageable chunks. Sometimes, no amount of dedication in the world will make you be able to sit down with wedding invitation product descriptions for hours at a time. So don’t do it for hours at a time. Schedule five of them in for the top of every hour. Do it for one hour and then move on to something else. Your dislike of a subject is less likely to show if you aren’t working on it for the fifth god-forsaken hour in a row.
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Christina Lemmey is the mother of two school-aged girls, a wife, and the owner of 
I guess it would help you to produce better results if you believed in what you were writing about and were interested in it.
Whilst I’m not a freelance writer I do plenty of freelance software development and I get the same problem: many pieces of work are either boring or they are to fix a horrible mess of badly written code. Either way, I have to grin and bear it and hope some other cool work is just over the horizon.
Steves last blog post..Town crier deafened by own bell after 25 years
This is a pretty controversial subject, I think. Personally, I`ll write about anything as long as it pays well. To some, that sounds just awful, like selling myself out, but really, just because it`s not my ideal project doesn`t mean my kids should go without milk and diapers!
Steve – Good point: Believing that good work awaits is yet another step in getting past the drudgery.
Genesis – I agree that the topic is a controversial one; and it’s one that I waver on depending on my current fiscal status. If I’m sitting in the midst of a good month, I am much, much more picky about what I’ll do than when I’m looking for any cash I can find.
I think my end goal is to move so much closer to every month being a good month that I never have to worry about taking on work that doesn’t make me feel 100 percent happy with my job.
Oh good lord, would you two just start pitching magazine articles already? I pitch things I’m interested in, things that are my passion, and never spend too much time on stuffing keywords or silly ebooks. (Although I am doing an ebook, but it’s in one of my niche subject areas). Come on. Your talents are wasted on this bric a brac.
It’s easier to create conviction in your readers when you are convinced yourself. If you’re passionate about something that will show through in your writing.
You don’t need this passion to write effectively about various things that might not be your particular interests though.
Absolutely speaking though, you do have need to find some common ground with the subject your writing about in order to write decent marketing material.
Maybe you’re writing about a product that you would never buy yourself, but unless you can understand and sympathize with the appeal it has for those who do buy it, you will not write well, marketing wise.
Ladies–
If I got paid extra for every boring project we worked on I would be RICH!! Every topic deserves to be written about with good copy. I do a lot of boring press releases on laser marking equipment. You have to remember it’s interesting to someone, just not you!
I really think it depends on the writer. Some seem better able to grin and bear it than, say, I am. I chose my niche because I’m passionate about it, and within that niche there are things I’m less passionate about, but I believe in the ultimate goal I had when choosing my niche (”help cops do their jobs”).
I fell into the body armor thing and I really get into the technical details, though some of the sales-speak makes me roll my eyes. With digital forensics, I had the good luck to find passionate investigators who stoked my interest in a subject I didn’t know much about. And continue to do so.
I also do PR copy for an architectural firm, and what I like about that work is, again, the passion that the architects bring to their jobs – the great ideas they come up with and being part of bringing them to other people. But I don’t think I could write very much about, say, green building practices. I’m not passionate about it, I don’t feel “called” to do it, and I’d rather put my energy where I am passionate and do feel I can do the most good.
don’t be negative look at the brightside.. you can say its boring but its your job, if you thinks it is really that way maybe you should look for another… you wont succeed if its the way you think about it..