You are what you read

You’ve heard the expression: ‘you are what you eat’. Similarly, ‘you are what you read’. During the pandemic lockdowns, every politician and talking head on TV proudly displayed their enormous, crammed bookshelves in their backdrops. There is pride in what you learn from books, it’s often a statement of identity. The same applies to what newspaper you choose to read or which social media account you follow. For good writers, reading is key to the art. For writers who work with different sectors and clients, reading as much as possible from different sources is very important. To understand how editorial pieces work, you have to absorb writing styles, to see how words fit together and why. You have to ask, what’s the piece trying to do? What is its purpose? You should ask, who will identify with it?

It is important to consume literature as a writer, from different sources. You need to stand back and peel under the veil of the words, to grasp the true meaning that lies beneath them. The true meaning can be in the tone of voice, the kind of language chosen, the length of copy and the style. If you want to learn how to do something well you have to study your subject, in editorial terms, this means the flow, the words, the subtext and the messaging. With enough experience, eventually, good writers can adapt like a literary chameleon, to the needs of their commission.

I grew up as a ‘bookworm’, getting lost in the pages of novels of all kinds. I had an appetite to pick up any book and dive in, hungry for stories. From there, I took an interest in magazines and newspapers. I could see quickly; how tribal writing can be and why it often needs to be to connect to its audience. In parallel, I wrote continually, mimicking, structuring and crafting copy. Like muscle memory, you recognise the patterns, the rules and the formats, the architecture of meaning in written content. Like any craft, you need to know what you’re making and use the right tools to put it together expertly.

When you become intuitive with the skill, you also spot mistakes in content creation quickly. It’s interesting how many business owners misinterpret what press releases are, or overtly sell themselves in content pieces which may be rejected from inclusion in the media, as a result. Choosing the format and the message means everything to your identity and how you are perceived. Every piece of content you put out to the world says something about you, defines you and frames you. To be a business voice, to stand out, to count, you need to know what you want to say, how you want to say it, whom you are saying it to and why they need to hear it.