What Kind of Writing Do You Do?

Do you get this question a lot, too?

Most of the time, I know this is the start of a conversation that's going downhill - at least glamour-wise. Usually when people find out I'm a writer, they're intrigued. It's just one of 'those' jobs that seems really awe-inspiring...

But that's because they're thinking: novels, screenplays, best-selling books!

When I tell them what I really write, it's kind of a let down. It's certainly not going to give them the "You won't believe who I met!!" kind of anecdote they'd get if they ran into John Grisham, J.K. Rowling, or someone else who's got hordes of raving fans.

I mean, sure, I've got fans (sort of!). But they're internet marketers and other entrepreneurs who've hired me to help their businesses succeed. So it's really not the same. And I'm thinking nobody's going to option the movie rights on that series of dieting articles I wrote.

So, what's a freelance commercial writer actually write? Well, there's a pretty wide range of projects. My team specializes in articles, press releases, e-books, sales letters, and website copy. We also do editing for other writers.

But I know of freelancers who do technical or medical writing, direct mail pieces, annual reports, grant proposals, manuals, even greeting card sentiments. Pretty much anything that requires words!

How about you? What kind of writing do you do most often?