Logical breakdown victim

AI-generated image representing "logical breakdown."

“Don’t be stingy, baby.”*

That price is too high, I'll just write it myself.

I hear it all the time.

This is what we in the biz call... bad logic.

And it always tells me that these are absolutely not the people I should be working with.

You don't hire someone to help you write because you can't write. Or don't have time to write.

You hire someone to help you write because it makes you better than you can be on your own.

"I'll just write it myself."

There is an enormous arrogance in this statement. They don't think of it that way, but they should.

You wouldn't do your own dental work, would you?

You wouldn't do your own cardio-thoracic surgery?

You probably wouldn't draw your own blood.

Unless you're a gear-head, you probably wouldn't do major engine work on your own car.

Lean on expertise

Without some deep background, you probably wouldn't build an addition onto your home without hiring a contractor to do at least the foundation or the masonry or the plumbing or electricity, right?

And when you're starting a new business, or rebranding an old one, you almost never would design your own website or logo. You'd almost always look to hire an experienced designer.

But when it comes to writing your message, there are those of us who will almost always think they can do it on their own.

Why?

I've never understood.

Just because you can put a noun and a verb together doesn't make you a writer. Just because you know how to sharpen a pencil, doesn't mean you know how to use it.

Listen for the important part

I recorded a new episode of my podcast, The Story Forge, this week with a guy I've just met recently.

I feel like we could develop into a very good, possibly close friendship.

And I asked him about his business, the same way I do with everybody I have on my pod.

And it was one of the most enlightening and helpful conversations I've ever had.

He led me through some of his thinking about things that made me fundamentally question the way I do things.

And those things could and should help you, too. Go and listen to it now >>>

Hire somebody to lighten the load

Then come back and wonder why you'd ever do things yourself when you can hire someone with deep experience who does it better than you.

You don't hire a writer because you can't write. Or because you're not good at it.

You hire a writer because you are a good writer, maybe even a VERY good writer and you understand that you can't see your own world with the clarity you need to communicate properly to your audience.

There's not much in this world that's ALWAYS. But my best clients are ALWAYS the best writers I know.

They don't hire me because I'm better than they are. Though that's true often enough.

They hire me because they know I make them better than they can be on their own.

Don't skimp. And don’t be stingy, baby.

AI-generated image representing "don't be stingy, baby," with no context of Anna Christie mentioned.

* from Anna Christie, by Eugene O’Neill who won the Nobel Prize-winner in literature in 1936, bascially, for doing things differently than anyone else in theater at the time.

Note: I’ve been treading lightly on the gen-AI bandwagon to date. This post represents my first shared experiment with generating images based to support specific phrases or ideas. The jury’s still out whether it’s any good or not.