My weak point as a content writer

Oct 31, 2006

I know it is dangerous — seemingly — to declare it on my blog: a client rejected my work because he said my copy was not “American enough”. I’m not refuting his claim because when we started work we were on good terms and I haven’t had much exposure to the contemporary American language — not being in America. The surprising thing is, this reaction has come for the first time.

I’ve been associated with writing for a long time now. I never took a writing course. I didn’t do my graduation in English literature. My reading experience has just been limited to the British and the Russian classics; various newspapers; books and novels by contemporary writers such as Garcia, Umberto Eco, Rushdie, etc.; the Internet; and various other international publications. As far as writing goes, I’ve written for a few local newspapers and magazines. I’ve extensively written for various websites, and for the past 3 years I’ve been earning my living writing online content — I’ve been making a decent living so far.
Although I know there are big differences between various English versions, I’ve always believed that there is correct English and there is incorrect English. If you start picking up the regional differences, even in America a cold drink is referred to as “pop” in some places.
Still, I consider this as a prospective “weak” point in me as a content writer. In the coming weeks I’m going to be more observant while reading the blogs and websites of my American friends. I write well, that I know, and I’m comfortable expressing myself in English. All I have to do is, assimilate a few American nuances. It’s like, once you know how to program, with little effort, you can program in any language.

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2 Responses to “My weak point as a content writer”

1. Catherine
   November 9th, 2006 at 7:12 am
   I think you mean “weak point” rather than “week point”.
   Please be more careful, or you’ll lose work.
   
2. Amrit
   November 9th, 2006 at 7:50 am
   Thank you Catherine :-). Well, this was embarrassing.