Writing is a Jealous Mistress
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Wed, May 19, 2010
"Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking." Jessamyn West
Which is to say, writing demands your time. It doesn't want to hear excuses about where you've been when you should have been at your desk, slaving over it. And, if friends and family get in the way it will pout and nag until you get back to business.
You see, the problem is, there's just never enough time. This is probably true for most writers. So how are some able to do it? Most likely we're all just barely able. The difference between a writer (SEO or otherwise) who can keep slaving away for his jealous mistress and one who can't is the passion factor. Do you love to write? A passion for the written word is what distinguishes a true writer from those doing it purely for profit. Ultimately, even though SEO writing is for marketing purposes, it is unsustainable without passion. Sure, you can limp along for awhile, just doing it because someone told you that you can make money with it, but how long will it be before you're hiring a pro to write for you?
The other day I felt burned out. It happens when you've been writing too much for too long, all night, all day, and you've lost your passion for what you're doing, and you're neglecting your family and you want to chuck it all and disappear to a beach in Fiji and lick your wounds for a while. These feelings are normal. If you're a writer.
But, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and do the deal over again. Why? If you're passionate about writing, you make the time, and you find ways to make it interesting for yourself and your readers. I suggest that if you're an SEO writer who's feeling the time/family/life squeeze, and you can't afford to take a break from the whole thing, take a couple of hours and ignore your emails, get out of the office, go outside and read a good book. Or start writing one. Get away from marketing copy for a little bit and do something purely creative.
Maintaining the balance between good SEO copy and good writing is not easy for anyone, and nearly impossible for those who are not all that interested in writing in
the first place. Copywriting is more than just the science of SEO--it's the art of persuasion and a creative process. Art and science. Yes, she is a jealous mistress, but you love her anyway.
And every time you swear you're leaving for good--she knows, you'll be back.