A Letter to Writers and Designers

Dear writers and designers,

Hire each other. I hear a lot of whining from designers who did a tremendous job only to have client-written copy ruin the work. Likewise, writers complain about having written a masterpiece worthy of a museum only to have a client slap those words into a Word brochure template.

If you are a writer and you want everything you do to be the best it possibly can, sell your clients on using a designer. If you’re a designer and have pride in your work, sell your clients on using a writer.

This will not always work. It costs more to use two professionals than it does to use one, and it’s ultimately the decision of each individual client.

Still, rather than do your part and then complain to everyone else about how the client ruined your work, do your best to make the work satisfactory to both you and the client. You can sell that client and be happy with your work. It sounds crazy, but it’s possible.

If you’re a designer who lets the client handle the writing, you may be waiting long past every deadline for the client to get around to doing the work. Then, you’ll find yourself doubling as a copyeditor, which is something you neither claim to do nor do you like doing it.

If you’re a writer who lets the client handle the design, you are, in almost every case, not going to want to see how it turns out. At least when clients do their own writing, they know how to use the software. When they do their own design, they use the same software they use to write.

In both cases, the work is above par (meaning worse than par—above par is bad). The most beautifully arranged words are worthless if the words don’t make any sense. The best-written masterpieces will never be read if the design is terrible.

What’s the point of all this? Writers and designers who take pride in their work should do their best to sell every client on both writing and design. If you’re a writer, hire a designer. If you’re a designer, hire a writer.

We can’t expect clients to know this—they’re hiring us because they know they need professional help. As professionals, we should give it to them.

But, as referenced earlier, many clients will balk due to the added cost. That’s fine—but if you still agree to do the work, you don’t get to complain about how it turns out.

Chee’s,

Jef