The State of Content Writing

Transcription is my first love, no doubt about it, but as I dip my toes into content writing part of my motivation for doing so is the sad state of the written word becoming widespread across the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I would like to make a few extra bucks, but when I see some of the content out there I shake my head and think to myself, “I could’ve written better content when I was ten years old.” Why in the world wouldn’t I want to put my skills to work when quality writers are obviously needed. I mean, I’m not going to point fingers, but I am reading journalists for major, top-tier publications who need to go back to English and Grammar 101. I’m sure you have too. Even some of the headlines are nonsensical. If you can’t even write a good headline should you even remotely call yourself a writer? How in the world did they secure their writing jobs, and even more importantly how is their stuff getting past editors?

Now, I have no idea what goes on behind the editing desks in this brave, new, weird world of journalism and content writing. I suspect a lot things are being written by A.I., but good grief, at least do a cursory scan of the finished product!

Supposedly, the competition is fierce in the content writing world. I’m still figuring out how to get my foot into the door without paying some “service” to send me leads (the advice I’m getting is that I have to do a lot, and I mean a lot, of “cold calling/e-mailing”) but if the competition is so fierce why is the output quality so poor? Cream is supposed to rise to the top, right? It appears there is some level of apathy out there, but that’s just my theory.

I get top pay for my transcription skills, but I’ve had to earn it. I have over 30 years experience with lots of different types of transcription. It’s still not easy to get references as people tend to want to go to the cheap online sources, but excellent work has gotten me work from some high-profile clients. Once they see the high-quality of what I do they are recurring customers.

Right now, I have more questions than answers. I feel I have a lot to offer to the writing world given the state of it, so I’ll just keep plugging away at it.

Well, It’s Been a Very Long Time

It has been nearly 13 years since I updated this blog. To say a lot has happened in the last 13 years is an understatement, and a lot should happen in 13 years shouldn’t it? I’ve been through a divorce, remarriage, and in 2022 I became a widow. I won’t go into detail about all of that as it would be a novel, but needless to say, I’m glad I’m still here and have my sanity intact. Faith in Jesus, laughter, and my late grandmother’s life lessons on resiliency and stoicism have gotten me through the last several years. There has been crushing pain as well as joy beyond my wildest imagination. I have lived a whole lifetime (and then some) in the last 13 years, and I’ve gained a tremendous amount of wisdom as well as street smarts.

I may write about these experiences along the way, but as this blog is more specifically about my calling as a scribe I want to stick fairly close to the subject. I’m leaving up all my past posts even though some of the personal content is bittersweet to read now but is still relevant to the purpose of this blog.

In the last year I have retired from full-time employment. My wonderful late husband provided for me well, and near the end of his illness/life we jointly decided that I would mostly retire alongside of him no matter the outcome of his health battle. Unfortunately, he passed away just six days after my retirement. He left me in a financial place in that as long as I don’t go crazy spending money I should be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement until the end of my lifetime.

So, here’s where I get back to the subject. I’m still a scribe! I still do freelance transcription for my former employer and a handful of other clients. Transcription, as well as writing, is still in my blood, and at this point I imagine it will be there the rest of my life.

I still love the flow of transcription. There is something about it that calms me and occupies my busy brain and focuses it like nothing else. The same goes for writing. Many people have encouraged me to step up and write, and in the last few months the appeal of writing has gained new traction for me to the point that I’m dipping my toes into the content writing pool.

While I have written and journaled for years I have never attempted to put myself out there in the writing world other than occasional (very occasional) blogging. Part of the reason for coming back to this blog is for practice and to remind myself how much I love to write. I feel I’m pretty good at writing even though I know I have a lot learn.

So, stay tuned for more content. In the next few weeks I’m going to dive into the state of transcription today, and how in the burgeoning age of artificial intelligence human-initiated writing/transcription is still important.

More to come!