the writing wench

i am a writer. i gather information from sources, reorganize it, and regurgitate it for an audience. i have the freedom to experiment with voice and tone and whatever the heck i want.

to an extent.

because i am writing to please people. and there is a totem pole of people to be pleased.

at the top is the advertiser, should the writing be an advertorial. though the businessperson may never have graduated from high school and may not be able to spell, i have to graciously ask for and use their revisions.

the next highest is the publisher. he pays the bills, so what he says goes. but this isn't typically even an issue -- i often get free reign even to revise his stuff.

then comes the editor. they pay him "the big bucks" for a reason. he usually lets me do what i want, too.

the audience...where do they fit in? after all, if the audience doesn't like our stuff, we're all out of work. maybe they are the totem pole. each of the above individuals instructs me according to what they think the audience needs or wants.

the bottom of the pole is me.

but that's writing for money!