Collaborating with a Writer to Make Great Work, Even Better!

This was written specifically for Designers, but the same information applies if you’re a Client, a Creative Shop, or an Agency.

I'm Pete, a Writer, Brand Strategist and overall senior-level creative who has worked with design shops, agencies and directly with national and international brands for, oh, a few decades now.

As a young man, I was lured away from my studies in advertising and graphic design to write for a Toronto ad agency specializing in some pretty "hip" and cool accounts (Levi's, Lee Jeans, Bang & Olufsen, Carhartt, etc.) Later, I joined DDB, and for several years was a roving creative director and senior copywriter throughout their Canadian operations.

I continue to attract new clients. My scope of experience ranges from pet food to petrochemicals, with a client/project list that includes Scholar (Los Angeles), TransUnion/iovation, Strategies 360 (Washington), Modern Health (Los Angeles), the Belonging Network, LAM LHA Security Innovation (Paris & Washington DC), Vancity Savings, Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, Kimberly-Clark, Petcurean Pet Nutrition, University of British Columbia, EFFEM Inc. MARS Brands, First Nations Health Directors Association, sgsco, Huggies, BC Hydro, Canadian Tourism Commission, Destination Vancouver, Plastic Bank, Surrey Hospitals Foundation, Association for Energy Affordability (NYC), Kardium, Health Canada, Industry Canada, 7Eleven, Science World, McDonald’s Restaurants, The Rick Hansen Institute, The Pacific Salmon Foundation, Full Punch, Will Creative, 123West, Cossette, etc. etc. & more.

 My juices flow when I get to really uncover the lifeblood of a brand (i.e. the Brand Strategy work), and then articulate that in work that can range from packaging copy, to brand story & brand film, to experiential installations and social campaigns.

 My history of working with Designers.

Of course, when I was working at agencies I'd have art directors to team with, and often an art director partner, and we'd collaborate to generate concepts for print, ooh, tv. Then in 1994, I began to get steady freelance work with karacters design group, and was often teamed with Matthew Clark, and we've remained friends and collaborators since. I've worked with my friend Nancy Wu, most recently on a new brand identity for Adoptive Families Association of BC. The name "Belonging" was embraced after we championed it through much resistance from the Board, which resulted in a complete change of the Board of Directors.

I worked with Vince Lee on an annual report (along with a keepsake book) for First Nations Health Directors Association, and of course with Stu Ross and Marga Lopez on DesCan's TOGETHERING campaign. As I usually do, I gave Stu a long list of ideas and some boilerplate copy, and he glommed on to one word I'd suggested: TOGETHERING. As soon as I saw his graphic concept, I threw almost everything out and focused on that. I've also worked with Matthew Ron Kliewer, Sally Douglas (health warning messages on tobacco packaging) Jim Skipp, Roy White, Talia Cohen, and Esperanza Garcia, writing the website copy for her firm, Split Mango Media.

 How I like to work with Designers.

It's often an intensely immersive process. When at all possible, it involves interviewing client & applicable stakeholders, going through the brief intensively with my designer partner, and asking  a LOT of questions.

I DO THE FOOTWORK, the GRUNTWORK. I'm like a beat cop. Or Rusty in True Detective. I'm relentless in my search for meaning and answers.

If a writer undertakes branding work, as I LOVE to do, then interviewing is fundamental, FUNDAMENTAL to the Process. My career dream, for a few years, was to be an investigative journalist. I satisfy that desire now, to a great degree, through interviewing. I go in basically as a toddler. An empty vessel. Eyes wide open. Eager to learn. In awe of what my clients are doing. Questioning, always questioning. I've been told by clients that it feels like a grand, refreshing purge to them. A good writer is an insatiably curious beast who loves to learn.

 I had to interview a spine surgeon for a project with the Rick Hansen Foundation. It was his choice as to where we'd meet, and he picked The Bread Garden. Fortunately, it was quiet. We chatted for about an hour and a half. When we were wrapped, he told me "I don't think I've ever been interviewed so thoroughly, nor enjoyed it so much. Thank-you!"

 For headlines, positioning lines, names for products & services, I write a long, unedited, uncensored, unpurged list and then go through that with you. WITH YOU. I like to think of it as a Presentation of Possibilities. I may indicate my favourites, but you may very well look at one of my rejects and go "Wait a sec, there's something here..."  It'll include all the bloopers and outtakes and brain farts, too. Because when we go through that list together, you might spot something in one of those babies that I overlooked. That's the beauty of collaboration.

 By involving the end client at this stage, and collaborating with them, too, it helps ensure they feel part of the creative process. Instill a pride of ownership, of authorship. I really love talking with people interviewing them. Finding out what their hopes are, their aspirations, how they feel about their product or service or organization (from their hearts, not from some mission statement). I want to know what makes them tick. What they love. What they fear.  How they see their journey. I am a welcoming Space people feel comfortable and safe, talking with me about their business your dreams, their hopes  their fears their plans. I am The Confessional.

What do I charge? 95% of the time I'll provide a scope and a flat rate budget, which I base on the job at hand, where the project will be seen, anticipated number of iterations and my past experiences working on that sort of project. Other things come into play, like timelines and whether I sense it may end up being a drawn-out or complicated process. I usually state that my flat rate involves all research, background interviews, meetings, a first draft and two iterations. Everything beyond that is priced at $150/hour. Pretty much the same rate I've been charging for 20 years.

 My friend Erin, also a writer, used to recommend me by saying "Pete's the best. If you can afford him." and you know, I couldn't argue with that. But I'm always willing to work with what the budget is, if we're upfront about it and especially with a regular client.

I recognize the value of strong storytelling, and of human connection. That's part of what I do in the community, as an on-call volunteer at Vancouver General Hospital. I visit patients in Burns Trauma, Emerg, the ICU, wherever they've ended up, and offer connection to a way out, and offer a bit of hope. It's sometimes messy, but that's what human communication is. Again, the Father Confessor role. Hey, I didn't ask for it!

I strongly recommend that you never hesitate to reach out and bounce something off me regarding a project, or some copy. Happy to help you put a proposal together for a new project, and to provide you with an estimate.

 By sliding me onto your team, I let you offer services that you may not have been providing your clients. As well as developing visual brand identity systems, for instance, you'll be able to provide full Brand Strategy including the verbal identity partner to your visual identity development.

 Know that I'm In it for the long haul. Some projects require that dogged commitment, especially projects with timelines spanning months. You do not want a writer who loses interest.

 Oh, the things I've learned.

 Ego has no place here. I like to be loose, and have fun, and wake up energized by the prospect of writing on a new project. If it feels like a drain, there's something else going on and I need to look at that. Check in. Writers have traditionally been isolationists. Well, I'm not.

Working in silos & presenting vs. working collaboratively as a designer/writer team.

Now, clients seem less sure of themselves. Communication has become so complicated. Unnecessarily so. They may not be in the habit of working with a writer. They might repurpose copy they already have, or write it themselves. EEK! Or, god forbid, use AI.

Consulting a writer about estimated order and length of content is critical for almost any project. The absolute WORST you can do is to hire  a writer after your wireframe is complete, for instance, or your comps are done and be told, "you have THIS MUCH SPACE to work in." Duh, has there been a content strategy completed beforehand? No.

 Bring me in early on a project, and by early, I mean bring me in at the beginning. Proposal stage for a consultation, at least. Pitch me as a contractor consultant, or as one of your internal team members. Same, same for corporate work for print for shares annual reports everything. I promise you, I'm going to cry if you give me a completed, approved design for an AR or website, or anything, really, without their being some thought to content strategy (and without consultation with a writer, like me), first.

 So if you're looking for a Writer...

Ask your client if they've worked with writers before. That may influence who you recommend.

 Before hiring or recommending anyone, ask your client if they have a Brand Strategy, a tone of voice guide, or a brand personality delineated. You likely already do this.

Ask prospective writers what their usual process is. They should be able to articulate it.

Now, experience in  certain sectors is NOT REALLY NECESSARY. Some clients demand it, and it's silly, to be honest. We're very curious creatures. In many cases, it's preferable for writers NOT to have that sector experience. A curious writer is your best friend.

For instance. Working for the Rick Hansen Foundation, I had to interview a renowned spinal surgeon. I think we met at the Bread Garden, as that was convenient for him. An hour later, we were finished. He looked at me and said, "I'm done. Drained. I don't think I've ever shared my story like that. Thank you." Another client who I'd worked with before, a client based in Paris, was ready to launch a new service. She intially contacted me to write their website. Having worked together before, she was familiar with my process and quickly said, "You know? Let's do a Zoom and just chat." An hour and a half later I had everything I needed to write a two page brand story, in the voice she wanted, the voice that would work with her clients.

 Ask the prospective writer if they're comfortable meeting and working directly with the clients. Some aren't. Many clients don't recognize the potential of a good idea. An involved client means they have skin in the game. Clients are often more critical of writing, than they are of design, because people believe they can't design, but everybody believes they can write. Or get a chatbot.

 Ask the writer how open they are to  input and to collaboration. And define what collaboration means. It's not exchanging drafts and revisions. That's not collaboration. Collaboration is we get the initial brief, we have a session together, we throw things around, we thow ideas out, then we literally throw ideas out. Virtual's ok if we can't do face to face. This process is a great shortcut. We make sure that nothing's missing from the brief that we need.

Now, what do you as a designer do when a client hands you bad copy, or AI copy, and says "use this"? Or a draft obviously generated by AI. Remember, your cient is hiring you for your expertise. Tell them you'll review it. Then call a writer like me in for a consultation.

I would ask a writer from the start if they use generative ai, and depending on your stance on that, and whether it's a mitigating factor on who you hire.

USE THE SAME WRITER AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. Develop a relationship.

Look for a writer who knows about design and appreciates design, versus someone who's only worked with agency art directors. If at all possible.

 BRING ME IN EARLY. Have I mentioned that already?

Tuck me into your team, make me feel in-house. Or position me as an outside consultant; our working relationship will still be the same, it's just optics for the client. Bring me in super early, when you're writing your proposal and I may be able to contribute value to your pitch.

 Red flags!

What are the red flags to look out for, when you're looking for or interviewing a writer?

If a writer tells you they only do a certain type of work, like for luxury brands. Or they only write comedy. Or if you look at their book, and it's all that "ironic, sarcastic and cheeky" style of writing. That kind of identifies them as someone who's an ad writer. Or if their style is humour, for instance.

If they DON'T want collaboration and prefer to work separately from you. If their process is to go away and write something and then bring the finished piece back without staying in touch, bouncing things off you. Remember, many writers are used to working in isolation. They love to hermit.

 And for me, a red flag is when someone won't or can't collaborate with me, or doesn't make themselves available to bounce ideas around. One of my favourite collaborators is Matthew Clark from Subplot. We go waaay back. If we had a project to crunch, we'd sometimes grab a soup and a sandwich at The Greedy Pig in Gastown. Just chat about life, this and that, and it would come around to the project and we'd invariably ace the idea right there and if not, have a pretty good idea on the direction we want to go in.

 If the writer tells you, "Look, don't make me work with the client. You do that. I don't want to meet with them, you deal with them."

 Now, what reasons might a writer give you for declining a project? There's the usual. Fees. Timeline. But also, subject matter. It's ok to decline a project because of an ethical conflict. Make sure your writer is actually INTERESTED in the client and the subject matter. Probe them on it.

 Of course, of course, OF COURSE. Be vewwwy, vewwwy careful when the client presents you with their own draft of the copy. The chances are almost 100% that they haven't done the sort of background research that I do, or that any good writer would do.

 What about if the client presents you with copy that's obviously been generated by AI?  Same as if they gave you a design generated by Chat. Tell them "I'll review it." then call me, or your writer of choice.

Speaking of calling me: please feel free to reach out by phone or email if you have any questions regarding writing, a contract, a pending project or a proposal. I'm always happy to help.