Remote Work: Perfect for Writer Types

Writer Abroad has been working 100% remotely for 1.5 years now. And it’s mostly wonderful. In fact, it can be downright amazing to spend a day working on global projects with people from several countries without ever leaving your home office.

Now that Writer Abroad has her very officially incorporated company, Cross Border Content Inc., she stays local but works global. (And for those who are wondering: Writer Abroad had to legally put the “Inc.” in her company name but still doesn’t really like its corporate-ness.)

In any case, for those writer-types interested in remote work, Writer Abroad just finished a wonderful book called Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. It makes two great points: 1) Great remote workers are simply great workers. And 2) great remote workers must be good writers.

According to the authors, remote work “gives back the edge to quiet-but-productive workers who often lose out in a traditional office environment. In a remote setup, you don’t need to constantly boast about the quality of your stuff…if you’re all talk and no walk, it’s painfully clear for all to see.”

This is especially important for writers working in countries where extroversion is the preferred personality type. Where go-getting and teamwork is the mantra—even for those writing copy. (I'm talking about you, America.)

Which brings Writer Abroad to her latest essay, which ran on salon.com last month: The unapologetic introvert—why I had to leave the U.S. to stop pretending to be an extrovert. 

Yes, it was quiet, introverted Switzerland that taught Writer Abroad there was nothing wrong with her personality. So now she celebrates her introverted-ness daily—even in America—by working remotely with the world. 

How to work as a copywriter abroad

In honor of the May 1 "Day of Work" holiday, Writer Abroad would like to discuss working abroad. She gets a lot of questions from copywriters hoping to just that. So she has complied some of these questions and posted the answers here in hopes that they will help more than just the person who asked them.

How does one apply and interview for jobs overseas while living in the US? Is that even possible?

Nothing like an American copywriter writing
headlines for a very Swiss brand.

The most efficient way (without an already established network abroad) to find work abroad is to find work at home first. Work for a few years for a company in your home country that has a global network. Then, once they know and like you, ask to be transferred to one of their offices abroad. 

Are you considered an expert because of your native English abilities, or is it a hurdle to climb in the workplace?

Yes and no. I think this depends on what country you work in. In Switzerland, many people speak English and some non-native speakers think they know more than you—some of them do—at least when it comes to understanding the grammar behind what they are saying! But in general, yes, you are considered an expert. However, it can be a hurdle in the workplace as far as opportunities because you are limited to working on accounts that need English and you can also be treated as an outsider—or at least feel like one at many occasions during a typical office day.

What agencies should I look into if I were interested in leaping the pond?

Agencies with global networks. Think McCann Erickson. Publicis. Euro RSCG. Y&R. Saatchi & Saatchi. Leo Burnett. The possibilities are endless as even if agencies don’t appear to have a large network, they are probably owned by a holding company that does have a large network behind it. Do your research.

Do you know where I could look for more entry-level copywriting work in Switzerland? Most ads I have found online are either for “senior” positions or strictly for marketing work?

Writer Abroad’s recommendation is to try to do your entry-level work and training in your home country. In Switzerland, teenagers are trained as creative interns within an agency and then they get their first jobs at about 18-20 years old. It is a very different system than in most English-speaking countries. Also, native English copywriters in Switzerland are usually needed for global accounts and are expected to have some experience.

Anyone else have questions or different answers to these questions? Leave a comment.

International Writing Round-Up

Amazon will begin to sell e-books and traditional print books as package deals. What will this mean for writers? TheNew York Times tells us more.

For writers in Zurich (or those looking for an excuse to visit Switzerland) Nuance Words has announced a full-day workshop onwriting for children. It will be held on January 25, 2014. There’s an early-bird discount, so sign up soon.

Great rant from Reading & Chickens blogger, Shalini, on quitting the things we don’t want to do and concentrating on the things we do (like writing books).

Chicken Soup for the Soul Books is looking for stories about dogs for their new The Dog Did What? title. Pay is $200 and authors retain their copyright.

Finally, Writer Abroad has finished another copywriting project: a television commercial forSwiss International Air Lines. She wrote the script. 

Anyone else have writing news to share? 

Little Known Ways to Be a Better Writer Abroad

Writer Abroad recently had a yearly review. Since it was the first one she’s ever had after working abroad as a copywriter in Switzerland for almost seven years, it forced her to consider her job and everything she thought it would be seven years ago and wasn’t.

When you take a job abroad, even if it’s the same job description and title as you had in your home country, you will need skills you didn't consider. Because while your job description might be English copywriting and your title might be English Copywriter, you will probably also be expected to be an editor, translator, proofreader, and God of Grammar.

For example, people in your office abroad will expect you to be a grammar whiz. You speak English. You write English. You must be able to define every part of speech that ever hit a sentence. You must be a slave to spelling. You must have an internal thesaurus that instantly spits out alternative phrases for “high-quality products.” You must be able to recognize that someone is saying “salon” when they are pronouncing it “saloon.”

People want you to edit, but you’re not an editor. They want you to translate but you’re not a translator. They want you to read briefings and client emails in a language you weren't hired to work in. They want you to explain the difference between speciality and specialty on the spot. They want you to write in British English when you’re an American or vice versa. They want humor but they don’t get yours. They want something with a twinkle in the eye, but their example is anything but sparkly.

The list goes on and on.

So how can you become a better writer abroad? Here, after seven years in the trenches of various Swiss ad agencies, are Writer Abroad’s six conclusions:

–Learn as much of the local language as you can. At least try to understand its spoken and written form. It may not be a job requirement, but it’s a survival requirement.  

–Take a grammar and/or editing class so when your ESL colleague tells you she wants you to use present perfect, you’re not left Googling your own grammar.

–Recognize puns and plays on words and don’t use them in an international setting unless you enjoy that glazed over look from your peers.

–Try to learn basic differences between British and American English, or at least recognize typical spelling differences and usage differences (such as how to write a date correctly in each).

–Learn what people find funny in your host culture so when they say use humor you know what they mean.

–Accept that English in an international setting–especially English that needs to be translated into other languages–will not always be as creative as you want it to be.

Anyone else have thoughts on how to be a better writer abroad?

Day jobs, copywriting, editing & more

Erika Dreifus had a great post yesterday about five things to appreciate about being a writer with a day job. In the last five years, she's managed to work 9 to 5, maintain a fantastic blog, and publish a collection of short stories. She is inspiration to all of us who want to work and write.

Speaking of working and writing, sometimes if you're lucky like Writer Abroad, you can combine the two. On Sunday night, the advertising copywriters of the world (well, of the U.S.) had their evening of glory. One of the best written spots was for Chrysler, although I thought the Chrysler spot from last year was an even better example of writing well for advertising. So too, the spot last year from Google.

Speaking of writing for advertising, SWISS recently unveiled their new campaign and Writer Abroad had the honor of working on it. The ad pictured in this post is one of the print ads.

In other news, the spring Zurich Writers Workshop is already half full, so if you're interested in attending, Writer Abroad recommends registering soon. Zurich has been a home to James Joyce, Goethe, and more and is a great literary city to spend a weekend in.

Finally, Writer Abroad heard that it was good to cut out filter words when editing a novel or memoir so Writer Abroad decided she would do it as she continues to edit her 350-page memoir. It felt like a lot of work but seemed like a fairly easy thing to accomplish in small chunks with a baby around. Anyhow, thanks to a helpful blog post from Write it Sideways, Writer Abroad had a list of words to go through and now her book is four pages shorter.

The secret to making a living as a writer abroad

A lot of people want to know: can you really make a living as a writer abroad?

It sounds so glamorous, after all.

Well, last week, writer Alexis Grant challenged the myth that it’s possible to make a living as a travel writer. It’s about time someone did this. For instance, the travel website Matador pays $25 for stories, but that will barely buy you lunch in Switzerland. And I’ve pitched enough higher-paying publications to know that a reply is so rare that I cheer even when I get a rejection. Of course, if you’re a writer abroad, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a travel writer. In fact, I hope for your sake, you’re not.

Next month, I’m teaching a course on how to make a living as a writer abroad. But here’s a secret—there is no secret. It's not easy to make a living as a writer, abroad or at home.

Most writers can’t just write novels, can’t just write travel articles, can’t just blog. In most cases, if you want to do those things and make a living wage, you must do all of those things. And more.

For instance, in the last five years, I have done copywriting, blogging, journalism, essay writing, PR writing, translating (bad English into good), radio writing, memoir writing, novel writing, teaching, and more. Sometimes I do all of these things at once, at other times, I concentrate more on just one or two of them. Over on the Urban Muse, you can see which kinds of writing were the most profitable for one writer last year.

But let’s hear from you. If you make a living as a writer abroad, what’s your secret?

Working as a Copywriter Abroad

As some of you know, by trade, I am a copywriter and I've worked for ad agencies on two continents. Working internationally can be a challenge for anyone–copywriters included. Here are a few things to consider when working abroad as a copywriter:

1. Sense of humor. As an American and generally sarcastic person, I like a good dose of, well, sarcasm. But in many cultures, Swiss included, sarcasm just doesn't translate. There are a few exceptions. One of my favorite ads in Switzerland right now is a billboard in the Zurich Airport for IWC, a Swiss watch company based in Schaffhausen. This ad, I am almost 100% certain, was written by an English copywriter (see image above). Airports, in general, are filled with ads in English. And you can usually tell which ones were written by native speakers and which ones weren't.

2. Lost in translation. Not only is sarcasm lost in translation, but when writing headlines and copy, a copywriter with international experience knows to avoid most plays on words or phrases like "cute as a button." This just won't translate well to French, German, Italian, Romansch and who knows what else. I avoid the phrase "cute as a button" on principle, but one of the hallmarks of a good copywriter is that they can play with words and phrases. But a copywriter working in an international environment must often reconsider their cleverness.

3. The which English question. Most American or British writers consider their English standard English. But not in an international environment. In Switzerland, some companies and brands use American English and some use British English. To work as a copywriter abroad, it helps to know the differences between English and English.

4. Flexibility. When I worked for an American ad agency, we had an entire department devoted to proofreading and editing. As a copywriter, I just came up with ideas, wrote scripts and copy, and other people proofed the stuff before it was ever seen by a client. But when you're working as an English copywriter abroad, you are most likely all these departments in one. You don't just write copy. You fix bad English translations (often harder than writing something from scratch). You edit. You proofread. You translate. The scope of the job is much wider.

Have you worked as a copywriter abroad? If so, what has your experience been like?