writer – and so she thinks

Why you should hire a generalist

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 10:39:00 +0000

One question people ponder when hiring freelancers is whether to go for a specialist or generalist. And the advice for all freelancers is to ‘niche down.’ It’s advice I’ve always ignored. I work across all communications – marketing, PR, copywriting and social media – and do so in multiple sectors, from charity to tech, B2B to arts, pharma to retail. It makes me better at my job being a generalist. Here’s why you should consider a generalist as your next hire.

Generalists see the big picture

Yes you could hire a copywriter to sit in their shed and write 3000 words of copy. But what good is that if it doesn’t fit into your wider communications plan? Generalists understand the strategic importance of your marketing for business objectives and how it all fits in to the bigger picture. They know what they do impacts the rest of the business and ensure that impact is a brilliant one.

Generalists can be flexible

If you want to hire a freelancer for a long term relationship it can be beneficial to choose a generalist. They can remain adaptable and flexible to serving your business as needs develop and change, delivering the right service at any one time, in an agile way. Without the need for you to onboard someone new to your business.

Generalists bring a different perspective

If generalists work in different sectors they can often bring ideas from one to another. This boosts creativity and can bring a fresh perspective to your field. You want your business to be uniue and innovative, and that outside in approach can help you do just that. Full-stack employees are prized by companies like Google because they believe “innovation is found at the boundaries between disciplines.”

Generalists are great at leading teams

Because generalists can apply their skills to a range of issues, they tend to have a good understanding of the different roles that people in a team can play. They’ve been there. This makes them great at leading teams and building strategies for success. They have a variety of experiences and each one of them shapes their approach and understanding of what makes people tick.

What do you think? Generalist vs specialist? I’ve written about why you don’t need a niche here. Let me know!

Folkestone Book Festival 2017

admin — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 18:06:10 +0000

The annual Folkestone Book Festival is back, and the programme is as packed as ever with writers, publishers, authors, actors and comedians all ready to discuss books and their place in the world. Taking place from Friday 17^th November to Sunday 26^th November, it features an impressive selection of talks, workshops and performances from local and international authors, on a variety of topics.

Prolific author Tracy Chevalier will be discussing the many places and periods that she writes about, literary biographer Hilary Spurling turns her attention to Anthony Powell, an iconic figure of English letters, and writer and TED speaker Ann Morgan talks about her project to read a book from every country in the world in one calendar year.

Brian Clegg discusses big data and how the information revolution is changing our lives, whilst Steve Richards explores why conventional politicians are failing to adapt to the challenge of today, whilst Jamie Bartlett looks at radical alternatives.

We seek inspiration from outside the literary world as social and cultural historian Carol Dyhouse draws upon literature, cinema, and popular romance to show how the changing position of women has shaped their dreams about men, Pen Vogler tells us how she recreated recipes inspired by the novels and letters of Jane Austen and Alex Preston and Nicholas Ryle talk about how they were inspired by birds.

You can learn how to change the world through gentle protest with Sarah Corbitt and Craftivism, discuss gender with Juno Dawson, and delve into the world of therapy with Susie Orbach.

These are only a few of the highlights from the 2017 programme. For more information, head here.

Woolf Zine

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 19:14:52 +0000

Check out the first issue of WOOLF ZINE – ramblings, responses and ruminations on Virginia Woolf – and flick to my submission.

Will Green – Default Setting: A Nervous Breakdown

admin — Mon, 16 May 2016 18:42:02 +0000

Edward has a history of alcoholism and substance abuse, as well as self harm. When we meet him in Default Setting – A Nervous Breakdown he has just split up with Jess, the girl he thought was the love of his life. She’s gone off with someone else. And so begins his descent again.

Will Green‘s debut novel tells the story of Edward Staten (29), a recovering addict whose broken heart triggers a relapses into a self-destructive, alcohol and drug fuelled nervous breakdown. A miswiring in the brain, a bad situation, a broken relationship – such events can be triggered by anything and quickly spiral out of control. There but for the grace of God go us all. Will wrote the novel as a way to both communicate the experience of depression and a nervous breakdown, and because the process of writing was one that enhanced his own wellbeing. It’s not an autobiography or factual account, but inevitably some of his experiences and emotions linger through the text.

In fact, much of what Ed describes in the first person narration will be familiar to anyone who has encountered mental distress or ill health in any way. In the street people edge away from him ‘like they are scared that my sadness is infectious.’ He has friends, but for the main these are pub and club buddies, and besides, when you ask someone how they are, no one actually wants to know. Isolated and fighting, he tries to run away from his reality and emotions. But salvation and happiness isn’t to be found in a piece of cake, a glass of wine, or the harder stuff that he resorts to.

This short novel is punchy and to the point, detailing his pub fuelled nights, coke binges, dealings with dealers, fights and police warnings, and a suicide attempt that sees him in a psychiatric ward. It’s not for the easily shaken, because it does not glamourise addiction, depression, or suicide, but paints them in the stark and bleak colours that they cloud lives with. Simply written, it’s never going to be one of the literary greats, and certain areas of Ed’s life, such as his teaching career and relationships with family are not as satisfyingly developed as they could be, but this honest depiction of a harrowing experience is well worth a read.

Default Setting: A Nervous Breakdown is available as a download for £2.99 on I-tunes, Amazon, Google Play andKobo.