Jamie Kirkaldy - Writer

Emma Pedley - Writer

John Webster - writer

Jamie Kirkaldy - Writer

Hey! New Boy!
My first week at Writing Machine

It was hard to know what to expect.

The name of the company and the advert in the job section of the Guardian, both stood out a little from the rest. When the interview came up it was very involved, interesting actually - which is rarely the case.

So I arrived on my first day (casual dress no less), with little or no idea of what was to await me. Would it be thrown in at the deep end, and told to sink or swim? Would it be work your way up through menial tasks ("Hey, new boy - more coffee!"), waiting for a break?

Well, it all seemed friendly enough on close inspection. Everyone very welcoming, asking how the new flat was, cups of tea all round, lively office banter. At one point I even contrived to accidentally introduce myself as 'Penny' (no, I don't know why either) and not be laughed out the door, so that boded well.

I was shown my new desk (I have my own desk - Mum is so proud), how everything worked and what was what. I got settled in, and they gave me some examples of the work they did so I could see what was expected of me.

All the while I set about doing what any self-respecting new boy would do - trying to suss the place out.

Lunchtime came around, as lunchtime is wont to do, and the suggestion was put out to go along to a local Chinese restaurant, as a way of welcome. Always fine by me. So things were looking good.

And there was the work too. Just eighteen months out of university, this was to be my first 'grown-up' job, and the phrase turned out to be more apt than I thought. It was refreshing to be in a workplace where it was felt that I could be treated like an adult.

Support and advice was always on hand, and greatly appreciated, but also there was a degree of faith - a sense of "We trusted you sufficiently to give you the job, therefore we trust you enough to do it".

As a result, by the end of my first week I had been involved in interviewing clients, preparing documents and, of course, writing.

After years of fill-in employment, I found it incredibly satisfying to be doing something that I genuinely enjoyed and cared about. To be doing a job where you get to be actively creative everyday, is to be considered extremely privileged.

Looking back on my first week at Writing Machine the things that stand out in my mind, are the same things I continue to enjoy: the atmosphere - relaxed, fun, friendly, yet with a view to getting things done; the prospect of meeting a fresh challenge everyday; and enjoyment in doing a job that I can take pride in.

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Emma Pedley - My First Week At Writing Machine

How would I describe my first week at Writing Machine? As a baptism of fire. When Writing Machine said "on the job training", they certainly meant it. In the space of a week, I got a taste of meeting important clients, telephone interviewing and writing copy in several different genres.

This may not have been my initial reaction to the job, however. The first morning proved very laid back. Introductions to members of the team, coffee breaks, a long lunch at a local restaurant, perusing the newspapers ... oh, and I was given my first piece of work - an educational piece for a corporate brochure - but the deadline wasn't immediate. Things were about to change.

In the week of my arrival, Writing Machine was awarded a contract with a new client. So, on my third day, I found myself donning one of my new suits - a novelty for me after the casual dress code at my previous job - and accompanying three other members of the team to the swanky headquarters of the new client. I was briefed ... which meant nodding, making notes and drinking lots of coffee ... and was made to feel very important. Apparently, despite my inexperience, my opinions did count. Subsequently, I was offered the challenge of writing some of the copy for the client. Did I mention the deadline? Well, put it this way, none of us had time to peruse the papers anymore!

With lots of work and limited time, "training" was not explicitly on the agenda. My background as a telecoms analyst gave me an idea of what I was writing about, but as far as writing marketing material goes, I was a complete novice. Consequently, I was about to falter at the first hurdle. The first rule of marketing writing is to entertain the reader.

Unfortunately, following my previous experience as an analyst (yawn!), my writing was, well, a bit dull really. I found myself having to think laterally to come up with expressions and anecdotes that would draw the reader into my articles. And that's before I began to start sentences with "and" and "but" ... creative punctuation has proven itself to be more powerful than I had previously imagined. Being a Junior Writer with Writing Machine certainly involves a very steep learning curve.

That's not to say, however, that the atmosphere is not relaxed and friendly. Whilst I was expected to work for Writing Machine's clients from the word go, this was accompanied by extensive support and encouragement from the other writers and account managers. My first week at Writing Machine was challenging and interesting, but not stressful.

All too used to that sinking feeling you get every Monday morning when your alarm rings, I've been surprised to discover that at Writing Machine things are different. Each day, you never know what you might be asked to do. I think my first week probably exemplified this!

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Jon Webster - writer

Questions and Answers on my first week with Writing Machine

Question 1 - What exactly is it you do?

Ooh… hard ones first hey? Well I am a junior writer. A typical piece of work for me would run something like this:

I get a brief from a senior writer or account manager telling me exactly what is required for a particular project. Then we discuss it and I go away and research it. (That may mean a telephone interview with the client, tracking down information on the web or even just reading up on previous work done for the client). I then form a structure for the piece based on my research and put written flesh to its bones. The project is then edited between myself and who ever set the work until we are both happy with it. Simple.

One really good aspect of working here, is that we work as a team suggesting words and phrases when someone is stuck. I have received genuine support here and everyone is always keen to help me out.

Question 2 - What is the office like?

The office’s atmosphere really changes by the hour. Some moments it’s bubbly and noisy and others it’s quite tranquil.

Question 3 – How did you find fitting in?

Everyone is very professional at the same time as giving you the impression that you are on an equal footing with them. So much so that they have even asked me to critique other people’s work despite this being only my first week. I was told by our head of writing that: "Good comment is always helpful no matter who is making it. Understandably there are some projects which you are not qualified to make a qualitative judgment about but there is still plenty of work which you can get your critical teeth in to."

Question 4 - How did you fill a typical day at Writing Machine during your first week?

Well, there have been a lot of meetings and tutorials that I have attended this week. I think I saw a bit of everything, from brainstorming new website concepts to thinking up new ways to attract business.

The thing I enjoyed most was getting real work to do. In fact this is actually one of the first pieces they asked me to write and it’s great to see your work in print…well on the Internet at any rate! I have also written a magazine piece for one of our clients and I am presently working on my first case study. It’s quite exciting knowing that you are not just doing exercises of no consequence, but work that matters to the company and which is ultimately paying your wages.

Question 5- What is the link between marketing and writing?

As Bertrand Russell said when he criticised a common failing in philosophers, ‘When you are finished making your point you should stop writing!"

At Writing Machine you are taught to only put text on the page that helps achieve the purpose for which you are writing - the marketing objective. So we write to the point and we don’t mind swapping formal writing conventions for the odd contraction where it makes the point clearer.

However, there is still a lot of room for interesting and creative writing - the skills that produce it are an expected part of the job!

Question 6- What is it you enjoy most about writing for Writing Machine?

A friendly vibrant atmosphere full of people who enjoy life, enjoy their work and enjoy working with their colleagues. It's good to discover people who are not afraid to laugh in an open plan office. And it's good to find work which challenges and delights in equal measure. After all, if a piece of marketing is not entertaining to write then how on earth is it going to be entertaining to read!

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