The Write Woman

Striking at the heart of traditional perceptions of news and media outlets is the growing popularity of the blogger and user-based journalism, and content aggregator platforms such as Google News and The Huffington Post. Both have drastically changed the way news is created, consumed and shared, and together are altering society’s traditional ideas regarding professional writing.

Liz Sharp, director of Sharp Public Relations and freelance writer, has found a sweet-spot to be in with her career, as she is able to effectively combine traditional media with modern professional communication.

As the founder and sole employee of Sharp Public Relations, Liz’s responsibilities include media relations, editing, copywriting, speech writing, and social media management. With forty percent of her day spent writing, Liz understands just how important organisational writing is to her business.

There is a seemingly endless supply of emerging technology and digital storytelling tools at a communicators’ fingertips; meaning the love for the written word has become an added bonus rather than a necessary skill.

Professing that words are a professional communicators’ currency, Liz is a self-proclaimed “old finger-wagging woman” when it comes to writers who truly love words over perfunctionary writers.

“There is a concerning lack of language and editing skills in the industry. The downsizing of newsrooms, lack of financial rewards and the dilution of writing talent is having a serious impact on the content generated across media channels,” Liz asserts.

Her concerns echo those of many within the industry. Due to layoffs and buyouts, many newsrooms are left without copyeditors; the people who ensure that published stories are accurate and well-written. For these reasons, much of the content released from news organisations aren’t checked for spelling and grammar, with frequents errors having damaging effects on industry credibility.

Believing that many organisations are yet to understand the importance of the words they use and how they can be used to improve their image and bottom line, Liz prides her business on producing the best writing possible for her clients.

After graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Journalism, Liz founded Sharp PR in 2004. Her clients range from small businesses through to large international brands in fashion, health, beauty and cosmetics. Her work as a creative director has also been featured in such events as Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival Sydney and Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. Additionally, Liz is an internationally-published freelance writer and ghost writer; specialising in op-ed pieces and features for individuals, organisations and special interest groups.

“If you can understand perspectives, issues and concepts – and then extrapolate them within their industry’s context and wider social significance – and then articulate this, irrespective of your industry you will always stand out,” Liz claims.

“In much of my work, it isn’t just a matter of producing technically correct work; it’s about harnessing the ability to persuade and influence people subtly through language; be it a script for a television interview, a public statement or a social media post.”

Because Sharp Public Relations holds a large clientele, Liz claims that the ability to comply with each individuals business own style guide is imperative to highlighting the brand’s values, messages, language, and imagery. Prior to writing for a business, Liz immerses herself with as much information about that organisation. Her interests range from their staff, their process, the development of their products, the potential problems they face, and their future plans.

“I tell every client that there is no point having great PR on the surface, if the company isn’t healthy underneath; under skilled staff, faulty product or just badly executed strategies will eventually give up the ruse. Once I understand a company’s strengths and weaknesses, I can help craft their external message and language through my writing, to ensure the company’s façade and its internal workings are aligned.”

The “company speak” is relatively easy for Liz to pick up and can effect change where it needed. However, if the client is “just after spin” then Liz will respectfully advise the organisation that they might be better off with a different consultant.

Despite being a seasoned professional communicator, Liz still faces many difficulties in her job; but admits that these obstacles are what lead to her most rewarding pieces of work. Many of Liz’s clients often have an idea or concept that heavily relies on her turning nothing into something. This can be narrowed down to the client simply not knowing what they want until they can see the campaign, angle or product start to take shape.

“Taking someone’s creative process and making it consumable, appealing and easily understandable is a challenge; but it is also terribly interesting to intuitively get inside someone else’s head and see the world through their eyes. When you deliver a final product – through marketing materials, photos, imagery or a piece of writing – that hits the spot, it’s highly rewarding,” Liz said.

Liz recalls a particular scenario where this professional ideology was evident after she was contacted by a client whose wife had recently passed away from brain tumour. He needed someone to make sense of his thoughts, and put them into a eulogy worthy of the woman he loved. Although Liz was on maternity leave at the time, she met with him the day after her passing and the two of them sat at Liz’s dining table whilst her client framed a picture of his late wife.

“It was difficult, not just because of the emotion involved, but also because I had never met or spoken to her, and I wanted her eulogy to be intimate, detailed and reflective of her life experiences, and who she was,” Liz confessed.

The resulting piece was read out at the young women’s funeral and, much to Liz’s relief, completely encapsulated her so perfectly that photocopies of the eulogy were requested for friends and family.

“Six years later, it remains the piece of writing that I am most proud of.”