The Distinction Between Writing and Content
Are you a writer or a marketer? That is the question posed by Jonathan Greene in a recent essay on Medium that makes the distinction between writing and content. Greene defines writing as storytelling and content as marketing. Writing the story is an end in itself, whereas content is a means to an end—a view, a click, or a sale of some kind.
It is easy to identify content: its purpose is to motivate the reader to take a particular action; a call to action always appears at the end of the piece. Greene makes the observation that calls to action delegitimize the writing in the mind of the reader. It becomes content.
As a writer, I have had a problem with this idea of content. It seemed to commoditize writing, to turn it into mere filler to attract eyeballs to a web page or website in order to earn money from affiliate advertising or to sell a product. Greene’s distinction between writing and content rings true to me. It helped me understand why I resented and resisted so much of the advice given with regard to writing for publication online.
Writing has been infected with this frenzied need to produce content. It seems that frequency is the driving force for search algorithms. To get noticed, to get read, to acquire a following, one has to constantly push out content. I say content because if I am putting my stuff out there for the sole purpose of working the search algorithm, then my writing is a mere means to an end.
For me, at least, storytelling (writing) takes time to achieve. It needs to ferment in my mind for a time before I even really know what the story is about. Sometimes changing one word or a sentence clarifies the meaning of the piece and transforms it. But it can take hours, days, weeks, or even months of reflecting on what has been written before that right word or sentence makes itself evident.
The thing is, I know when something is missing. It nags at me, and I will not publish until I discover what is lacking. Time and reflection are necessary for me to produce good work. I enjoy writing and will not rush it. Of course, I am not trying to make a living from my writing and that gives me the luxury of time.
