Writing for the American vs. the British market

From day one of my first writing job in America, I got warned that the head of the department was wary of me because I was British. This wasn't a concern that I'd switch coffee for tea in the break room, or force my colleagues to wear tweed. He was worried that a fresh-off-the-boat Brit wouldn't be able to handle writing "American."

And I like to think I proved him wrong - but it wasn't easy. George Bernard Shaw once claimed that America and Britain were two nations "divided by a common language" and he's not wrong. British English and American English are remarkably dissimilar in a lot of ways.

As I explained here, I actually think American English is a lot more consistent and logical that archaic British English, but the differences go far deeper than just spelling. What exactly do I mean? Well, look at the example I've produced below. It perhaps illustrates the most significant difference between the way Americans and Brits communicate using the written word:

What differences do you notice between British English and American English?

Adventures in Copywriting #423

One of the secrets to writing anything is to read it out loud.

How the words appear in your head are very different to how they sound when somebody's reading them out loud - so it's a lazy writer indeed who doesn't check his 'readability' by saying it loud and proud before he submits a manuscript.

Sometimes, however, reading something out loud just isn't possible. Not without getting some funny stares, anyway.

In these circumstances, a trick many writers use is to read their work in their head - in somebody else's voice.

Yes, that's right. Imagine somebody else is reading your work and it's easier to spot fluffy verbiage and stray punctuation. It's almost as effective as reading what you wrote out loud yourself.

Sitting in a cubicle in a busy office, I'm often reduced to 'reading' my work in my head. And when I do? It's almost always Morgan Freeman's voice I use to narrate things.

Do you think I need to start paying him royalties?

True Copy Writing Legends...

If you've ever flown into a small Scottish airport, like Glasgow or Edinburgh, you might be familiar with the signs that used to greet you when you arrive:

"Welcome to the Best Small Country in the World!”

Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland, instigated those signs a few years ago to help encourage the burgening Scottish tourism industry. But times change - and his replacement, Alex Salmond, wanted to change the slogan to something more nationalistic.

Something inspiring and romantic - yet also communicating the modernity and brisk efficiency of modern Scotland.

So he gave a team £125,000 and six months to come up with a new slogan to replace "Welcome to the Best Small Country in the World!"

And yesterday, the Scottish Nationalist Party revealed it:

“Welcome to Scotland”


That's probably the easiest £125,000 that team of copywriters has ever made.

Three and a Bit Days

In just over three days time, Tina and I will bid goodbye to Blighty and board a Boeing.

And we're stressed. Which is understandable, really.

The major source of stress is simply logistics. It's not easy to pack up your life into matching luggage. To do that, all while plugging away at your job and scrubbing your house, takes time. Lots of time. Tina and I had four hours of sleep last night.

Then there's simply the awe-inspiring thought of starting a whole new life. A Whole New Life. It looks like it should be capitalised.

A Whole New Life involves new jobs and possessions and a home. Very fortunately we've managed to get the home thanks to Tina's brother. When it comes to getting a job, I'm on my own.

That doesn't unduly worry me. I mean, I'm an enthusiastic, experienced chap with a sharp line in suits and a firm handshake. In America - the land of opportunity - I'm sure somebody will want to hire me.

The stress comes from deciding what it is I want to do.

Because I have a wonderful opportunity to choose my own path in the States. But the problem with opportunities like those is that the decisions you make need to be the right ones.

I've basically pinned down my motivation into two directions. Job Satisfaction and Salary. I'm willing to do a job I really enjoy for a modest salary - or a job I don't really enjoy for a generous salary. This polarisation pretty neatly fits into my two career paths.

Writing is my life. My current job, writing adverts and coming up with conceptual marketing ideas, is one of the most satisfying ones I've ever had. To see my ideas and words come to life on the radio or a computer screen is incredibly satisfying. The only thing better than pitching a creative idea to a client and having them love it is when that creative idea is similarly picked up by a receptive audience. I've been lucky enough to feel that buzz.

The downside is the salary and career prospects - which would both be better in the States.

On the other scale is getting back into the boiler-room. Sales.

It was working for Summer Study that really introduced me to sales and a nice smile and a smart suit saw me continue in that business when I left France and came to England. I even managed to reach the dizzy heights of Sales Manager before I realised that Sales was only worth being in if you really loved what it was you were selling... Or you got paid an enormous sum of money.

In America, I could get back into the sales business. It's tough work. It's a grind and worst of all, it's not the creative industry that writing is. But it offers the path to security and if I manage to twin my brand with a suitable corporate one - selling something I truly believe in - I think I could be very successful at it.

I can always write in my spare time. Not that the American workforce gets much of that.

It's a toss up; and with "the best laid plans of mice and men" and all that, I'm probably only going to discover where my American path will take me when I finally make footfall in New Jersey.

Stranger than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction promised to disappoint.

You might be surprised that I'd write that. After all, the movie was about a tortured writer meeting one of her characters - the sort of plot that would immediately appeal to an aspiring novelist like me. And it had Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson in the lead rolls, with support from lovable Dustin Hoffman. All recipes for success...

Except I had a feeling from the moment I saw the trailer that I'd be disappointed. Marketed as a comedy, I figured Stranger Than Fiction would be another terribly worthy movie with it's humour buried beneath a carpet of angsty character development. Think Royal Tennenbaums and you'll get the picture.

But as the saying goes, never judge a book by it's cover. Even if the book is actually a movie. About a book. In short, Stranger Than Fiction was brilliant.

From it's opening moments, Stranger Than Fiction was witty, sharp and a visual treat. It used a fantastic 'heads up display' to illustrate the utterly mundane thoughts of lead character Harold Crick, played absolutely deadpan by a brilliant Will Ferrell. As a friendless, loveless IRS agent in Manhattan, his life was utterly without purpose or pleasure until he started hearing this voice in his head, narrating his life; "accurately," he describes it, "and with a better vocabulary."

Seeking help from literary professor Dustin Hoffman, Crick soon discovers that he's living in a novel - being written by acclaimed writer Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson.) This doesn't bode well for Harold, since Kay's famous for killing off her lead characters.

With his sudden demise looming, Harold starts to look within himself, discovering hidden ambitions and feelings that only spring to the surface now he realises he'll never achieve them. He falls helplessly in love with a militant hippy baker (played by gorgeous Maggie Gyllenhaal) and learns to play the guitar, squeezing as much life out of his last few days as he can.

But while Harold is obsessed with living his life, Kay Eiffel is obsessed with ending it. She desperately tries to create the perfect ending for Harold's life totally oblivious to the fact that he's a real person... Until Crick picks up the phone and calls her, pleading with the novelist to spare his life now he's started living it.

It's a sharp, witty film. The dialogue is crisp and you'll be snorting with laughter at several points. But the movie's also sweet, sad and poignant. It's an immensely satisfying package, all wrapped up, and proof that when you have a great idea, a great director and great actors - Hollywood won't necessarily screw it up.

Interview with novelist Paul Burston

82. (NEW ENTRY THIS YEAR) Paul Burston, Novelist

Burston, 41, has been gay editor of Time Out for almost 14 years and also makes regular contributions to television and radio. Burston's first book, Shameless, was made into a TV programme for NBC. His third novel, Lovers and Losers, is out this year.

This was the Independent on Sunday's appraisal of journalist and writer Paul Burston - and in keeping with the standards of British journalism, at least part of it is true.

The piece came from 2007's 'Pink List' - a list of Britain's "Great and Gay," celebrating the achievements and contributions of out-and-proud gay Brits. Paul was recognized for the first time this year, placing a respectable 82 on the list of 100 most important 'Pink Brits.'

The Independent's research is a bit fuzzy. As Paul himself points out, his novel Shameless is sadly not being made into a TV show for NBC (not yet, at least) and he humbly queries being considered hotter than eighties icon Boy George (who came 86th on the Pink List.)

However, one thing is for certain. Paul's overdue appearance on the list confirms that other people are finally recognizing all his hard work.

Burston wears a lot of hats. Figuratively speaking. (Perhaps literally as well - I never got around to asking.) He's been the editor of Time Out London's gay section for the past 14 years and crops up on radio and television more and more frequently. However, it was as a novelist that the Independent on Sunday recognized him.

Paul's first novel, Shameless, became a critical and commercial hit in 2001, joining the best seller lists as well as being shortlisted for a State of Britain Award. Lovers and Losers, Paul's third novel, was released recently and seems to be heading in a similar direction.

Paul very kindly agreed to answer a few questions I had about his writing career and how he managed to hit the best seller lists. As usual, my questions are in bold and his answers are in italics:

So how did it all all start? At what point did a fresh-faced Paul Burston decide that he was going to make a career for himself writing, instead of taming lions or diving for oysters?

I've always written stuff, ever since I was a kid. At junior school I used to write stories about a character called Jim and my teacher would have me read them out at morning assembly. Then I'd get beaten up in the playground. But they didn't beat it out of me.

When did you decide to write your first novel? And why?

It was partly inspired by real life events. And I wanted to write the kind of gay novel I liked to read - nothing too literary, quite light but with some serious points. To me it was a natural extension of my non-fiction writing. It had the same aims - to entertain and to inform.

What was the process that took you from germ-of-an-idea to getting-pen-to-paper?

There's no bog secret to it. You just have to sit down and write. And write. And write. A lot of what you write will be bollocks, but you cut that stuff out or go back and fix it. There's none of that 'sitting around on a chaise lounge waiting for inspiration' nonsense. Writing is work, and sometimes it feels like it.

Your novels are brimming with nostalgia and pop-culture. How much of your own personal experiences wind up between the pages?

A lot. Sometimes I don't realise how much until afterwards. For me writing fiction is far more revealing than even the most personal confessional journalism. You're hiding behind your characters, and inevitably you let things slip through that you wouldn't have the courage to say as yourself.

How do you go about writing? Do you have a schedule? A particular place or room you write in? Do you write in the early morning or late into the night? Do you use a word processor or write long hand?

I work 9-5 in my study at home, on my Applemac. I could never write long hand again. Computers have changed the way I organise material and even the way I think. I do keep notebooks, which I carry everywhere. But I've learned to copy notes onto my mac as soon as possible, or I might end up with a notebook full of notes and no novel!

Some days I might work late into the night, but I try to avoid this because it stops me from sleeping. I wake up at 3am with my brain racing!

So from when you finished writing the first draft of Lovers and Losers to when you sent it off to the publishers, what sort of editing process did you go through?

My editor reads my stuff and makes suggestions. Mostly she's bang on target and I make changes - fleshing out a scene, or reintroducing a character we haven't seen in a while. Then it goes to a copy editor and they query things - mainly to do with style. I don't change much. I'm quite firm about retaining my 'voice'.

What do you think the secret to getting published is? Why do you think your writing stood out?

I honestly have no idea. I was approached by my publisher many years ago to write a non-fiction book, and it went from there. Having a good agent is essential. Most publishers won't read manuscripts without an agent attached.

My agent is Sophie Hicks at Ed Victor. She's an out lesbian and very well respected. I prefer having a female agent and editor. I have two sisters, and my mum was alone for a bit when I was young. I guess I relate more easily to women.

What was the last fiction book you read?

Neil Bartlett's 'Skin Lane'. He's an amazing writer. I love his use of language and the eroticism of his writing.

What advice do you have for any aspiring writers out there?

Be prepared to work had at it. Writing is a job, and it requires vast amounts of effort. Be prepared to work long and hard at it before you get it right. And get an agent.

Thanks a million for your answers, Paul. They're fascinating.

Check out Lovers and Losers on Amazon and visit Paul's website here.

Online Showreel

AMENDMENT: Due to website traffic issues, copyright concerns and the fact that it looked terrible, I have canned my ambitious 'online showreel' ideas until I can actually read "Website Management For Dummies" and get it working properly.

I'm all up for getting some transatlantic agencies interested in my blistering writing skills. But a childish grasp of HTML and links that time out after two listens don't really illustrate "attention to detail."

Somebody once said: "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right." Alternatively, that could be: "If a job's done half-arsed, maybe it wasn't worth doing in the first place."

Watch this space. My Online Showreel will right again.

In the interests of facilitating future transatlantic recruitment, I have assembled an intricate Online Showreel of commercials I've written.

Unfortunately my slightly sketchy WebHost has forbidden anybody from studying it. Apparently they think the whole idea of OTHER PEOPLE visiting your website to be an aberration.

So until I have figured that stuff out, I have knocked up a temporary showreel using good ol' blogger. Please feel free to go and have a listen to a few commercials I have put together here.

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I've only put up a few because it's quite labour intensive and obviously I don't want to propagate the web with copyright material. However hopefully these commercials are a good indication of my writing experience and will put me in good stead with any agencies or companies considering hiring me in the future.