Finding the right voice

On occasion, I hire a ghostwriter to produce a first draft that I can "personalize".

Last week, Ace Ghostwriter raised with me the issue of "voice". A new client (that I referred) was concerned whether Ace could write in "newclient voice". Ace told me she had not realized she had been "channelling" my voice, but now was certain she could channel another.

This got me thinking. "Voice" is a well-explored concept in professional writing, but in plain language work we focus so much on being "reader-centered" that we don't talk much about voice.

It occurs to me that I have been hiring Ace whenever I feel that I have not got the internal resource to achieve the voice that is required for a particular reading audience.

I am still pondering this, and into my email box pops a great article on voice from Ragan Communication.

Check out How to find the right voice in your writing by Jim Ylisela.