How Do You Hang that “Shingle” of Independent Speechwriter?

In mid-May, a Georgia-based independent speechwriter, Henrietta Williams, offered a webinar about working in the “lucrative” realm of speechwriting work. Learning of this via the Professional Speechwriters Association (PSA) and persistently curious and ambitious about using my writing talents, I registered for this webinar about the lucrative world of independent speechwriting.

Since I learned about it a few years ago, the PSA has made it clear that no conventional path to speechwriter exists. People begin from all different kinds of, even disparate, starting points, even outside of communications.

I have a background as an independent journalist. Working lately mostly outside of credentials in communications and journalism, I want to exploit my communications work experience and be well paid for it. Innately curious, I hoped that the $85 fee for the two hours via Zoom would be worth my time, energy and optimism.

Prior webinars with promising premises have disappointed me. They made me skeptical-come-cynical about how actionable or relevant the lessons would be. Granted, many of the webinars have been free. You get what you pay for! Having been underwhelmed before and chastened by shallow “wisdom” about freelancing and business, I was skeptical. But I chose some flavor of optimism.

To be paid for your talents is vital. This might amount to a wrestling match with a client or in your own head. Every kind of independent creative producer can find him or herself scraping for new clients and enough work, pressed to write for free, if necessary, at the start. – But I remember the wisdom of a brilliant circa 1980s stand-up comic, Eddie Murphy: “never work for free”. Sometimes your reality makes that difficult.

Why would speechwriters be immune to this?

For varied reasons and motivations, some people can’t be resolute about their talent, confidence and competence by only working for a fee. Maybe s/he is driven to pursue and work for a certain personality? Then, maybe work gratis in order to create work samples?

Sometimes hunger and its ilk force unfortunate choices.

The wrinkle in Ms. Williams’ enthusiasm is that to find that work is neither obvious nor simple. is that I know an independent video producer and speechwriter who was hired to write speeches only after he had produced an industrial video for the firm. That had been his means to stablish the rapport and his competence and entre to composing speeches.

Another wrinkle in being eager to write speeches for other is that others aspect. To write speeches for yourself is one level. You know what you want to express, and you know and are sure of your own voice. But to write material for others and discern and write in their distinct oratorical voice is a novel challenge. I might find myself not liking that kind of work or challenge of dealing with clients and words in this distinct way.

To find work as an independent speechwriter is likely more elusive than the cheering section wants to sound. The cheering is welcome. But if while, yes, you can write a compelling speech, your experience in doing so is in writing for yourself there is a shallowness.