Editing

The Simpletenders guide continues apace, and I’m deep into editing. Well, I’ve started editing. I opened the copywriting guide about a week ago - the one that inspired me to start - and then opened my guide next to it.

It was not a pretty sight. The content I thought was tight and on point was wordy and loose. I took ages to get to the point and filled my working with unnecessary words.

So now I’m constantly rethinking the editing process; I’m questioning my layout and chapter choices and rewriting as I go.

I hope to god this makes a difference I can be proud of later. I’m concerned enough that I’m doing this to a copy of the guide and keeping the ‘main’ one to one side.

There is a signal here: the fact that I lack belief in my own work. So much so that I keep backup copies of everything I do in case I want to roll something back. That really doesn’t help when I want to create something new, as I’m always looking back rather than forward.

Don’t get me started on the crushing sense of despair I face every time I open LinkedIn. “Why aren’t I as experienced as these guys?” when the fact is that everyone had to start somewhere, some people are at different points, and the reason why I’ve decided to create the Simpletenders Guide is because I think there is a need for it.

I’ve read a fair few posts and attended workshops, and they are all designed for people who are experienced in tendering. Even the book I’m reading at the moment is 197 pages long and discusses proposal teams in Ernst & Young. That’s not exactly the ideal market for the little company that decides they want to branch out into tenders, or the overworked bid manager in a little biz that needs some guidance.

Even as I write the above I feel a sense of ownership - my guide will be for that market. For the market that really shouldn’t be doing cold bids, but they are new and need to - or too small to have a huge client base to draw on. Cold bids are necessary, there. Learning the terms is necessary, too. Getting ready for the market and not looking stupid when they ask a question is important.

Not working until 3am. Not stressing themselves into the ground. Starting to win some business. These are my people, and this is my market.

So this post is less about editing and more about reminding myself who my people are. Not the ‘target market’ or the ‘Ideal Customer Profile’, but the people who turn to me to help them get started. These are my people, and these are who my book will be aimed at.