For a long time, I thought I was a marketing guy who could write decent copy. Turned out, I’m a really good copywriter with some credible experience in marketing.

Every day I leverage my years of results-oriented marketing, content creation, storytelling, audience engagement, brand identity, customer acquisition, and lead generation experience to help my B2B and B2C clients reach their objectives.  

I'm focused on two goals that can both be summed up with the same three words, in the same order, but with different meanings:

          Goal in Life: Avoid boring people.

          Goal as a copywriter: Avoid boring people.


Scott Frothingham

Write | Edit | Coach ⁓ I work with aspiring writers, authors, businesses & professionals to create content that connects. Human to Human. *Book Nerd. *Chip Addict. *Coffee Lover.

𝑀𝓎 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 📖
My love for reading led to my passion for words and language. I studied English Lit, Linguistics, and Education, which sparked my early career as an English Language Specialist. This involved teaching and designing learning materials for ESL, EFL, and English 1st Language students in Higher Education (HE).

I later lectured in Management Communication and other Business subjects, advocating real-life teaching, transferable skills, and lifelong learning. 

Progress in my career led to course and curriculum development projects in HE, culminating in educational management. I enjoyed the challenges and problem-solving aspects of academic leadership, managing and mentoring a diverse group of lecturers across varied disciplines.

Then I took a long break to be a stay-at-home mum — my kids needed a chauffeur. During this time, I indulged my love of reading, research, and writing by creating content for textbooks as a freelancer. I 𝐜𝐨-𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 for Macmillan, Oxford, Heinemann, Pearson & Juta. 

I confess I enjoyed the multi-tasking and the adrenaline rush of meeting deadlines – coffee helped!

My kids have finally flown the coop (Gen Zs, 🙄).
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝒹 📙


The sequel 👇🏼  
Turns out my background and experience make me the perfect person to take your brilliant but complex ideas and reshape them into content that regular people understand. 

Book 2: Content Solutionist 
Creating Content that Connects.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 

1. Troubleshoot and fix your content, including:
•Creatively turning raw ideas into understandable content 
•Ensuring your content truly connects with your readers 
•Honest writing feedback—no fluff, no BS


2. Author coaching and Editing, including:
•Writing advice and manuscript reviews 
•Developmental & line editing (non-fiction)
• Copy Editing 


3. Content creation, including:
•eBooks, textbooks, guides, workbooks 
•long and short-form articles


Are you ready to solve your content issues? 
I have over 22 years of mentoring, coaching, editing, and writing experience. 
Let's put together a personalized package that works for you.


DM or Email: shamilaiyer@gmail.com
🌐www.shamilaiyer.com


DIY-er? Check out my hashtag: #writingtipsfornonwriters

Shamila Iyer

Dear LinkedIn notifications, 

I don't really care that a comment I made 2 days ago got over 1 200 views and 5 million reactions, while my post from yesterday only got 375 views, 8 reactions, and 6 comments. 🦆 

Do you have to rub it in?

And as for you, LinkedIn algo, read below 👇

Nonfiction Editor | Book/Author Coach | Content Writer. I help authors and other professionals turn messy drafts into clear, compelling books and articles. Crunchy chip addict and unapologetic em-dash user.

Finishing a manuscript feels like crossing a finish line. 🎉

Unfortunately, it isn't.

For most writers, the real challenge begins after the first draft. That's when you have to figure out what your manuscript actually needs.

Many writers assume the next step is a quick polish. They start correcting sentences, fixing commas, removing em dashes, or swapping out words.

But sometimes the issue is not surface-level. It's the structure underneath the words and sentences.

If that structure isn't working, no amount of polishing will fix it.

Learn how to diagnose the level of editing your manuscript needs in the article below.

Diagnosing Your Manuscript: Does it Need Structural, Developmental, Line, or Copy Editing?
https://lnkd.in/d4JGnukd

PS: Even if you're not writing a book right now or in the near future, show my latest blog article some love anyway. Each like, share, or comment helps it reach those who might need it.
Thank you 💙

Between final proofs and printed copy, what went wrong?
 
Part 3: "I wrote a book recently..." 
 
The biggest mistake the publishers made was not sending me (the author) the final proof to review before sending it in for printing. My mistake, too. I should have asked. 

We ended up with design and layout issues.

For the type of children's book I'd written (yesterday's post), the layout of the content and images was vital for:
•Flow
•Understanding
•Easy reading
•Grasping of difficult concepts
•Language development
•Code switching
 
Remember, we're talking about a dual-language (with multilingual aspects) children's nonfiction book that had to perform 3 functions: educate, aid in MT transition, and entertain.
 
Everything mattered:
•Fonts, colours, headings
•Engaging and interactive tone
•*Placement of 'did you knows' and 'fun facts'
•*Precise labeling of diagrams
•*Captions for diagrams or images
•*Translations
•*Placement near relevant content of the above 
•The size of the book (can little hands grasp it and turn pages easily?)
 
The book's design is inconsistent throughout, making it awkward for kids of that age to read. It detracts from the book's initial purpose. The 'why' and 'who' are compromised. I cannot help but wonder if they sent the full brief to the designer. Did the designer understand the intent of this project? Where did things go wrong?
 
What about the context and the content? Do the images align with these? 
I'd carefully selected and created images and illustrations for the book to align with the context and the content. Some of these were changed or left out. In some instances, images that did not fit into the cultural context were added. 

Keep in mind the books were for South African kids in a South African setting. They asked us to add a few myths, tales, and short anecdotes from South African culture wherever we could. These had to fit in naturally and align with the content on that page.

Also, keep in mind that in the case of a dual-language book, you have to be careful to place the translations in such a manner as not to interfere with the meaning of the content. And they must flow. I forgot to double-check this, although some translations were only added after the "final" proof was sent to me.
 
These were some of the issues I found in the published book. 

Months ago, I'd made suggestions and edits to what I thought was the final proof, but it turns out they changed things afterward without consulting me.

When I received the author copy, I realised that what I had envisioned and what I got were not the same thing. But it was too late to do anything about it. So yes, I was disappointed.


PS: Remember that I was the author in this case, but I work as an editor. And after the writing, my editor's cap just naturally gravitated onto my critical head. I am also a manuscript evaluator, and I wonder if I am being too critical of my own book. What do you think?
 

TL; DR? Come back and read it before you publish your book.

Julius Caesar saying I trusted you to publishers meme

In a post earlier last week, I mentioned that I had a new book published and that it was outside my comfort zone. Different from any of the others I've done before. 

A new audience, much, much younger. And a different concept. 

The book was published as a dual-language book.

I enjoyed working on this latest book, and I am currently working on another one in the same genre. 

Grateful for the opportunity to work on this project, despite the glitches (see previous posts on "I wrote a book recently...")

Below is a glimpse of the published book in English and isiZulu.

Genre: non-fiction children's book to encourage language learning and transition from mother tongue to English. Ages 8-9.

This one is part of a series of 6 books. The publishers will be distributing them to school libraries across the country. 

💥Comfort Zone
Anyone else stepped out of their comfort zone recently? How's it working out for you? Have to admit I'm enjoying where I am right now.

New book - stepping out of my niche

I wrote a book recently. I was proud.
I wrote a book recently. I told them.

I wrote a book recently. I was disappointed.
I wrote a book recently. I spoke out.

I'm writing another book. I hope they listen this time.

***

Join me in my "I wrote a book recently" series of posts coming to your feed this week.

Through these posts, I will take you on a behind-the-scenes peek at my first experience writing a non-fiction multilingual children's book. 

These books (in the pic) are the product of a project initiated by a global non-profit organization focused on improving literacy and gender equality in education.

***
(Country: South Africa)

She found me here on LinkedIn. Approached me in my DMs. Booked a call.

Client Story 3: Ghosted! And Ghosted Again!

She had a book project she needed help with. The book meant a lot to her. She was very emotional. We talked about why the book meant so much to her. She told me her story, and we clicked. I understood her WHY.

At first, she hired me to do an initial review of her first draft and extra notes. I did that and sent her a full manuscript evaluation report.

Silence. 

Maybe she was overwhelmed by the feedback. Was I too harsh?

I sent a message of encouragement.

Silence.

Didn’t hear from her again until a few months later. She had a reworked draft and wanted me to take a look. We had another chat. 

This time, she paid an editing deposit. 

And vanished. Again. 

I had questions and needed her to get back to me.

But silence.

I completed a development edit and emailed it together with my suggestions and feedback.

More silence. 

Some of that imposter syndrome-type doubt started creeping in:
Maybe she was unhappy with my work?
Should I return some of the deposit?
 
In January, I sent another email. Do you still want to continue with your book project?

Immediate reply. Yes. Please, can we do it?

Then she called to explain why she’d ghosted me. I understood.
 
And now we’re working on the second round of edits.
 
Sometimes I surprise myself. 
I didn’t have much patience in my raising-kids years. Just ask them.
Now I do. Is it midlife? Is it menopause? Is it just the way life goes?

𝑰 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚...

Part 2

I was selected by a global non-profit organization, committed to developing children’s foundational literacy skills, to participate in its new project. 

The timing was perfect. I’d been thinking of trying my hand at children’s non-fiction. And I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in a literacy project. 

This one in particular. 

Why this one? Mainly because of the purpose. 

The purpose of this project was to help kids transition from their mother tongue to English. The books were to be written in various languages (South Africa has 11 official languages). And they needed to align with topics from the national school curriculum. 

My book was to be in English and isiZulu. 

I was worried at first because my Zulu language skills are extremely rusty (I don’t speak it as an everyday language; English is my mother tongue.). But I jumped in with the promise that there would be a translator to assist.

A multilingual vocabulary table, incorporating the main keywords for each chapter, was added at the beginning of each chapter. One of my gripes — it should have been at the end of the chapter or at the bottom of the page.

But I digress. 

Today’s post and tomorrow’s post are about purpose and intent (your why) and the target reader (your who). This is where the publishers and the designer lost the plot. 

***

While writing the book, I kept reminding myself of my target audience (age and other demographics). It's easy to lose sight of this when you are caught up in content research.

Note to myself: Remember,

•Jargon must be kept to a minimum while still aligning with the curriculum
•Key terminology needs to be broken down into simple language with clear explanations
•Everything must flow, including illustrations, especially diagrams 
•The layout has to be uncomplicated and attractive to kids
•Content must be engaging and interactive (I added did you knows, fun facts, activities, and experiments)

There’s more, but I’m running out of space here.

I wrote the book, keeping the why and the who in mind at all times. 

***

In tomorrow’s post, read all about my disappointment when I received my author’s copy of the printed book. What went wrong?

***

TL; DR? Get a summary. But don’t put it in my comments section.

taplio

The Battle

Scott Frothingham

Shamila Iyer

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The Battle

Scott Frothingham

Shamila Iyer

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Shamila Iyer's LinkedIn Performance

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