Let's talk about my job

I am a copywriter. That means I take things that don't sell or just in general need to be communicated more effectively and I do my thing with them. I specialize to some extent in high-tech marketing/advertising communication. That doesn't mean I know much about technology, per se. So what really frustrates me is when my clients (usually ad agencies) not only expect me to translate the message into something understandable by the average layperson, they also expect me to figure out what the message should be, what the product does, and who should give a shit. Which means, once I write the sucker, there's nobody to make sure I got it right except the client, and at that point, it's too late. Especially because I'm a freelancer. That leaves me open to all kinds of risk. It also leaves the agency open to risk--how do THEY know I know what I'm doing? I mean, yes, I've been doing this for 13 years, but I may have only just started working with a certain technology segment... You hire me to write. If you want to hire me to figure out your client's product, determine the message, organize it and translate it into plain English... well, then, you should pay me more and give me more time to do it. But I'd really rather write. I'm decent at figuring stuff out, but I'm a very good writer. Oh, and also... it's really frustrating when you dump a whole ton of PDFs on me and effectively say "I don't want to read it, you figure it out." Give me the right information, not just MORE information. And when I call with a question and you say "well, you're closer to it than I am, what do you think?" The whole point is, I'm TOO close to it for one, and for two, you work with the client on a regular basis. I'm just a hired gun. Your opinion is probably more valid. That's why I asked for it. Rant over. I love what I do, and I love most of the people I get to work with. Advertising people are lots of fun and generally first-class human beings. It's just that sometimes I get a tad cranky about it all...