Who I
work with:
With companies that have noticed their website sounds like everyone else's, and need help discovering what they're actually trying to say.
With founders willing to be specific, to have opinions, and to say what they've noticed that others haven't.
Beyond client work, I write essays and criticism.
Cultural observation, literary critique, and long-form journalism about voice, design, and what we've stopped seeing. If you're commissioning writers for publications, I'm interested in assignments that require sustained attention and distinctive thinking.
Humanistic storyteller · Cultural observer for business
Ann Thomas
FOUNDER
Writer, cultural critic, observer. Ann helps B2B companies escape template thinking through witness attention — a contemplative methodology developed over three decades of daily journaling. She writes about voice, design, and what we've stopped seeing because we see it constantly.
I work with companies who've noticed their website sounds like everyone else's, and need help discovering what they're actually trying to say.
With founders willing to be specific, to have opinions, and to say what they've noticed that others haven't.
Beyond client work, I write essays and criticism.
Cultural observation, literary critique, and long-form journalism about voice, design, and what we've stopped seeing. If you're commissioning writers for publications, I'm interested in assignments that require sustained attention and distinctive thinking.
I write whatever needs writing. Blog posts, essays, thought leadership articles, website copy, sales pages.
Though I should say: I don't write "content" in the feed-the-algorithm sense. I write pieces that have actual observations in them. If you need weekly blog posts optimised for SEO keywords, I'm probably not your person. If you need monthly essays that demonstrate how you think, yes.Usually: homepage, about page, services/product pages, any other key pages that need voice work.
Sometimes also: navigation language, button copy, microcopy, meta descriptions (yes, for SEO, but humanised)
Not included: terms of service, privacy policy, standard legal stuff.
We discuss scope before starting so you know exactly what you're getting.I write clearly and specifically, which tends to work well for SEO (Google likes content that actually says something).
I can weave in keywords naturally and write meta descriptions that make sense. But I'm not an SEO specialist. I don't do keyword research or technical SEO strategy.
What I won't do: write awkwardly to jam in keywords, or compromise clarity for search ranking. SEO-friendly, yes. SEO-first, no.
Yes. Often they happen together because they're the same problem: how to structure thinking clearly.
Sometimes I do both. Sometimes just one. Depends on whether my skills match your needs.
If they understand design and copy as interconnected, yes.
We revise until you are happy, or until we understand why you're not and whether that's fixable.
Sometimes unhappiness means I've gotten something wrong — misunderstood your thinking, missed what matters. We fix that.
Sometimes it means the work is making you uncomfortable because it sounds different from what you're used to.
But if after multiple rounds you're still unhappy and we can't figure out why, you pay for work completed, and we part ways.I'm not sure I can do anything a good marketing team couldn't do if they had time and permission.
What I offer is: outside perspective, undivided attention to voice work, no internal politics to navigate, experience helping companies find distinctive language.
Your marketing team knows your business better than I ever will. But they're also inside it — harder to see the template when you're in it. And they're busy with a hundred other things.
I'm useful when you need someone whose only job is paying attention to how you sound and whether it's actually you.
Yes. I take a limited number of monthly retainer clients. Usually 3-4 at a time.
Retainers work for: ongoing thought leadership, regular essays, monthly website updates, continuous voice work as your business evolves.
Depends what you need.
Typical retainer: 2-4 pieces per month (essays, articles, website updates, whatever) plus consultation as needed.
We agree on scope and deliverables monthly. Some months you need more writing, some months more thinking/consulting. It flexes.
Yes, within reason.
Some months you'll need more, some less. We adjust. The retainer gives you guaranteed access to my time without having to re-negotiate every project.
If you need to pause for a month, that's fine — just let me know in advance. If you consistently need much more or less than we agreed, we renegotiate the retainer.
Single page (About, homepage): 1-2 weeks
Full website copy: 6-8 weeks
Essay/article: 1-2 weeks
Design project: 8-12 weeks depending on complexity
These are estimates based on typical projects. Actual timeline depends on how clear your thinking is and how much back-and-forth we need.
For copywriting:
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Current website/copy (if it exists)
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Conversation via email/phone call/meet about what you're trying to say
For design:
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Current site (if redesigning)
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Sense of what's not working
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Examples of design you respond to
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Hourly makes sense for: quick consultations, critique work, ad-hoc advice, retainers.
Project-based makes sense for: websites, design, anything with defined scope.
50% deposit to start (or first month's retainer for ongoing work)
Remaining 50% due on completion and delivery
For large projects we can structure differently (thirds, monthly, whatever makes sense)
Deposit is non-refundable but if project doesn't work out, you get whatever work was completed.
· I notice things. I write about them. Sometimes for publications, sometimes for businesses. ·
The Architecture of Thought
There is a structure to how we think, though we rarely see it. It reveals itself in how we organize information. What we consider primary, what secondary. Which ideas we place in proximity to each other and which we keep separate. The hierarchy we create — often without noticing we've created one — that determines what gets attention and what gets overlooked.
This is true in writing. It's true in design. It's true in how we navigate both physical and digital space.
As intrusive as it might sound, when working with you, I'm examining the architecture of your thinking. Where does your language go vague? That's usually where the thinking
hasn't clarified yet. Where do they reach for jargon? Often where they're uncertain and the template feels safer than specificity. What do they emphasise? That reveals what they actually value, regardless of what they claim to value.
Most business writing and design hides the architecture. Smooths it over with professional polish and accepted conventions until you can't see how anyone thinks at all.
I'm trying to do the opposite. Make it visible. Make it yours. Build structures that reveal thinking rather than conceal it. If you are too, I might be able to help.
If your writing sounds generic despite your thinking being specific.
