Summary: Most marketing content today focuses on stories, but not every bit of text is, or should be, a narrative. Sometimes, clients or users hand over something asking for a “story rewrite” when the content in front of us is clearly operational, mechanical, or system-generated. This post tackles that disconnection and helps marketing professionals, agency writers, and service providers know how and when to call it what it really is—an error message, not a story.
When There’s No Story to Tell
Let’s set the scene. Someone submits a short output from an application or API environment asking—often insisting—on a narrative rewrite. But the content is something like: “Unfortunately, the text you provided does not contain a story that can be extracted and rewritten. The text appears to be an error message from an API or application, indicating an insufficient account balance to run a particular query. This message does not contain a narrative or story that can be rewritten. Instead, it provides technical information about an error condition.”
That’s not a story. That’s a status update. It’s not a failure of imagination. It’s just misplaced expectations. This is important because professionals in the communication chain—writers, marketers, support teams—need language to clarify boundaries, and part of that is knowing when someone’s request is simply incompatible with the input.
Content or Fiction: Know the Difference
Not everything that gets written is a story. A lot of it is logistics. Marketing folks know: technical reports, internal dev logs, system outputs—they serve a function, not an audience. Asking a story to emerge from purely functional text is like asking a radiator to sing opera. It’s not a matter of style. It’s a misfit in context. So, when we look at something like a balance error on an API response, the goal isn’t to wrap it in metaphors. The goal is utility—how do we fix this, what should the user expect next, and who can help them?
Why Clients Still Ask for the Impossible
Now, let’s not throw the client under the bus. When someone asks for a rewrite, they’re usually motivated by one of three things: they either don’t understand what they’re looking at, they’re under pressure to make it client-facing, or they believe more polish will somehow create value. It’s our job to know which it is.
Ask yourself: are they trying to impress a customer with branded messaging? Are they trying to bury embarrassment about a failed API call? Or do they just not see the technology layer clearly? Use calibrated questions. Try: “What’s the result you’re hoping to get from this rewrite?” Or mirror their concern: “You’re looking to make this error message into a customer-facing explanation?” Then go silent. Let them unpack what they really need.
The Risk of Dressing Up the Wrong Message
You can’t polish a 500 Internal Server Error into thought leadership content. And you shouldn’t try. Why? Because when we misrepresent what something fundamentally is, we build confusion—internally and externally. That’s dangerous for your brand and toxic for your process. If something is broken, or restricted, or unsupported, your copy should say so—plainly, honestly, and with professionalism.
Clients don’t need fantasy. They need direction. What happened, why it matters, what’s next, and how to avoid it again. That’s the hierarchy of clarity. And clarity wins trust.
What You Can Do Instead
Instead of twisting the original API error into a fictional narrative, rewrite it using user-centered language. This is not storytelling. This is translation through the lens of service and accountability. For example:
- Original: “Insufficient account balance to call the service.”
- User-Centered Rewrite: “You’ve run out of credits. Please top up your account before making another request.”
The goal isn’t drama. It’s direction. You’re providing clarity, making users feel respected, and pointing them toward resolution. This builds reciprocity—when they’re calm and clear, they trust you more. They’re more likely to return, less likely to churn, and more interested in listening when you eventually pitch the paid plan.
When in Doubt, Label It Honestly
Here’s a phrase that should be in every copywriter and consultant’s toolkit: “This looks like a system response, not narrative content.” Then ask: “Are you looking to turn this into a customer explanation or is this for internal documentation?” That question gives everyone a way out. It communicates that the original request mistakenly assumed the content had story-value. And it gives them a new door to walk through—toward clarity and purpose.
A Word on Empathy and Professional Boundaries
It’s tempting to treat every client ask as an opportunity to go above and beyond. But knowing when to say “That’s not a story” is also part of the job. You’re not a fiction writer. You’re a business communicator. And in business, one good “No” can build more trust than ten dishonest yeses.
Empathize with their frustration, but hold the line. You could say: “It sounds like you’re trying to make this usable for a customer. That makes sense. We can absolutely help, but it’s not going to be a story—it’s going to be service instructions or escalation language.” That both justifies their intent and reframes the solution.
Acknowledging misunderstanding doesn’t shame the client—it lifts the weight from both sides. You’re confirming their suspicion: maybe this wasn’t the kind of content that could be rewritten. Then you validate the struggle: they’re under pressure to repurpose content into higher-visibility assets. You’re showing you’re in their corner—but you’re anchoring reality, too.
The Bottom Line
Not every message is a story, and not every error is an insight. Sometimes, text says exactly what it needs to—awkwardly, mechanically, but truthfully. And when that happens, the writer’s job isn’t to romanticize. It’s to reframe, route, or reject clearly.
You win trust when you explain limits plainly. You show value when you help clients focus on their real goals, not shape-shift raw data into something it’s not. And most of all, you confirm leadership when you name what something is… and point to what it can become, when used the right way.
#ServiceMessaging #B2BCopywriting #APICommunication #ProfessionalMarketing #ClientBoundaries #MarketingClarity #MeaningfulContent #IEEOMarketing
Featured Image courtesy of Unsplash and Ilya Semenov (6uFROinaC3g)
