How do professional songwriters translate their written vocals to the clients?

[steffeeH]

This is what I've done so far:
- I've written lyrics that I'm happy with (text + notes for each word + characteristics for the lines).
- I've layed out the melody as a fake piano ontop of the instrumental track.
- I've analyzed what's the most practically useful method of recording, to minimize the amount of vocal tracks to be working with.

However, I'm still very unsure how to make the singer understand my vision of the vocals, or translate my idea to her.
Of course the singer will have her own personal touch to the vocals, but I want to make clear what my vision is so she understands how I more or less hear the characteristics of the vocals in my head.

And one thing I started to think of recently, is that professional songwriters who write songs for artists must be experts on this task.
So how do they do it?

Note that the singer lives far away from me, I can probably only have contact with her through Skype (perhaps it's possible to make a trip to her, if we plan it right, but unlikely).

Thanks.

[Tricky-Loops]

Don't professional singers usually go into a studio for recording and talk with the producer to get the vocals right? That's how I know it...

If you cannot meet, you could talk via Skype how the vocals should be sung.

[Zombie Queen]

Ain't singer entitled to her own vision? Anyway, why don't you just sing it to her on skype?

[steffeeH]

Of course they are, I just want them to understand my vision. Though it's not any "real" collaboration, it's more like they're in my project as a featured artist.

I'm a horrible singer (they probably wouldn't notice any change in the characteristics etc), but I could give it a go. But if so, I would prefer a plan B as well.
But you're right with singing it to her myself, I've been thinking about it as well, though it's not something I feel I could rely on to translate my idea with the vocals.