Copywriting
Since I have escaped the profession of copywriter that I spent three years surviving, I thought that I'd reflect back on this job and on the field of advertising as a whole. So please enjoy my analysis of corporate copywriting through this series of James Spader-specific gifs and/or images.
Be a copywriter they said, it'll be fun they said.
Once upon a time, I proofed a letter and gave it to my boss. He made changes…GIVING IT BACK TO ME WITH MISTAKES THAT HE ADDED…and then proceeded to give me crap about my ability to be an effective copywriter.
Prepare to be poor unless you work for some elite, big city agency, in which case, prepare to sign over your entire life for that paycheck. No seriously…you will be in your office at midnight…and at five am the next day. Want a husband? Want kids? Forget it.
Your clients will tell your agency that they want you to "be creative," and then they will proceed to give you their (already written and approved, very vanilla) copy.
But they still want you to spend hours coming up with "alternative concepts" that they have no intention of taking seriously or approving.
Perhaps you have other skills? Maybe you like to dabble in graphic design or web design? Well, forget it. After all, those were not your major. You are a copywriter. They will tell you to stay in your box. Or even better, they will throw more on your plate, sans raise.
At some point, you will realize that advertising is a soulless profession. But hey…at least you've got…mad editing skills, endless patience, a roof over your head and this gif:
It's really quite exhausting spending eight solid hours writing copy, checking for spelling errors, reading and re-reading the same thing for the fiftieth time before it gets sent out. Many an afternoon I contemplated going out to my car for lunch and just sleeping.
The best times are when they email you and you have to proof copy or write something while you're on vacation or at home asleep. Apparently, no one else possesses a knowledge of grammar.
You either have a crap-ton of work to do, or none at all.
You will begin to see grammatical and design errors everywhere. Sometimes you'll even be the hero that catches them.
I realize that all of this may paint the copywriting profession in a negative light, perhaps even dissuading you from pursuing this career path, and if so - you should be grateful - they call it "dodging a bullet." Just kidding, I'm sure there are good copywriting jobs out there, there have to be…right?
If you don't like your job, maybe you should just take your youth and move on with your life. Lest you find yourself moving on without it.
Be a copywriter they said, it'll be fun they said.
Once upon a time, I proofed a letter and gave it to my boss. He made changes…GIVING IT BACK TO ME WITH MISTAKES THAT HE ADDED…and then proceeded to give me crap about my ability to be an effective copywriter.
Your clients will tell your agency that they want you to "be creative," and then they will proceed to give you their (already written and approved, very vanilla) copy.
But they still want you to spend hours coming up with "alternative concepts" that they have no intention of taking seriously or approving.
Perhaps you have other skills? Maybe you like to dabble in graphic design or web design? Well, forget it. After all, those were not your major. You are a copywriter. They will tell you to stay in your box. Or even better, they will throw more on your plate, sans raise.
At some point, you will realize that advertising is a soulless profession. But hey…at least you've got…mad editing skills, endless patience, a roof over your head and this gif:
It's really quite exhausting spending eight solid hours writing copy, checking for spelling errors, reading and re-reading the same thing for the fiftieth time before it gets sent out. Many an afternoon I contemplated going out to my car for lunch and just sleeping.
The best times are when they email you and you have to proof copy or write something while you're on vacation or at home asleep. Apparently, no one else possesses a knowledge of grammar.
You either have a crap-ton of work to do, or none at all.
You will begin to see grammatical and design errors everywhere. Sometimes you'll even be the hero that catches them.
I realize that all of this may paint the copywriting profession in a negative light, perhaps even dissuading you from pursuing this career path, and if so - you should be grateful - they call it "dodging a bullet." Just kidding, I'm sure there are good copywriting jobs out there, there have to be…right?
If you don't like your job, maybe you should just take your youth and move on with your life. Lest you find yourself moving on without it.
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