Published on July 26, 2006
Regarding the question about copywriting courses posted last week:
Hi, Ang.
I’m a senior copywriter at a very large international nonprofit organization. I’ve won a lot of awards; so suffice it to say that I know the business.
With that in mind, I would caution your readers to be VERY leery of signing up for any of those courses unless you find one that charges $200 to $300 instead of the usual exorbitant fees (and, even better, one that’s offered by a local college).
For one thing, getting freelance copywriting projects (not to mention earning a living as a freelance copywriter) is a lot harder than it sounds. No matter how good you are, you have to market yourself incessantly until you’ve acquired steady clients (and even then, you have to keep doing it, as you’ll lose clients from time to time).
So, if you shell out $1,500 – $2,000, you’d better not do it on a maxed-out credit card or expect to recoup that money in a few months. Unless you’re a truly gifted copywriter AND an outstanding marketer, it just won’t happen.
Carol
—
Angela,
Thanks for affirming my gut reaction–that ‘get-rich-quick’ doesn’t come cheap or easy no matter how much I’d like it to.
J.
Published on July 26, 2006
Journalists take serious risks when they report from a war zone. I’ve borne rather nominal scars in my freelance journalistic efforts within Israel, and I’ve learned quite a bit from them. I’m taking time out from my daily life to jot down some thoughts, and to distract myself from the noise of military aircraft overhead.
Published on July 26, 2006
A magazine owes numerous writers thousands of dollars (yep, me included).
I want to warn other freelancers to avoid this firm, but I was told that if I complained, I could be sued for “tortuous influences” (i.e., driving away their business). But if i give you info (or, well, anyone), I can’t stay anonymous. Do i really have to bite my tongue? Is there anyway I can warn writers under an assumed name, or is that impossible? It seems so unfair to the people they are scamming.
Published on July 26, 2006
If you have seen the movie, Last Holiday, with Queen Latifah, then you know how the main character, Georgia Byrd, makes a book of where she wants to be someday in her life. In her scrapbook titled Possibilities, Georgia includes pictures of a future cooking career and of a future husband. She likes a fellow store worker, so his picture goes into the cutout of a groom on the wedding page with her as the bride. She does several things in order for her dreams to come true. Trying to crack the current fiction market is a realistic dream for many of us and can be accomplished if we make our own book of possibilities.
Published on July 19, 2006
Richard’s dad and step-mom are here for a 9-day stay. We’ll be entertaining them during the day on most days and we’ll be working nights to stay caught up. We have lots of fun, touristy activities planned.
Published on July 19, 2006
Two things happened last week that disturbed me. First, an author I know wanted to hire a certain cover designer, but the designer refused to design his cover unless he published his book through the designer’s “publishing company.” Second, another author I know wanted to terminate her contract with iUniverse, but learned she’d need to pay them $1500 to obtain copies of her book text and cover files…files that she paid them to create!
Published on July 19, 2006
Letters will return next week.
Published on July 19, 2006
Congratulations. You’re a rock star. Your new novel is on the market and people are clamoring for your attention. Go nuts. Get some dark shades, a new do, and hire some people to pose as groupies.
First time authors in particular get an unparalleled thrill out of getting their books into the stores. There are few rewards like seeing your work on display and having average Joes ask for your signature.
Be warned, though. While some bookstores will be glad to order copies of your book on their own, there are those who will whimper and whine and insist they can only take books on consignment…
Published on July 19, 2006
I recently saw an ad for a class on copy writing and I need some reassurance that the claims are accurate. I get things like this in the mail all the time, usually claiming that they can lead me down the golden road of fabulous riches. That in itself is enough to raise my eyebrows suspiciously. Nothing comes that easy.
Published on July 19, 2006
A few years ago when I finally made the leap into freelance writing, I couldn’t imagine my need for a website. For one thing, in the early stages I didn’t actually have any samples or much content to put on a website. For another, I wasn’t sure I could afford the investment. But likely one of my greatest fears was that I knew, if I had a website, people might actually visit it!
