Nine times out of ten, when I tell a non-advertising person what I do, the reaction is, “A copywriter, huh? Gee, that sounds like fun. I’ll bet I could do that.” Usually I just laugh and say, “well, it’s a lot harder than you’d think.” But every so often, I get someone who’s more determined. Someone who really wants to know what it’s all about. Here’s what I wish I could tell them:
So you want to be a copywriter. That’s great. Really, it is. As a profession, there’s a lot to recommend it. I mean, really. You get paid to make things up. How bad can it be, right?
But here’s the thing. Unlike a novelist, playwright or, errr, blogger, you’re getting paid to make things up. Not just for your own satisfaction, but for the purposes of selling things. Your job is to move products, raise awareness and, ultimately, make people money. You won’t see the cash – your salary will remain roughly the same no matter how brilliant the idea (until, that is, the next job comes along), but other people are depending on you to make their bank accounts grow.
Which means the things you make up? The perfect sentences you pull, screaming, out of your bleeding brain and on to the page? Will be judged by others. Lots of others. And those people are not always nice.
Sure, sometimes you’ll be petted and praised. Told you’re brilliant, that your words are art and your skills are legendary. And that will feel nice. Really, really nice.
But there will be other times. Lots and lots of other times. Times when your prose is tossed aside. Dismissed. Thought not to be worth the paper they’re written on. And worse, there will be occasions when your ideas are openly scorned. When criticism is heaped upon them – on you – until you’re six feet deep in the sucking mud of shame and failure.
That doesn’t feel so good.
It’s all part of the game. Victory and defeat. Soaring highs and soul-shattering lows. Days spent giggling through the effervescent bubbles of champagne and nights spent viewing the world through the bottom of a bottle of bourbon.
So, before you announce to the world that you’re going to be a copywriter, have a talk with yourself. Decide whether you can handle having your babies plucked from you, prodded and poked and found wanting. Because they will be – and it will hurt.
Over time, it will hurt less. Your skin will grow thicker. You will grow more jaded. But your ideas will always be precious to you, and your belly will always have soft spots – providing the perfect place for a sharp word to impale you.
And if you think you can? If you’re willing to embrace the pain in order to let your words fly? Then I’d like to be the first to welcome to the writerhood. You’re in for a crazy ride – and a career that never gets old.
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