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just get in the f*$#*& pool
I remember when I first made the decision to leave my day job and go freelance. For years, I’d been working as a corporate copywriter. I made a decent salary. Had health insurance. Loved my team. Commuted 2+ hours a day. Worked 10-12 hour days, often taking work home and continuing to work on the…
Read Moresome things don't belong in your bedroom
So here it is… two weeks since I last wrote. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be much of a problem, right? Write when you can, the world keeps spinnin’… Except I promised to write weekly. And then a biiiiiiiiig project with lots of insane deadlines came up and I pushed everything to the wayside. …
Read Moredancing with demons
I’m about to get really real here. I had a bit of a moment last week, involving this very blog. I send these posts out to my email list, and occasionally people unsubscribe. This is Basic Email 101 – some people are going to stay and some are going to go. But my cardinal sin…
Read Morethe root of crushing disappointment
You’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced it. We’ve all gone through it… That moment where something we wanted, wished for, hoped for with every ounce of soul we possess fails to happen. Maybe it’s being passed over for a job you really wanted. Maybe it’s hearing your manuscript was rejected. Maybe it’s being turned down for…
Read MoreThe "safest" bet
A little more than 12 hours ago, I heard something that I’d known was coming for a long time: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loc…re-Stores-Shut-Down-Nationwide-491416532.html That’s the company I used to work for, as an in-house copywriter. And if you’re not familiar with my experiences there… I’ll sum it up as: I learned an INCREDIBLE amount about creative production, running nationwide…
Read MoreWhen you're what's in your way…
So today I want to talk about one of the biggest mistakes I see freelancers making (I’m including aspiring freelancers who aren’t quite there yet)… Ladies and gents, you are making this waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy more complicated than it is. Good business is simple… it’s just that simple doesn’t necessarily equal easy. Easy is skipping steps. It’s…
Read MoreI got laid off from a job I didn't even f*#&ing have.
So this one time, I got laid off. And it extra special sucked ass, because it was a job that I didn’t even friggin’ have. Let me back it up and give it a little context here: Waaaaaaaay back in the stone age, before I was a freelancer… I was a corporate copywriter. Cubicle hell…
Read Morewhy good ideas sometimes have to die
In my early days, I had this tendency to come up with an idea I thought was BRILLIANT. And one day I had to create a full-page magazine ad. After a fit of inspiration (and some kickass input from my design partner), I brought the ad concept to the Creative Review meeting. This was where…
Read MoreI'm pretty sure product descriptions are the most boring thing ever, aside from technical manuals.
Maybe it’s just me, but seriously… being bored sucks. And if I’m shopping, why would I want to be bored? That happens every single day, though… Hundreds of thousands of people shopping for something, who have to wade through garbled or technical product descriptions and decipher whether this thing actually does what they need it…
Read MoreThe tale of the neverending Stevie Wonder song
Once upon a time… (let’s not talk about HOW far back) …I was going through a rough patch. And a dear friend of mine dragged me out for two things she knew would cheer me up: booze and live music. Little did I know she had ulterior motives… The live music was at a dueling…
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