RSS Add-Me
Never Ass-u-me
I make my living as an advertising copywriter.
I’m used to the sneers from those with higher-toned careers. But, hey, the stench of commercialism is all over me, baby, and I’m not one whit ashamed.
Not that I feel the need to defend myself (and I’m also perfectly comfortable these days with the world knowing about my romance reading habits), but despite the fact that I unashamedly use my skills to sell stuff, I've never been asked to write copy for something I found morally repugnant nor have I ever been asked to lie. In fact, lawyers ride my butt all the time to make certain what I write isn’t misleading. And, to be totally honest, it’s possible to make a good living putting words together creatively and have more fun than I think a lot of people have in their jobs while you're doing it.
I’m a Mad Woman. So, sue me.
I do a lot of writing for the Web these days, both in my day job and in my AAR life. I think my background in advertising is a huge help for one big reason: A good ad copywriter never, ever assumes that anyone will actually read what you write. It’s your job to get the reader interested and, just as important, to keep the reader interested after you’ve enticed them to begin your copy.
So, I’ve learned that visual appearance is important. If a reader is confronted with long, dense paragraphs, there’s a very good chance a huge percentage of your potential audience will simply give up without reading a single word.
I’ve learned that simplicity and clarity are critical. If a reader has to read a sentence more than once in order to comprehend the meaning, the sentence should be rewritten – simple as that.
I’ve learned never to use a $1.00 word when a dime word will do the job just as well. (One of my favorite signs is found in most McDonald’s: “30 minute time limit while consuming food.” Hey, McDonald’s, how about eating, hmmm?)
I’ve learned to read what I’ve written out loud. Varying sentence length and structure is a huge help in making writing sound conversational – therefore, easy and interesting to read.
And, as far as I'm concerned, that's what it's all about. IMHO, of course.
Sandy: I love your line, "I'm a Mad Woman." I've got to try and catch that
show! You make some excellent points. I've wallowed in academic writing and
reading for most of my life, and I'm afraid my writing all too often shows
it. I absolutely need to remember more often to never use a $1.00 word when
a dime word will do. I do try to read what I've written out loud...and it
does help tremendously. One thing I need to remember, as well, is to not
write five line sentences. The reminder to vary sentence length and
structure is wonderful.
I think you do need to catch Mad Men, LinnieGayl. It's really a fabulous
show.
I don't watch Mad Men but I noticed in the picture above, that was the girl
who was the president's daughter in The West Wing. ;)
These actors/actresses do get around! LOL
This reminds me a bit of when I was studying for the GMAT. One of the tips
in the study materials for both the writing and verbal sections was brevity
and clarity. In fact, many of the multiple choice questions would present
you with five different versions of the same phrase, and nine times out of
ten, the correct answer was the most straightforward, direct and simply
written. Can't say that this is easy for me to do as I like to hear myself
talk (or write as the case may be), but it's good to try. :)
Kate, it is, indeed, the President's daughter. And sula, I think you're
well known for the pithy nature of your posts everywhere. Pithy is good!
Well, Sandy, just you wait until Blood Ties gets started again and we'll
see how lengthy my posts become, eh? lol. Pithy is a good word though.
I found out that Mad Men is a really big hit for A&E it will most
definitely be coming back for another season.