Copy Writing (Writing Copy), By Melinda Toynton

So, every time you pick up a newspaper, magazine, or browse the internet, you are bound to see advertisements, lots and lots of them. Ever wonder who writes all of these catchy ads? The answer is a copywriter. Writing copy for a client basically means creating the best way, through words, to attract a targeted audience. Many people work from home as freelance copywriters and others work for copy writing or search engine optimization (SEO) companies. This is a career that doesn’t necessarily require fancy college degrees, extensive experience, or a large start up budget. There are necessary skills which will ensure a person’s success in this industry and there are steps you can take to build a lucrative career in copywriting.

About Memoir and Personal Essay

Non-fiction writing is currently the most marketable form of writing: copywriting, technical writing, news writing, and the stuff of cookbooks—these are some common forms. In Memoir: A History Yagoda notes that nonfiction currently outsells fiction four to one. He adds that “total sales in the categories of Personal Memoirs, Childhood Memoirs, and Parental Memoirs increased more than 400 percent between 2004 and 2008”. The niche of creative non-fiction covers a range of genres most recognizable by a strong sense of voice: personal essay, memoir, feature writing. Much of the content on This American Life constitutes as creative nonfiction, and for the purpose of this paper I will focus on memoir and personal essay writing. The distinction from the two can be ambiguous at times, so I’ll divide this paper into a discussion about each.

You're Writing About What....From Where?—by Derek Pettie

Travel writing sounds like a phenomenal career for an English major, so why not start off this exploration in Mongolia.  Well I'm not there, but that is where I found Bill Donahue, a freelance writer who has written for magazines such as The Atlantic, Backpacker, and Runners World, newspapers like the Washington Post and The Oregonian, and news website Salon.com.  While waiting for his second email, I speculated what he was doing on the other side of the world: trekking in the Sayan Mountains, traveling across the country’s 1900 miles on horseback or covering the Horse procession documenting Ghengis Khan’s 850th anniversary?  Actually he had “scared” up a smaller story to write about, cycling from Ulanabatoor, Mongolia’s capital city, 35 miles to the world's largest statue of Khan, before traveling to Bejing for an article on American ultra-marathoner, Diane Van Deren. 

Jealous yet?

If the answer is yes, then it's time to delve further into what the job entails.  Travel writing is more than just reviews and is primarily about the writing rather than the travel.  An important distinction to make.  Whether a piece is written about a pilgrimage to Djibouti to discover what chewing Khat leaves is all about, or covering a destination or event near your home, what matters is the quality of the writing.  Frank Bures, a freelancer from Minnesota, has focused on building his career by improving as a writer, instead of trying to get published in high-profile publications.  This has had led to pieces in Outside, Bicycling and he is currently working on a story for Harpers.

Still interested?

Advertising by Zack Little

Advertising

If you have been watching any television in the last couple of years, you might have stumbled across a program by the name of Mad Men. Set in the 1960's at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency, it follows the story of Don Draper, a creative director. But what does Don Draper do while at work? If the show is any indicator, he's simply there to consume as much scotch and as many cigarette's as he can fit into a workday. Oh an occasionally he finds time to pitch a good advertisement to a big client in order to save the day. It all sounds like a cool job if you ask me. But is this the real world of advertising? Let's take a look at what advertising has to offer to the world and you.

The Ghost and the Subject

Lynn Vincent is a successful politically conservative writer. Her background led former U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin to choose Vincent to co-author her autobiography Going Rogue: An American Life.  The book turned out to be one of the publishing industry's biggest successes of the year, but was also panned by critics across the board. Stephen Davis was chosen in 1988 to pen the autobiography of pop star Michael Jackson entitled Moon Walk. Though Jackson was one of the biggest artists in the history of music, the book was only on the shelves for a limited time due to Jackson's refusal to have it released in paperback. Obviously the life of a ghostwriter can be wildly unpredictable. Vincent's book was a commercial success and a critical failure. Davis' book could have been the biggest selling autobiography of a musician ever written, but was marginalized due to the wishes of his subject. The similarity between the two writers is that they both got paid handsomely, whereas many of their peers, who were too proud to lower themselves to write for other people, never had a single review of their novel or made a living by writing it.

Ghostwriting has many advantages over other kinds of writing careers. Ghostwriters get to write about an array of subjects, many of which they normally wouldn't, with people that often lead interesting lives. These are people that are largely inaccessible, sometimes great minds who stand at the precipice of the fields they have achieved notoriety within.

Literary Agency by Jeff Fischer

One of the least written about careers toward which English majors might naturally gravitate is the literary agent. Though literary agency, or literary representation, is not a subject normally taught in school, literary agents are as much a part of the book business as are writers and publishers. What some English majors who are starting to think seriously about a career path may not know is that literary agents are indispensable in the ever churning mill of the book business.  Literary agents are the brokers between authors and publishers.  Literary agents find emerging writers and help those writers prime their work to a saleable product while at the same time finding saleable authors for commercial publishing companies who rely on agents for this service.

Music Journalism- By Devan Cook

To put it simply: music journalism, or music criticism, is reporting about music.  Critics of popular music will often write album reviews, song reviews, concert reviews and previews, band/artist profiles, music related news, etc. While music journalism is most frequently associated with magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin, music critiques can be found everywhere from local weeklies, television broadcasts (this once included MTV, back when the “M” actually stood for music), websites and blogs, and major newspapers like the New York Times.

Beer Career by Michel Entler

            I know what you are thinking “I love beer so much I wish there was a way to combine my skills as a writer with my love of beer.” Well never fear because there is a lot of options for writers in the world of beer. You have to think of brewing as a business and a big business at that in fact, INBEV (owner of Anheuser-Busch) in 2008 was an 11.6 billion dollar company.  Like any big business they need people who are creative and are able to produce something that can market their product.

Now that I have sold you on the beer industry here are a few options for you: First is marketing, English majors are great when it comes to marketing products. Companies desire someone who can be creative with word play, lettering design, and descriptions of the beer to put on the side of the box. The problem with people who have marketing degrees is that they can provide a brilliant look web site or box design but fail at providing the content needed to keep the interest of the consumer. One great example of that is the “Prost” underneath any Widmer cap. Those catchy phrases are more than likely written by someone who is good at writing.

Copywriting; Every Word Has Its Price by Brittany J. Barron

Recently, we had a guest speaker in class whose “Real job” is copywriting. To be perfectly honest, I have never really considered copywriting as a job. I just assumed that a marketing agency handled any and all advertising elements. How wrong I was. Our speaker introduced us to her career by explaining that she works side by side with corporations, as well as smaller mom and pop companies. She described that she does everything from writing in-house memos for large corporations, to writing those pesky text messages you provider sends you, ordering you to, “Upgrade now for unlimited text messages,” and so on and so forth. Although this part of the speech seemed incredibly unappealing and very much like, “selling out to the man,” it is just one element of her job. Wikipedia defines copywriting as, “The use of words to promote a person, business, opinion, or idea.” This demonstrates the wide range of ways one can utilize their skills in this type of industry. Just like anything else in life, this career is what you make it, and you can gear your business to your capability. Plus, there's money in it!!!!

News Papering-- by N Otis Richerson

Maybe you smoked too many cigarettes when you were in High School You sat around, inside dark rooms with your dork friends watching the sliced onion smoke curl up to the dim fluorescents, talking about how great it must have been back then—all high ideals. Maybe, you like the look of the Fedora; you like the look of the dark trench coats with the belt pulled tight against your sides, with the rain pouring down. Maybe, you’re all grand notions of changing the world through noble questions.

Whether it’s your misguided conceptions of temporary cool or your overwhelming need to know–you crave to write for the daily news. Just how do you go about doing that? In the time of free untrafast Internet news, is it even worth the trouble? What’s the gig? Is there a career in daily news? How do you get into it?

Screenwriting - by Craig Looney

There’s an old legend among filmmakers and film students alike: It’s the first day of class at one of the country’s most prestigious film schools.  Excitement is high.  200 students chatter amongst themselves, telling one another the types of movies they want to make, why Aronofsky is the next Kubrick, and debate as to when Spielberg lost his edge.  The professor walks in, the embodiment of their hopes and dreams and asks, “How many of you want to make a movie?”  Two hundred hands shoot into the air.  “Ok, everyone put your hands down, except you,” he says, pointing at a kid in the front.  “And that’s if you’re lucky.”
          

The world just came to an end for 199 students.


To say screenwriting is a difficult industry to break into, is like saying the sun is hot.  It doesn’t capture the shear enormity of it.  But to say it’s impossible would be incorrect as well, because a new legend is growing.

Book Editing, by Jennifer Anderson

“I suppose some editors are failed writers; but so are most writers.” - TS Eliot

What do doctors, lawyers and editors all have in common?  A well-known stereotype for each profession has leaked into the social consciousness. Doctors, sterile and comforting with a white lab coat; lawyers, stiff and exacting with a business suit; editors, red pen wielding tyrants, armed with cutting remarks. Perhaps unfortunately for us, not every doctor is patient and kind, nor is every lawyer prepared and articulate. With that being said, editors are far from the angry-faced grammarians their reputations suggest. They are largely unseen, and as writer and editor, Jodi Brandon calls them, “the unsung heroes” of the publishing industry. Acquisition, copy and structural editors are the men and women behind-the-scenes working to make sure that books are found and promoted; have continuity and correct grammar and spelling; and the pages, fonts and layout of the book are easy to read. 

Music Journalism- By Justin Hoyt

For musicians, creating a brand for oneself is the most important factor in becoming a recognized and revered artist; the same goes for music writers. However, the art in music writing is a reaction, a gut feeling everyone gets when they listen to a song is put into words and hopefully understood by the reader. In a clogged market for music writers though, being able to define the way one feels about a song or album isn’t enough; you need to be able to define it quickly in an age where new music spreads across the internet at a stellar pace. It’s kind of petty but seems crucial that music writers know about the next big thing before everyone else does. It lends them credibility and in many cases is what defines a music writer’s career, allowing them to ascend in what is an incredibly competitive field. Take for example Seattle Times music writer Andrew Matson and Seattle hip-hop group Shabazz Palaces. Shabazz Palaces (pictured above) was and still is a relatively unknown hip-hop group from Seattle’s Central District. The group has no MySpace page, and were cloaked in mystery for much of their early existence. Matson was one of the first to publicly write about them and has championed the group ever since, even bestowing them the honor of his “Best Album of 2009”. Recently the group was discovered, in part due to some of his Twitter updates, by Larry Fitzmaurice of the mighty online music site Pitchfork. Matson immediately went to work blogging about blogging. A portion of which is below:

Grant Writing: Making a Difference-By Sara Lindsey

A grant writer is an artist, a researcher, a public relations specialist, and a meticulous, detail oriented writer. You’ll be working with various clients to develop a grant proposal to present to an ideal funder, the more conviction you put into it the more likely you will be in receiving the grant. Getting to that point will involve consulting with your clients, determining their needs, and brainstorming project ideas and ways to make those proposals as appealing as possible. Grant Writing can be a very rewarding and fun career, but it certainly isn’t a cake walk; each situation will present a new challenge, whether you’re working with a large company, a university, or a small non-profit organization.

Working Your Skills: What does it take to be a fantastic Grant Writer?

            A grant writer performs a very important role for many charitable institutions and non-profit businesses (such as, animal shelters, community outreach programs and cause related assistantships.) Additionally, they may work with universities, colleges, and community alternative education programs. Due to the lagging economy, grant money has become far more difficult to obtain from private philanthropic foundations, cooperate foundations, and individual donators. On one hand, this makes the grants harder to get a hold of, however, the role of a highly skilled grant writer has become a far more valued profession in the job market.

Comics-obsessed Kids Grow Up to be Comics-obsessed Adults, and Others Acquiesce

Perhaps this is an inappropriate way to say it, but superheroes never really turned me on the way they do many kids. When many of my Marvel Comics-reading childhood friends became high school students, and their interest transferred over to seemingly more risqué and violent Japanese manga comics and Anime, I had only a vague wish that I could share in their preoccupation with these cartoons. My impression was that the storyline of any given comic consisted of one or two or all of a few basic elements which spelled out pure action, adventure, and fantasy: good and evil in a never ending brawl (BANG! THWACK! POW!), the perpetual high-speed car chase, uncommonly proportioned women’s bodies, or (in the case of manga) strange sexual fetishism. Though comics seemed very much like “stuff for dudes” to me (and I was always, of course, much too sophisticated for any of that) or like “kid’s stuff,” I assumed above all that comics were not made for those who enjoyed reading (or deep thinking, for that matter).

Yes, I know, it sounds like I was an uptight and pretentious youngster. Well, maybe I was. But after hesitantly dipping my toe into adulthood and discovering that it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it would be, I was able to loosen up to a more sensible and enjoyable openness. I began to notice that there were comics written on myriad topics. Not only this, but there was this new term that I had never heard before referring to comics that had a decidedly more literary ring: “Graphic Novel.” Some of the subjects that graphic novels are written about include autobiography, history, religion, science fiction, romance, and (yup) superhero stories.

Working Hard Pays Off: A Guide For The Would Be Short Story Anthology Editor by Colin Farstad

When I first started talking to Kevin Sampsell about his involvement in the anthology Portland Noir we were walking downtown the few blocks from Kenny and Zukes, over to Powell’s Books, Kevin’s home for the past eleven years. When I finally asked Kevin about how he became the editor for Portland Noir he said, “Well I kind of got talked into it.”
     Johnny Temple, Publisher of Akashic Books, approached Kevin because he has collected a body of work that features short stories online and in print, a previously edited anthology and a network of writers from his years at Powell’s. Even though there was someone else that wanted to edit Portland Noir, Johnny Temple wanted Kevin Sampsell.

Writing up a Fortune: the Easy Life of Freelancing - by Fleecy

Freelance writers have the luxury of working from home, free from the burdens of bosses, coworkers, commutes and office hours. Such freedom, however, leaves the writer responsible for his own inspiration and work regimen; there’s no boss to handle the overhead, and no colleagues with whom to relate. Consequently, the flexible schedules often entail hectic work loads, with completed articles returned for immediate revisions in the midst of looming deadlines for current assignments. And since the work loads are inconsistent, so is the pay. Therefore, a big paycheck must be spent with responsible budgeting foresight, for it might just be the only paycheck of an otherwise meager season in the marketplace. Furthermore, since the assignments come in fits and starts, freelancers have to exercise the discipline of turning down some wonderful projects when the stack gets high, for such assignments might be impossible amidst an already tightly filled docket; a tough call for writers who’ve lived through their share of work droughts. As women’s magazine freelancer Margrit Ragland states in her mediabistro guide Get a Freelance Life, “[d]on’t take on too much just because you can, and don’t be too worried when editors aren’t biting – there’s always something new for you to try pitching” (Ragland 11).

Web Content—Writing Is Not Designing

Freelance designer Payton Biddington sits across from me, behind the desk in the corner of his living room. His shoes are off and he’s sitting in an Aeron ergonomically designed chair. As he speaks, he’s working on HelpMeKennyP.com, a remote support site for computer services. I watch his screen for a moment as he shifts between ten or so different tabs, filled with html coding, images, and web pages. I’m here to ask him about design.

Writing the Adventures

Somewhere people are actually being paid to write about testing free gear in the Alps, hiking in Alaska with their kids, and being dropped by helicopter into the woods and finding a way out. And at least one man has been paid to climb and write about Mt. Everest. Outdoor magazine journalists inspire people to get outside, whether it’s on hiking trails, bikes, skis, rivers or mountains.

As a subscriber of such myself, these writers show parts of the Earth, most of which I’ll probably never go, but remain grateful for the opportunity to know that such wild and rugged places are out there. Food for fantasy. But, for the trips I do go on, the various magazines have their own mission that tries to show where the best and freshest places are, what gear is solid, as well as supplying essential safety and other clever tips. After that, it’s up to the reader to get out and make his or her own adventure happen.

Writing for Public Health: A Meeting of Manipulation and the Greater Good By Rosie Mckinlay-Mench

Public Health is a broad field. It covers everything from salicylic acid safety in day spas to the desertification of once-flourishing rain forests. Something that may seem trivial, like the prevalence of nail-biting on city transit, is probably being examined in a social science PhD program somewhere for its effect on the spread of infectious disease or correlation with anxiety in inner-city residents as we speak. Surely, in this vast expanse of a field, there’s room for a writer? Perhaps even a bit of creativity? It appears the answer to both is yes.