a copywriters rant: so true. @thepaulwilliams #fb

Hi I’m Jason. (Hi Jason). I’ve been a copywriter for over fours years now. 

You know, at first it was fun. I got to “make stuff up” for a living. I kept chasing the new brief. It was about the idea. The work, man. More feedback? Just more chance to push the work. Late nights? It’s all good: we’re in this together. Bring it on.

And on it came. But slowly too came the darkness. A shadow that grew and that no light, no happy hour could defeat.

The woefully incomplete briefs. The constantly compromised timelines. The supererogatory sojourns to thesaurus.com and absolute addiction to alliteration. That helpless feeling of having done this before and being unable to prevent the inevitable shitshow. 

And the revisions. Oh lord, the revisions. 

Feedback can come at anytime. International clients means the feedback machine could churn and churn. The sun never sets on feedback, but the deadlines remained. 

Does it get better? Kind of. Do you get better at it? You do or you go slightly insane. But you can always take your mania out on hapless account people. 

My story is not unique, and neither is my advice. Find something to hold on to. One shining, beautiful piece of work that is good and true. Also you should probably save your money so when you’re burnt out, you can write that book or try to save the world or something.

And when the hour is darkest, remember: no one reads the copy anyway.