Do You Want to Be a Copywriter? ME TOO!

I Also Wanted to Win Digital Copywriter's Reality Blog Challenge . . .

But I didn't. I didn't even make it into the final four.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

And yes, I DO plan to die mad about it. 

In the meantime, however, I'm going to learn how to be a copywriter, and instead of blogging about it on a well-known and respected website, I'm going to blog about it here.

But First, I Want to Make Some Things Clear

• My primary means of training/education is going to be "The AWAI Method for Becoming a Skilled, In-Demand Copywriter," AKA "The AWAI Method." This is a foundational course in copywriting meant to take you from "WTF is copywriting?" to "I am now a professional copywriter who actually knows what I am doing and is actually paid by people to do it."
• While I will be sharing my opinions on the AWAI Method (and other trainings I engage in either through AWAI or other means), I will NOT be sharing course materials of any kind . . . aside from the occasional quote to make or prove a point. So if you're hoping for a free copywriting course, you're on the wrong site.
• I have (rather recently diagnosed) ADHD, a host of other (physical and mental) health issues, a full-time day job, and a neurodivergent 11-year-old son. I will prioritize the health and well-being of me and mine over anything and everything--including this blog.
• I curse. Quite a bit. I also think I'm a fucking delight, and I laugh pretty hard at my own jokes and pop culture references. 
• I am a proud, bleeding-heart progressive and SJW. I'm also a Texan, so "y'all" is part of my vernacular.
• I was an atheist for about 10 years and have been exploring spirituality since last fall. So, you know, WARNING: THERE WILL BE WOO (WOO) REFERENCES. I tend to just refer to things as "woo" singular, but apparently "woo woo" is more common.
• The last four bullet points are meant to aid you in deciding whether you want to (or can tolerably) read this blog. While they will inevitably show up in my writing, they will NEVER be open for argument, debate, or derision. My house, my rules.
• While I may not be a trained copywriter (yet), I AM a writer. I'm not going into this blind and terrified of semicolons. Once I learned how to use them properly, semicolons became my favorite piece of punctuation. I'd have a tattoo of one if that sort of tattoo didn't represent something very specific and significant to other folks.
• I'm chronically honest (which means I often include lots of caveats) and cannot stand misrepresentation.  

So About that Copywriting Stuff . . .

I've already started the AWAI Method, but I haven't gotten very far yet. With my life, brain, and schedule, I already knew it was going to take a while to get through it. But two of the things they recommend a copywriter do are to read and write every day. Yes. Every. Day. Granted, they'd probably prefer I write copy every day, but I think whatever keeps the ol' writing muscles in action will work. As for the reading part, I HAVE A LIST.

Photo by lil artsy

It's a list I've curated from other people's curated lists. I've bought most of the books--primarily in Kindle format, but some of them aren't available in digital format. And some of them (even used) are more than I'm willing to spend at the moment. Still . . . would you like to see my list of copywriting books? It's a very nice list. I'll even tell you which ones have required some internet shopping sleuthery and which ones make my wallet start crying.

But I think I'll show it to you next time. It's late, I'm tired, and both my shrink and my therapist are always after me to have better "sleep hygiene." Nighty-night!