This is the intro to an eBook I am writing about the joys and challenges of freelance copywriting. I love writing freelance. Have made a good living at it. And want to help others do the same.
“Can I thrive, even survive, as a freelance copywriter?,” you ask. Yes, you can.
You can make a difference with your writing powers.
You can move minds, heal hearts, invoke smiles, and sometimes unleash an unexpected laugh.
And you can make a real living at it. Not buy-a-small-country living, but buy a cool house living, and gosh darn it, aren’t all our homes our small countries?
Best of all, day and night, you can concentrate on the work, not the illusions and kabuki theatre of work, like, say, status meetings.
You know. “Huddles.”
You can stay home. And jam in your jammies.
It’s a little thing I like to call…
Copywriting freelance.
And I’m here to walk you through it.
Hello.
I’m Walt Jaschek, AKA Walt Now.
And I’ve had a long career as a freelance copywriter, profiting and prospering without pants.
But let’s talk about you.
Perhaps you are sitting in ad agency, working already as a copywriter. Sure, you love exposed brick as much as anybody. And that glow-in-the-dark pool table is a fun distraction. But you’d actually like to write.
You know Steve in traffic? You know how he shows up at 4 p.m. and asks for the status of your copy? And then asks your to list your favorite Zombie movies in alpha order? Steve is the obstacle to Deep Work.
Steves are always the obstacles of Deep Work.
Perhaps you are already a freelance copywriter by choice.
Or perhaps you are already a freelance copywriter by circumstance.
Congratulations to the former for seeing the light and making that jump. Leap and the net will appear, I say. Or somebody said, and I agree.
And if you’re a “circumstance” freelancer, relax. You’ve got this. I promise that, with the right mindset, you will get more done at home then you could ever accomplished in a cube.
And with that higher productivity comes the ability to (1) charge more for your hours, and (2) bill for more of them.
But we’ll get to that.
Perhaps you are a student in the realms of marketing, advertising, communications, creative writing or languages, starting to define yourself as a copywriter. You wonder if freelancing might extend the life of a student into the world of work.
Ha! It so will. My home office is half dorm. Step around that rebounder.
But to you, grads and undergrads, I say do not go directly into freelance writing as a career. You must first taste the Corp Rut. I mean, corporate. You must experience the office, as in, The Office, to make the kind of human connections you will need when you go rouge.
You will also develop a sense of agency-as-absurdity that will help you when writing like a caffeinated commander at your kitchen table.
So this book, students, is for you to read when you’re already in That First Job. Or Second. Scroll it on your phone as you savor Sauce on the Side.
To existing copywriters then, this book is dedicated. Congratulations on being a keyboard wizard, for using your powers to turn letters into words, words into sentences, heads into the stratosphere, and hearts into mush. (I see you, Ms. Senior Writer at Hallmark.)
If you are curious about the perspective of a copywriter who has managed to freelance almost exclusively for more than 30 years…
Who has put a couple of kids through college, funded multiple mortgages, bought tons of comic books yet managed to save for semi-retirement…
And who now wants to find the right mix of encouragement and practical advice for you on your freelance copywriting journey…
Here we go.
Can I really do this?, you ask. To repeat my central theme:
Yes, you can.
Next: All it takes is talent. And luck.
Walt Jaschek is a champion of great copywriting. As creative collaborator, mentor, and freelance copywriter, he pushes to craft memorable stories with humor, pizazz and verve. For his award-winning, national ad campaigns for global brands, he was inducted by the St. Louis Media History Foundation into the city’s advertising and PR Hall of Fame. A life-long freelancer, he is declaring “I’m not history yet,” and is still open to juicy writing and consulting assignments, especially for friends and family.