It’s a wise dog that scratches its own fleas. It’s also a wise dog that punctuates the sentence correctly. It is a dog. Its fleas. Everyone gets this wrong. Unless they’ve read the first page of Strunk & White.
Have you read this? Do you own one or two (or more) copies of this book? I hope you have. I have my father’s copy, dating back to his newspaper days on the Times Herald where he worked the vice desk. I have my own copy from college. My now famous Google-translating nine-year old blogger son Nick also has his own copy. He wanted it and paid for it out of his own wallet. If you don’t have it, or heaven forbid, haven’t read it, please read it. Do it for us, your readers.
“… please forward a page for sample.” (Sorry, just plain English grammar. No rule necessary here).
Etc.
If you’re a sales guy, ask for the job. (You’re supposed to be able to close, after all). If you’re a marketer, show up knowing something about the opportunity. (Would it be too much to ask if you demonstrated a knowledge of your market, even in microcosm?). If you’re an accountant, don’t make easy math errors. (Being oblivious to detail is a red flag under most SOX-compliant situations).
And if you’re a copywriter, write clearly.
Regards.
Stephen,
I have a copy that I purchased last year, but still have to finish. Oddly, I never heard of this book while in college.
Do you need a copywriter that lives nearby? I have a well qualified friend that may be interested; but she lives in LA. You can drop me a line at mvellandi at yahoo dot com if you’d like.
One of my life long goals:
To write the great American novel?
Nah.
To write an 80 page book that would last for three generations.
(As the ancient writer Callimachus put it: “A big book is a big evil.”)
Mario, glad you’ve got it handy — make sure to read it! You’ll find over the years that you’ll read it more than once, I assure you.
Roger, brevity is the soul of wit. And even little books can be pretty difficult, can’t they?
A quick update: I’ve been collecting copywriters for 48 hours now and have a database of 58 so far.
Obvious errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation: 26.
Good writing outside of my specific need (not a deal killer, mind you): 17.
Good writing in my specific area: 15.
Of my 15, 6 are perfect.
Question: how can roughly half of the people actively looking for copywriting gigs submit proposals — and samples of their work! — with obvious errors and have a sustainable career? How does this work? I don’t get it.
Mr. Denny, thanks for including the metrics on your findings. I’ve been debating entering the freelance copywriting market, but am intimidated by the sheer number of freelancers available.
However, maybe my fears are unfounded! 😉