The one TRUE method to making it as a copywriter...

...doesn't exist.

Unless you count "writers write" as the essential part of that equation. It IS true, after all...you'll never be a copywriter if you only study, never write.

The funny thing is, when I was struggling I got lots of advice on how to be a copywriter and what the ideal avatar of a successful copywriter looked like.

And I don't really look like that.

But am I successful?

Yes, by my definition. I pay my bills on time. I have plenty of money for food and even for fun. I have health insurance.

And guess what? It comes from a full-time copywriting job plus freelancing on the side.

Am I making 6 to 7 figures?

No. Not yet. I decided to get paid to learn instead of splitting my focus. Before, I could certainly write - but in the back of my mind I was always worrying about whether I'd be able to make rent in one of the most expensive areas of the country.

Doesn't really make the promises of riches and success I made on behalf of my clients ring true, does it?

So I built a portfolio and I got a part-time job, which I leveraged into a full-time job.

Again, in the most expensive area of the United States.

Now I have the freedom to study and grow without worrying that the course or book I just bought means I don't get to eat the next meal.

Trust me, I've been there.

I can point out plenty of great parking spots in Silicon Valley where you can camp in your car for a day or two before the cops catch on.

Yeah, I'm a corporate copywriter. Plenty here probably look down on me and my kind.

We're sellouts.

We're not REAL copywriters because we're not at home in PJs watching the cash roll in.

But hey...I'm getting paid to write copy. AND I'm getting paid to learn. That strikes me as success.

And here's the thing...my definition of success can and likely WILL change.

I dig getting paid to do what I love.

But the fact remains -- I'm a heavily tattooed red-headed rock singer who enjoys playing dodgeball in her spare time. Corporate life is not my long-term strategy.

Probably doesn't help that I swear like a mother******. The suits hate that shit.

The point of all this? Don't let someone here or anywhere tell you what success looks like.

You'll know it when you've found it.

And if you don't think you've found it, you probably haven't - keep searching and studying and growing.

If you think you have found it, rock on. Throw a damn party and celebrate the fact that you get paid to do what you love.

And if some day your definition of success changes and you decide you need to chase greener pastures, you'll have everything you need - experience, confidence, a little more wisdom - to move on to bigger and better things.

Two cents from a not-so-new copywriter.