New Member Seeks Guidance

Look up Writers Market 2014 for rates, and try reading a few books/websites about writing and editing. The stickies at the top will give you a copywriting crash course if you're so inclined.

Hi Ron,

Welcome to Warriorforum and congrats on getting your degree.

A young man once came to Socrates and asked him to teach him wisdom. Socrates took him to the river, dunked his head in the water and held it until the young man struggled violently.

After letting him up, Socrates asked:

"What did you want more than anything while you were down under the water?"

"Air," the young man said.

Socrates said..."When you want wisdom as much as you wanted air, it will find you."

If you want it bad enough and you're willing to let go of some of what you learned in school, you can make a ton of money in copywriting. Much more than you're asking for here.

But by starting with rates, you're skipping the most important steps.

First, you need to find a niche to specialize in. A specific type of customer to write for and a specific topic to write about. People will pay more money and give more respect to someone they perceive as a specialist.

Next, if you want to succeed in this niche, become someone. You'll get paid pretty good for your skills, but your reputation is where the gold is. Become someone in the eyes of a narrow niche and, if your skills are good, you can almost set any rate you want.

Read "making them believe" by Dan Kennedy for more on this.

Finally, practice every day. Pick a few big name copywriters like Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Dan Kennedy, and copy their stuff by hand for 60 minutes a day. Do this for a year and you'll see miracles happen in your writing.

If you decide to become a sales writer, you're going to need to learn a lot about writing to sell. There's a world of difference between that and what you've learned in school.

I know, I have a degree too. Sales writing isn't just different in degree, it's different in kind...a whole new species, and you'll find that most of the rules defy the rules that put the diploma on your wall. You might even find that the skills of discipline and persistence are more relevant to this niche than the writing skills you acquired.

When you are seeking work, you need to be perfect. Old guys, like me, who are retired, we get sloppy and don't concern ourselves with spelling, grammar or long run-on sentences which are hard to read.

I had a wonderful proof reader/editor for years and before she passed away, she gave me and other people perfect work year after year.

So, one beef with you...and this is easily corrected with the edit button on the bottom...is this:

naaustin;9144492]Hello,



. I have little desire to gain more food service experience or acquire random knowledge of some menial filed to get by for a couple of months.

I'm now aware that my well-honed abilities to edit and write can make me money free lancing and through various other means in the world of the internet.

In the long term, if I could create a profitable editing business that lets have more control over where I work in general, that'd be awesome. But for now, my goals are fairly modest.
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I'm sure you can see where your post needs some editing.

But Ron, I'm always dismayed when English writers with advanced degrees have to fry burgers in the Summer instead of teaching their craft.

WRITING, and the dreams that go along with it...is an insatiable market where a guy like you should clean up. And, you'll probably get the old "create your own product" response from some members too.

But to address your goals, sure, it is realistic. Probably even find work off of this forum...if you present yourself as an expert editor who doesn't make mistakes from typing too fast. Your posts should reflect your abilities.

I've yet to catch Marcia Yudkin making these simple English mistakes, so, get your post cleaned up and let us see that you really can edit, fair enough?

gjabiz

PS. I'm a hack writer, I NEED and must have good editors for any "commercial" work I do, and a good legal team for copywriting...you have a skill which is needed and wanted in the Direct Marketing (or any marketing) field.

OH, and I would never, ever hire a writer of any kind who does not capitalize "I" ... which is about half of those who post here, at least you didn't do that.

Uh Huh. And then you immediately follow up with "free lancing" ....
"some menial filed"... "that lets have more control"... "on the low end" (No caps on "on")... plus all those commas before "and" which annoys the crap out of me for some reason.

But Dude... c'mon... you come to a copywriting forum... for advice on landing some editing work... and you proceed to write like that?

#############

And just like that, he turned and walked out of our lives, forever...

Figurative or literal balls?

'Cause church bell size would hurt. And I rather enjoy being ball-less.