Write your own copy

Most of my clients are relieved to hand off their writing to me. They have a rush project, they don’t have time or staff, or they intensely dislike the writing process. But once in a while, I come across a client who has the desire and the raw talent to do some of their own writing. If you’re the latter, this post is for you …

Years ago, I happened to garner the email address of author Tom Clancy so I decided to ask his advice about how to write my first novel. I sent a multi-paragraph email outlining my idea, sharing my thoughts about becoming a novelist, listing all the things I didn’t know about writing a book, and finally asking him how to write my first novel.

The man, whose own novels are legendary in length, emailed me this four-word piece of sage advice: “Write the d*** thing.”

Writing, it seems, begets written copy.

TC’s advice still stands. If you want to write your own copy (and become better at writing it), write something. Then write some more. And still more.

By JanO on 1/22/08, In writing, Tags advice, dialogue, great copy, hate to write, how to write, how-to, ideas, non writers, self-publishing, shortcuts, typing