This morning I drove to Orting–where it was raining. I sat in the SUV for a while to see if the rain would diminish because I could see the clouds were breaking up. It finally cleared up, so I hopped on my bike and took off up the trail. About a mile and a half up the road, it started sprinkling again, but by now I was warm enough (wearing a sweatshirt and shorts) to know I’d be okay even if it rained the whole way up and back.
It didn’t. It rained a little, off and on, both ways, but I stayed toasty and comfortable anyway.
When I got back to Orting, I stopped at Trailside Cyclery (soon to be renamed, but I can’t find the business card with the new name on it at the moment) to see if they had a screw like the one that had fallen out of the water bottle holder on my bike and to see why my odometer stopped working again. The gentleman fixed both (free) in no time flat. I bought a rear-view mirror for the bike as a thank you for helping me out with the water bottle and odometer gadget and assembled and attached that when I got back home.
By then, the Praxis check and another check had arrived, so I drove to the bank to deposit those…
This evening I looked over almost 5,000 words of copy written by an attorney. It needs a LOT of tweaking to make it website-worthy. I have to find out a few more things before I can give him a solid price and begin the work, though. Next week I expect to be writing non-stop for John Assaraf for several weeks, maybe longer, so I want to get this attorney project put to bed this week if I can. It’s going to take some doing, that’s for sure! It’ll be a challenge.
In Other News…
I see that someone who proclaimed herself publicly and extensively (and very, very prematurely!) a copywriter has recently taken on a new job title: Pizza delivery driver. Doesn’t surprise me, although it does sadden me. This gal shot herself in the foot: I saw the blood on the trail from day one as people reported back to me what she had been saying to them and as I saw what she was doing and writing online. I just held my breath. It was painful to witness. She did just about everything, from start to finish, that anyone can do to ensure failure.
Please! Don’t ever proclaim yourself a copywriter until you can go toe-to-toe with professionals. Unless other pros tell you you’re ready to roll, and until you win scores upon scores of kudos from clients or you win an award or two for your writing, keep yourself under wraps. Work quietly and conscientiously until other people start telling you to raise your prices and your profile. Doing it the other way around is a sure prescription for failure. It’s hard to redeem yourself after you’ve left a trail of ham-handed efforts and errors everywhere you go.
To be ready for your big break, get yourself ready for it by reading, studying, practicing, writing copy that no one will ever see except your mentors or teachers.
Don’t just jump out of the bushes, proclaim yourself a brain surgeon, and start digging into brains. The career you kill, working this way, will be your own.
