From the monthly archives:

May 2008

“Stupidest Question Ever Asked” Spawns 5 Commercial Writing “Facts”

May 27, 2008

A year or so back, I got an email from an Atlanta gentleman that has to be a top contender for The Stupidest Question Ever Asked. I realize that’s not very nice, and I know “there’s no such thing as a stupid question” when starting out, but still…. In essence, here’s what he wrote: “I [...]

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Sucky Writing Skills (in Business World) = Good Writing Opportunities (for Us!)

May 19, 2008

A column in my local paper this morning was yet one more gloomy drumbeat of many these days about the sorry state of writing skills amongst young people. According to a recent Pew Research Center Study, “64% of teens report that the informal styles often found in electronic communication do bleed into their school work” [...]

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UK Freelancer Uses Articles (AND Attitude…) to Land $38K Direct Mail Gigs…

May 12, 2008

So, there’s this commercial writing bloke in the UK named Jon McCulloch who first contacted me shortly after The Well-Fed Writer came out in 2000. We’ve kept in touch over the years and I’ve had a front-row seat to his at-times painful struggles through myriad challenges – personal and professional. But, those times are long [...]

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Where Do You See the Commercial Writing Field Going in the Future?

May 4, 2008

It’s nice to be appreciated. As some of you know – mainly those in the D.C. area – I’ve been invited back for an encore plenary speech at the annual conference of Washington Independent Writers (www.washwriter.org) entitled: THE WRITING LIFE: “Where We Are and Where We Are Going,” on June 14th. Great conference, by the [...]

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