Writer Wednesday — Elspeth Taylor — "it’s not enough to think that you have a way with words"

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Writer Wednesday has featured a lot of freelancers, but most of them have been at it for a while. London copywriter Elspeth Taylor offers a different perspective as she's just made the transition to being her own boss.

Website: http://weedle.com/elspeth.taylor
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/elspethctaylor

What’s your writing focus or specialty?

Well, I’m really just starting out at the whole freelance writing thing so I’m keen to not pigeonhole myself just yet. Not to mention the fact that a good copywriter needs to have plenty of strings to their bow to be a success. My background is in fashion and retail, so I guess these would be my specialist areas. I can make the ugliest of outfits sound like your wardrobe will shrivel up and die without it! I also have SEO experience, so writing for the web is another key area for me. But I’m trying to keep my hand in at all sorts of writing—to keep my brain active and to give myself the best possible chance of making enough money to be able to eat! I report for a local niche-interest paper, write articles for their website, help people with their blogs and submit speculative features to magazines and weekend papers. Plus, I do article rewriting and proof-reading for various private and corporate clients.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

All my jobs have been in publishing/media type companies and all my roles have been to do with writing and editing. My last job was as a copywriter for a big UK department store and after about 18 months of working there I realised I wanted more variety in my working day. I enjoyed getting into the mind of the customer, really working out what makes them tick, what specific words and language will really engage them and so on... but I wanted more! I decided to branch out on my own to see if I could gain a more varied client base that would allow me to get involved in other areas of copywriting and to take on more challenging projects. And of course, I like the freedom of deciding the times of my working day! What other job allows you to work around walking the dog, popping to the shops or meeting friends for brunch?!

Tell us a little about your creative process.

I wouldn’t say that I have a set ‘creative process’, not as such. It’s more about doing solid ground work — I do plenty of research into the brief I’ve been given, who I need to target and how best to reach out and speak to that type of person, how to make them sit up and take notice. I also make sure I talk to the client about what they are trying to achieve, what main points they are trying to put across and then use all of that info to bat around a few ideas. I try to get a few sentences and key words down on screen (or paper!), even if they are incomplete; just so I don’t have a big, blank expanse of white in front of me, and then I see what I can put together from there.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

I find that the best thing to do if you’re stuck is to (deadline allowing!) go away and try not to think about the piece of work for a while, possibly even leave it over night. Then come back to it fresh and read through what you have. You will often have a fresh perspective. Sometimes I come back to pieces of work and delete whole sections in a frenzy of “what on earth was I thinking”. On the other hand, sometimes I find that bits that I have agonised over just fall into place.

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

As I mentioned, I do some editing, feature writing and reporting on the side. I also have a little dog that’s a bit of a handful! Training her is almost a whole project in itself! Making time for everything isn’t really an issue at the moment, because I‘m so new to freelancing. I have plenty of time for my small client base as well as the bits and bobs I do alongside. Hopefully, once I’m more established, setting myself timelines and prioritising workloads will become more imperative!

I’m also studying a course with the London School of Journalism, which is great for days when I don’t have any paid work on. It helps keep my writing flowing and stops me watching too much Diagnosis Murder!

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

That it’s not enough to think that you have ‘a way with words’, a good copywriter needs plenty of commercial awareness and a good listening ear to really be a success.

What’s one thing you know now that you’d wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

A small, boisterous dog is not the best companion to have around in a quiet home office!

Seriously though, I would say it’s that setting up on your own, taking on clients and building up relationships etc... it all takes far, FAR longer than you think it will. Even though I felt I’d prepared myself for how long it might take to make this work, it still seems painfully slow! I guess I’m a bit of a workaholic, I like having something to do every hour of every day and when this doesn’t happen it can be tough to feel like I’m getting somewhere. Still, I’ve learnt to cut myself some slack. I’ve achieved some good things so far and I have plenty of time to achieve plenty more! (So long as the food rations don’t run out!)

Writer Wednesday — Vikki Ross of Virgin Media — Never present copy you don’t like.

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Vikki Ross is a London-based copywriter who’s worked for two of the U.K.’s most well-known companies. She’s in-house at Virgin Media and spent the eight years before that at The Body Shop.

Website: crazywindowuk.blogspot.com
Twitter: @VikkiRoss7

What’s your writing focus or specialty?

The majority of my experience is in retail, mostly for the cosmetics and beauty industry.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

At 16 I thought I’d like to be a journalist so chose not to go to university after college. I wanted to get straight into it. My first job was as a receptionist in a serviced office block, which I hated, and one day I just walked out. I called my friend at work to tell her but she was off sick so I ended up speaking directly to her boss, a PR. I told her what had happened and she got me in for a short-term contract.

Her husband ran a marketing and entertainment company next door so I made my talents and desires known. Pretty soon I was writing reader offers for the national press. My first offer appeared in Camping & Caravanning magazine! Then I went on to write regular offers for the Daily Mail, TV Times, Sky, Ministry of Sound and Woman’s Own. I also wrote science fiction mail order catalogues.

After two years, I left work to travel the world for a year and a half. On my return to London it was very hard to get back into copywriting. Companies will always think they can do it themselves if they need to cut costs.

I got a job as PA to the Product Director at The Body Shop. She knew instantly that I wasn’t really a PA and after just three months I was writing internal communications. I then moved into the Design Studio where I wrote catalogues, in-store promotional materials, web copy and advertorials in Elle, Glamour and Marie Claire. I also went on photo shoots and enjoyed many a free haircut whilst learning the tricks of the trade, and interviewing make-up artists of course!

Eight years later, and I’ve moved back into the world of entertainment. I’m creating new Tone of Voice guidelines for Virgin Media now, but you can still see my copy in The Body Shop windows.

Working for companies set up by two of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs is inspiration enough but I’ve also got Space NK, The Post Office, Fat Face and Pizza Express to thank for freelance work that’s allowed me to expand my creative skills.

Tell us a little about your creative process.

I love reading magazines and books and watching television. Words inspire me so whenever I see or hear one I like, I make a note of it and try to incorporate it when I can. I have a bank of words and phrases to refer to whenever I’m in need of some inspiration.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

I hate getting stuck! I’ll usually leave something difficult to just before the deadline. I’ve always worked like that. I could spend a couple of days trying to craft copy and just not getting it, so I’ll move on to something else until it absolutely has to be done. Working under pressure works for me as I’ll go back to it and just get it there and then, and then I wonder why it was so hard in the first place!

Another trick is to just take a quick break and have a flick through a magazine. Usually a word in a headline will just trigger something!

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

I started writing a blog a couple of months ago about store merchandising and general things that catch the eye when I’m out and about. I don’t have to make much extra time for it because I’m always out seeing things that inspire me. London’s a great city and I travel a lot too so there’s no shortage of content possibilities! Writing up my notes is no chore—I love writing.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

Never present copy you don’t like. It’ll always get chosen! Then you’ll end up with a catalogue headline that makes you cringe every time you see it!

What’s one thing you know now that you’d wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

Everyone thinks they’re a copywriter! It’s amazing how many people think they can do something that you have years of skilled experience in. And, more often than not, their grammar or spelling will be wrong, and they think you’re being picky when you tell them!

Writer Wednesday — Andy White of whitewriting — “If you believe in an idea, fight for it.”

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Andy White is a freelance copywriter with a very amusing blog. (You can also find him on Facebook.) He’s based in Stockport, Manchester, England, and did his time at advertising behemoths like McCann Erickson and Publicis before going out on his own. And, now he’s doing his time here, giving advice to me and my readers. Thanks, Andy!

Website: whitewriting.com
Twitter: @thatandywhite


What’s your writing focus or specialty?
I don't really have a specialty these days, Leigh. I've been a copywriter for over 20 years now and I've covered just about every discipline in that time. If I focus on anything, it's having fun with the job. It keeps me happy and my clients seem to like having someone to work with who can have a few laughs while getting the work done. If there's one thing I'm known for it's probably writing in a conversational style and finding the right “tone of voice” for a piece.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

After leaving school I did a degree course in Graphic Design and Visual Communication. As I reached the end of that, I realised that what I really enjoyed was coming up with ideas, headlines and concepts, rather than perfect design. At the same time a Creative team from a London Ad agency visited the University to see our work and one of them suggested I started taking copywriting seriously. From that point on I basically knocked on doors and phoned every creative director I could get the number for. After a couple of months I was lucky enough to get to see a copywriter called Lynn Crooks at McCann Erickson, she didn't have a job for me but sent me away with a “copy test”, a set of fictitious briefs for non-existent clients. Stuff like “create a press campaign to sell tap water to compete with Perrier”, “Write a radio ad publicising the mime artist Marcel Marceau live at The Talk of The Town”, that kind of thing.

I spent another few months just creating my own campaigns and trying to get them seen at agencies. Eventually I got a couple of paid jobs from a small local agency and the third time they asked me to write something for them, I said I'd only do it if they gave me a full-time job. Fortunately they said yes. I'd been there about a year when Lynn from McCann's called me (I'd continued to harass her, naturally), and told me that they were now interviewing for writers. Went for the interview, got the job. After two years at McCann Erickson I felt that I was getting a little trapped so moved on and continued moving for a few years. About 15 years ago, tired of ad agency politics and wanting a bit more freedom, I decided to go freelance.

Tell us a little about your creative process.

The creative process for me is just looking at a brief and trying to get into the mindset of whomever the work will be talking to. Once I've got that, I'm happy.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

I put some music on, wander around the house, smoke a cigarette (sorry) and try to get back into it. Sometimes I'll write “joke copy”. Basically throwing every ad cliche I can think of at the job and having fun with it. Once I've cleared my head, I try again.

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

For the past couple of years I've been playing with an idea for a series of children's books, (I know, I know, everyone's got a kids' book in them). There's always time to write, it's motivation that's the tricky bit. When you've been sitting at the pc writing about bollard renovation or producing a welcome letter for a mail order catalogue, it can be a bit hard to start writing again in your “own time”. With the books, I find myself coming up with pieces of dialogue or little scenarios when I'm watching TV or listening to music. I'll write them down, come back to them later and try to give them some kind of structure. The important thing to remember is that I'm doing it for me, (and my daughter), and that I do actually enjoy writing.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

The best lesson in writing I've ever had came from Lynn Crooks of McCann's. I'd been a “professional copywriter” for about a year by this point and felt that I was pretty hot stuff. I'd written a piece that utilised all my best tricks and cleverest thoughts and showed it to Lynn. This was of course in the days before we all had PCs so it was a neatly typed A4 page. Lynn took it, read it then crossed out almost every alternate line.

All the tricky bits had gone and what remained was brief, punchy and effective. Half the words, twice as good.

Thanks Lynn.

What’s one thing you know now that you’d wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

That self belief is hugely important. Not to the exclusion of learning from others of course but not to let every piece of criticism sting or affect your confidence or your style. I spent some of my early years in advertising believing that everyone who'd been in the business longer than me would always be somehow more “right” than me.

No matter how long you've been writing, if you believe in an idea, fight for it. Keep your ears open to criticism as there's every chance you're wrong. Equally though, there's every chance that you're right.

Oh, and never throw an idea away. Keep them all “on file”, what doesn't work on a particular day for a particular job may be perfect in another time and place.

Writer Wednesday — Anthony Hewson of AH Copy

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Anthony Hewson is a freelance copywriter based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire (about an hour north of London), and trading under the moniker AH Copy. When the call went out for interviewees, Anthony responded to my questions quickly—and offered a bit of editing advice for which I am very thankful.

Website: www.ahcopy.co.uk
Twitter: @ahcopywriter

What’s your writing focus or specialty?

I’m really a generalist writer. I do a fair amount of writing for architectural and construction firms simply because I spent a number of years working in PR and communications for one of the UK’s leading construction groups; but my freelance copywriting clients range from personal development specialists to helicopter charter companies, from management consultants to software houses.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

Aaah. Well, I went to university to study drama (acting and writing being my two main loves at school), but had to leave because of financial difficulties. I spent a few years working in IT recruitment for my parents’ company, doing a spot of freelance writing on the side, before landing a role at Kier Group, the UK construction and services company, working in the PR and communications department. That was always a stepping stone in my mind, while I continued to build up a decent freelance client base. I struck out on my own full-time a little over two years ago.

Tell us a little about your creative process.

The first step is of course to get under the skin of the client. Get to grips with their service offering or products; what distinguishes them from their competitors; what their ethos is and who they really are as people.

Then move on to who they want to talk to, attract and engage with. At this point, unless the client has already been hugely organised, I’m in a much better position to establish a detailed brief for the job.

After that there’ll be a spot of research, including their rivals, their industry as a whole, and SEO keyword analysis if appropriate.

Then it’s pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and see which words fall out of my head! A single round of revisions is usually enough to achieve a finished piece.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

Depends on the nature of the ”stuck”. If it’s finding the right word, digging out Roget’s Thesaurus might loosen the blockage. If it’s more than that, perhaps some more research or just getting away from the job. It’s surprising how many ideas come to you when you’re doing something mundane like the washing-up.

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

Several. And the answer for the most part is that I don’t. I came up with a charity concept a couple of years ago: www.small-change.org.uk, which gets my attention any time I’m nowhere near the computer, and very little when I am. There are a couple of novels I started a long time back, feeling unloved and untouched, and I’ve done a couple of voiceover jobs too.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

“Make your sentences shorter.” I love rhythmic language, setting a scene, emotion, passion and telling a story. There’s not actually room in copywriting for a lot of that; most of the best copywriting is actually very plain, simple and direct. Note that I say best copywriting, not best writing — so feature articles and longer pieces demand a very different, and for me at any rate, more natural style of writing.