Beach-Bound

In This Issue:

• Main Essay: Beach-Bound by Monica Day
• Resource Referral: Let Travel Writing Set You Free
• Quick Copy Tip: The Marketing Cart And The Writing Horse

Beach-Bound
by Monica Day

Last year, around this time, I sent you an essay called “A Month On The Road.” I was heading out of town to spend a week or so on the New Jersey shore with some friends…six weeks on an island off the coast of Western Canada with my children…topped off by a week in Paris. I worked all along the way – truly feeling that I was living the copywriter’s life.

This year, I’m planning a very different summer.

Twenty years after a car accident left me with substantial injuries to both feet and ankles – it’s time for a tune-up. So instead of hitting the road for most of the summer, as I’d like, I’m headed for the operating room. Move this bone over there, make that tendon longer, a screw here, another one there, and a face-lift for some of the soft tissue, and I ought to be good to go. In twelve weeks, that is.

So this year’s vacation will be the much more average five days at the beach over the holiday weekend, I’m afraid. And I was supposed to leave last night. Except I’ve been too busy with doctor’s appointments, MRI’s, blood tests and stress tests (yes, I’m stressed, did I pass the test?). Not to mention the projects I have due before I get on the road. Sigh.

Not exactly my idea of the copywriter’s life. Or is it?

You see, instead of preparing to be on the road for weeks at a time – I’m preparing to be up in my room. Still working. Still earning money. Still being thankful to have a career that is immune to life’s little ups and downs.

So today, dear reader, I’m going to dash off for what’s left of my time at the beach and refresh your mind on those tips from last year. I want – no, I need – for you to go on the road in my absence. Go write and be free! Send me notes of your travels. Tell me what it smells like, sounds like, looks like, and what you learned while you were there. Let me live vicariously through you…while I sit tight, write, and heal.

And know that next year about this time – we’ll be hitting the road together!

In the meantime, here are my top three tips for being a road warrior. Strangely enough, they seem to apply to getting ready to be up in my healing chamber for twelve weeks, too:

#1: Don’t Underestimate Technology

When I first started as a copywriter just a few short years ago, I picked up a cheap Dell desktop. Unfortunately, DSL hadn’t made it to my block yet, so it was dial-up for me, and I was chained to the desk.

Then, I was asked if I could cover a conference as an on-site reporter. Of course I could, I said! What I didn’t say to the client was – but what will I use to write the reports? I knew the time had come to purchase a laptop, and luckily, I was financially prepared by then to make the leap.

Since then, my journey into technology has been challenging, but worth the undertaking. I learned the hard way that a pound or two can make a big difference to your shoulder after a few days. I also learned how challenging it is to bounce from a laptop on the road to a desktop at home. You never seem to have the files or the research you bookmarked on the right computer at the right time.

And I can’t even bear to tell you what I learned about making proper and regular back-ups – that’s an essay all by itself. (One that will require a box of tissues and a good cry even still for me to write.)

Today, I’m working on a very lightweight IBM Thinkpad both at my office and on the road. And to make it more comfortable when I’m at the office, I have a docking station with an ergonomic keyboard (for aching wrists) and a rather large flat screen monitor. I also keep a portable hard-drive in my carrying case with the laptop for doing pre-scheduled back ups every single night.

#2: Stay Connected

Another must for the traveling copywriter is internet access. In case it doesn’t go without saying, your laptop must have a wireless card. Don’t even think twice about cutting corners to save the $30 or so bucks on this.

I maintain about three layers of internet capability. First, most hotels have internet options in the room, and in the lobby – but not all. Call ahead and ask so you know what to expect. If you’re in a jam, you can usually find a T-Mobile hotspot. It’s pricey on a per-use basis at $9.95 a day. But if you think you’ll do it a few times a month, might be worth the $30 monthly subscription. You can get online at any Starbucks, Borders Books and numerous other “hot-spots’ around the country. It’s a great option for those who like to hang out in cafes and work. And it has bailed me out many times when I didn’t have any other options and had an assignment to turn in.

Third, you might want to keep a dial-up provider in your back pocket. I have had occasions when there was nothing available but a dial-up connection…and I had no provider set up in my computer in advance. Some DSL providers have a dial-up service you don’t have to pay extra to use – you can check to see if yours has that capablity. Then, as long as you have this set-up and you can find a phone jack, you’re in business. (That reminds me, always keep a spare phone cord in your computer bag. You’d be amazed at how frustrating it is to find a live phone jack with no cord to plug in to your computer!)

#3: Work From Anywhere, All The Time

This was a little joke Krista and I came up with under our breath at an AWAI bootcamp one year. Lots of the promotions for AWAI and other copywriting courses stress the ability copywriters have to work anywhere they want, anytime they want. And while that’s true….when you’re just starting out – and even at the mid-level point in your career – it will feel like you work from everywhere, all the time.

I say, don’t fight it, embrace it.

Forget reading that trashy novel or magazine on the plane. Instead, use that time to do something that you don’t need to spread out over a large area, such as review and edit copy or read research you’ve collected for an assignment. Don’t let your airtime be downtime – there are much better ways to spend downtime when you can get it. Frittering away travel time is more of a waste than anything else.

Also, if you can take a train somewhere rather than drive, do it. It’s much safer to work on a train than it is while driving a car!

My other favorite travel tip is to take advantage of the time zone you’re in. For example, when I travel to the west coast, I maintain my same sleeping schedule. With the three-hour time difference, I’m able to get up very early and get in some work before the day’s activities begin. That way I can enjoy myself without worrying about all the work I have to do – but I haven’t taken any time away from my family or friends (which is what usually brings me to California) to do so. Also, this minimizes the jet lag in either direction because you’re body still thinks it’s back home

Resource Referral: Let Travel Writing Set You Free

If you also love to travel – but are grounded like me for a while, I have an idea for you. If you don’t already get them, sign up to receive International Living’s Postcards. They are short, free, fun to read, and always include a picture of a faraway place. Sign up at www.internationalliving.com. While you’re there you might want to explore a little. Their website is content-rich and lends itself to a dreamy hour or two plotting your next trip.

And if, also like me, you don’t intend to be grounded for long, I highly suggest you consider picking up AWAI’s course for travel writers, “The Ultimate Travel Writers Course”.

The research and information included is exhaustive, the style is engaging, and the tips for getting much of your travel costs underwritten are worth the cost of the course. It’s just silly to hone your writing skills for copywriting…and not take advantage of this other avenue to use them. Get it today! http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/fwb7

Quick Copy Tip: The Marketing Cart And The Writing Horse

The Copy Protégé Mentoring Program is off and running – and mentors and mentees alike are very excited. I’m sure lessons and insights will abound – and we will share as many here as we can. The first one I’ve noticed is the age-old question: Which is more important, improving your copywriting skills or getting your marketing efforts underway?

This is one area where Krista and I were different. She made sure her copywriting was top notch before she started marketing. I started marketing almost immediately. And we landed in roughly the same place. Within our first eighteen months of copywriting, she was writing for major mailer Nightingale-Conant and I made my way to several Agora publications. So, in a way, we were both right. The trick is knowing what is the right choice for you.

If you’re doing all the right things to market yourself and aren’t getting clients, it could be that your writing needs work. Being willing to slow down and put in the time and effort to improve your writing skills might be what it takes for your marketing efforts to deliver results. But if you’ve put in countless hours writing assignments, and all the feedback you’re getting is good – but you’re afraid to start marketing yourself – it could be that you’re stalled at the gate. It’s time to put yourself out there and see what you can do.