My Life As A Hidden Camera

“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.”
–Dali Lama

In This Issue:

My Life As A Hidden Camera
by Monica Day

I just passed the two week mark since having foot surgery. And I promised occasional reports here on what you can learn – about life and copywriting – when you sit still for so long! Lessons abound…

Lying on your back with one foot elevated above the level of your heart is an interesting position from which to watch the world go by. It’s not very conducive to being productive in the usual sense of the word. But it’s perfect for watching the tops of the trees sway outside the window…for discovering what hour the birds start chirping…and for seeing how long it takes for rumbles of thunder to follow bolts of lightning over your house. In fact, the other day, while waiting for company to arrive and carry my next meal up three flights of stairs to me, I had the strangest feeling. For ten whole minutes as I looked out my window, I had a feeling of complete peace. I was not worried about what might happen next, what wasn’t getting done, or who was taking care of the kids. I was simply at peace. Considering that I wasn’t dead, and it had been hours since my last dose of narcotics, I felt this was pretty damn close to bliss…

I figure at this rate, it’s possible I could achieve enlightenment by the end of the summer… maybe sooner.

I’m completely dependent on the kindness of friends and family (and people I pay) for meals and keeping my house and such. I watch them come and go. They tell me stories of life outside….they go and come back days later, only to find me in exactly the same place, doing exactly the same thing. When my babysitter left last Thursday and returned this Monday…and I was sitting in the same spot…we exchanged a moment of déjà vu. Had anything really changed since we last saw one another?

That’s when I realized…I am like the hidden camera in a convenience store. Pointed in one direction, watching whatever drama or inactivity unfolds before it…without judgment or alarm. I’ve never been quite so passive…or receptive…before in my life. And yet I’m coming to think everyone should have this experience at least once (and some of us are special, we need to experience it more than once to really get the lesson.)

And yes, there’s been a copywriting lesson mixed in with all this navel-gazing. Having far less energy than I normally do…and barely able to string together sentences as easily as I usually can…I’ve become acutely aware of the exchange of energy for money.

This is something we rarely talk about in copywriting circles, but maybe we should.

Everyone seems to want to write for the higher-paying markets and the top clients – no matter what. I know I did. And I felt willing to do just about anything to achieve these goals. I am a strong believer in working hard, making difficult choices, and sacrificing short-term pleasures to achieve longer-term goals.

But, you know, it’s not always such a bad thing to do the things that take less energy from you. Maybe another specialty comes easier to you – but doesn’t pay as well. The true measure of your fee isn’t in the amount on paper, but the exchange of energy. For example, I can write three self-help packages using the time and energy it takes to write just one financial package. Which means that financial package better be paying me three times as much as the self-help package. See how that works?

In your first couple years, expect your energy output to far outstrip your income input. This is normal and appropriate for any start-up venture. But once you start getting some projects and a couple years under your belt, pay very close attention to the energy it takes you to write a package…and keep that in mind when you accept a project or focus on a specialty.

I have a fighter mentality – and if I don’t have to put up a fight to accomplish something, I often mistake it as not worth the achievement. But as I lay here – doing my finest imitation of a hidden camera – I’m realizing that sometimes, when things come to you easily and seem effortless, it’s because they are simply meant for you to do.

Find the slice of the copywriting world that is meant for you – the one that just flows without effort or exertion – and you’ll never have to worry about earning enough again. Because the exchange of energy and money will always be in your favor.

Resource Referral: Ever Hear The One About The Guy In The Flood?

Jokes aren’t really my thing. But there’s one that’s always stuck with me – you’ve probably heard it before. It’s about the man who got caught in a flood, and he’s convinced God is going to save him. So a canoe comes by…and he waves it away saying “God’s going to save me…” And then a boat comes by, and again he says “No, thanks, God’s coming to save me…” But God doesn’t show. And he prays and he prays as the water rises. He climbs to his rooftop when a helicopter comes by and throws down a rope. He doesn’t grab it, convinced again that God will save him.

Next thing he knows, he’s in heaven, meeting God. And the first thing he says, out of hurt and disappointment, is “Why didn’t you save me?” And God replies, “I sent a canoe, a boat and a helicopter for you, what more did you want?”

I happen to know – because we receive lots of blessings from many of our Christian readers – that more than a few of you can relate to this analogy. I’ve always thought it was a great tongue-in-cheek way to remind us of the lesson that God helps those who help themselves.

Recently, AWAI released a new program, Secrets of Writing for the Christian Market. Everyone knows this market is huge and growing – and becoming more and more mainstream all the time. What I found so interesting was how diverse this market is – so there is room for the most conservative to the most progressive Christian to find a project or client that would fit your particular set of beliefs.

More so than any other market, perhaps, writing about something as personal as matters of faith requires that you connect with your client and what you’re writing. But if your spiritual path is based in Christianity, and you are comfortable with this market, it seems the opportunities are huge right now.

What better place to kick off your copywriting career than writing about something so important to you as your faith? Check it out now: http://www.thewriterslife.com/cp/christian/

Quick Copy Tip: You Know You’ve Had Too Much Caffeine When…

When copywriting is glamorous there’s nothing like it. One of my mentoring program participants wrote to me last week, downright giddy about being able to sit and work in a café all day. The freedom of it!

I myself am heading to Vancouver in a few weeks. I’ll be writing for a big investment conference…and staying at one of the finest hotels in North America, all expenses covered, and getting paid.

But it can have its rough patches along the way, too. The constant pressure of deadlines…the lack of cash flow at times…logging hour upon hour toiling away along in a spare bedroom or finished basement…rewriting past the point of reason or recognition. Sometimes, you need a little humor and lightness to keep you going.

One of the highlights of an all-night writing session a few months ago came when fellow copywriter Marcella Allison (who was also pulling an all-nighter) sent me an email around 2am with the headline “You know you’ve had too much caffeine when…” I hooted and howled so hard I was able to write another hour before I passed out!

These stories deserve a voice, too. And they’re good for a few laughs. That’s why I’m going to ask you to finish a few sentences for me – or come up with some of your own! I’ll share some of them here…and I’ve also gotten a wild hair to assemble your answers into a new special report for people who sign up for the CP.

So don’t hold back – give it to us with both barrels:

1) You know you’ve had too much caffeine when…
2) You’re ready to quit every single time you hear the words…
3) You could have made it through the copy course, if only…
4) If one more person tells you copywriters can write from anywhere, anytime, you’re going to…
5) You know you can’t possibly write another draft of a headline when…
6) You know you undercharged for your last project when…
7) You thought something seemed strange when a potential client called you and said…
8) You thought you’d really nailed the copy, until…
9) All this time, you thought “glicken” meant…
10) You wake up in a cold sweat thinking about…