To ask Copywriters to tell me about your job

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I'm thinking of retraining. I have not worked for 5 years due to having children and other responsibilities but am now ready to do something with my life. I have a scientific background but no desire to pursue a career in science anymore.

What kind of things do you do as a copywriter? Can you list pros and cons of the job? What kind of person do you have to be to do a good job as a copywriter? How do I get experience?

Are online courses in copywriting any good? I've been looking at the College of Media and Publishing, are they reliable?

Thanks for any advice.

Copywriters I work with have strong sales and marketing skills as their words are used to make money.
Do you mean copywriting or something else writing related like proofreading or technical writing related to your science skills?

Do people only look at sales and marketing skills when training potential copywriters?

I'm not really interested in proofreading or technical writing. I want to have a career where I can be creative.

I'm a copywriter. I fell into it...I trained as an actor and then after graduation I was writing a lot of comedy sketches. Then I got picked up by the BBC and worked on a number of their radio comedy productions.

After that I wrote short fiction for women's magazines and through a friend, I ended up editing a trade magazine.

I began to find clients coming to me to write content for their blogs and websites.

It's not amazing work to be honest. I have to do it to pay the bills...if I could I would give it up and concentrate on creative writing. I haven't been able to write a full script for 5 years now. :(

That sounds amazing to me Namey. You get to be creative and people admire your writing skills.

I've recently started writing a few short stories for children. Nothing professional, just on some paper. I love storytelling and my dc love listening, so I've written down a few they love to help me perfect my writing. I'm hoping that's a step in the right direction.

Would any courses help me? Or is it more of a "fell into it" career?

Thing is that it doesn't feel creative after the umpteenth article on healthy eating or being forced to write content for an abattoir!

I wouldn't say it's always a "fall into" type of career at all...I'd say I'm the exception rather than the rule.

I would think however that you'd need to be very careful which course you choose...there are a LOT of very poorly managed and expensive courses out there which won't be worth a thing.

Right now, the best thing you can do if you want to make money from writing is stop writing children's stories...they're a luxury. Start looking at web content...read up on that...begin a blog and read good blogs which will signpost the way for you.

Consider submitting some articles to trade magazines or special interest magazines. For example...you have a scientific background...look for children's magazines which are science based. Read about ten issues to get a feel for what they publish, get the details of how to submit (all publications have their own guidelines) and then write something for them and send it off.

I am a copywriter.

A good place to start is textbroker.com. No fees, no training, instant work.

I am a freelance copywriter. I really enjoy it and I make a conscious decision to be one.

I wouldn't say that it is particularly creative writing really- it's first and foremost about selling something to make money. That can be anything at all- the most boring products have to be sold! I also have a pretty solid professional marketing background and I would find it hard I think without that.

I think if creative writing specifically is what you would like to do, then copywriting is not necessarily the best fit. Obviously some creativity comes with the job as it is about using words creatively to sell, but it's not just about being creative if that makes sense?

Also you need to be pretty good at selling yourself as a PP said.

I hope that helps a bit!

Don't use textbroker. The pay is embarrassing.

Pay rates

Level 2 writers earn a miserly .07 cent a word

Level 3 writers earn a slightly less miserly 1.0 cent a word

Level 4 writers earn the princely sum of 1.4 cent a word

Level 5 writers earn the astronomical sum of 5.0 cent a word. Break out the champagne!

I'm a copywriter. I had my first book published five years ago but when I separated I realised that I needed to earn more money....

Just recently I was headhunted for a writing role specific to my degree which I LOVE. I'm very lucky to be able to work freelance.

Unfortunately I don't think you would necessarily get to be creative. I can't think of one creative project I've done in 2 years. When I started I was earning a pittance, but if you persevere and make a name for yourself then opportunities are there. I kept my three main clients when I took the new role because we have such a great relationship.

Good luck!

Ps. Try the people per hour website. I got a lot of work that way early on.

I found textbroker invaluable for gaining experience, enhancing my confidence and taking the first steps in copywriting. I would recommend hubpages.com too as a way of gaining some insight into the market.

Neither will make you rich, but I have earned a decent amount on textbroker. Most of my contracts are with private clients now.

Not all copywriting is about selling something. I work for a large American company and we use copywriters all the time to write internal reports, speeches, advertorials, internal webazines etc.