The Copywriter Underground

Modern Web browsers (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) are far nicer than the limited creatures we wrestled with in the mid-90s, but as “Web 2.0” matures, why are we still using Web 1.0 browsers?

The dark underbelly of the Information Age becomes apparent when I try to organize my online life — especially when noting useful Web pages and blog entries for later use.
I’ve tried several approaches that didn’t quite work, and now — one that does.

I stumbled across Instapaper — a point/click/done bookmarking service for those of us […]

The bookshelves are littered with "How to make millions in your underwear" books aimed at new copywriters — most of them pretty light on original thought.
What’s missing are the books that actually tell you how to do things — books that offer you enough information that you can confidently take on a paying job and […]

Moving is stressful. It’s a lot of backbreaking work (and I noticed none of you offered to help).
 The Writer’s Office doesn’t look like this. So what does it look like?
The good news? A new home office space is in my future. (New. That’s an exciting word).
Because I started down copywriting’s path when most copy was […]

I admit it. I’m a word processor geek. My keyboard might as well wear a pocket protector.
So when I find a comprehensive review of word processors, I sit up, re-tape my eyeglasses, and start reading.
Fourteen word processor reviews later, it’s clear that Windows/Linux users have more choices than I thought (Mac versions available in some […]

The leading open-source challenger to MS Office (especially Word), OpenOffice Writer is a viable (and free) alternative to writers tired of big-dollar upgrades for little useful functionality.

I’ve got my copy set to automatically save all files in Word format, and I have yet to experience file compatibility problems with my clients (though I haven’t tried […]

Before PCs, writers used typewriters, and before that, they used pen and paper.
Naturally, being a largely superstitious, wholly contentious lot, battles erupted over what pen worked best, and why. Later, the word processor wars broke out, and back when there was actually a difference between products, writers in text-based online bulletin boards fought over them […]

Codswallop just published a list of the “100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need.”
It’s intriguing. And I found a few I’d never heard of.

But I’m curious; are Web Apps really the answer for freelancers?
They typically offer low-cost (or no-cost) functionality. And let’s face it; low cost is good. Low cost is our friend.
Yet […]

Cat at the cool new BoDo blog (Business of Design Online) is running a series of posts aimed at making it easier for designers (and clients) to work with writers.

The result of online interviews with a group of writers (including yours truly), the series includes thoughtful little gems like Choosing a Writer, the Writer’s Process, […]

Writing’s a relatively simple gig.
Pen and paper will get you going, and a purist could make a cogent case for keeping the exercise exactly that simple.
Naturally, that’s not what happens when you add commerce to the mix — and humanity’s unquenchable desire to complicate life.
I’ve been copywriting long enough that I wrote my first bits […]