The Copywriter Underground

Any writer who has ever been yanked around by a publisher or treated rudely an editor will find the following irresistible.
Norman MacLean was the author of A River Runs Throught It - a brilliant short story that became an excellent movie. This letter was written in 1981 to Charles Elliott of Alfred A. Knopf publishers.
Knopf [...]

In a stunning example of just how bad the drug problem has gotten in this country, readers (and Michael Stelzner) have decided that the Copywriter Underground ranks among the Top 10 Writer’s Blogs.
Kudos to Michael Stelzner of the Writing White Papers blog for wading through all the nominations, and to Carson of Content Done Better [...]

I was reading a fly fishing blog about a “local rural legend” - a story about an animal you know doesn’t exist, but has managed to survive in myth for the better part of a century.
Every region has one - the animal/man/whatever that’s been spotted numerous times over the years, but never actually seen or [...]

I spend a lot of hours at the keyboard, so it’s a happy moment when “big think” time rolls around and I can put pen to paper.
The notebookism blog seems to appreciate that fact, focusing almost entirely on interesting notebooks.
I particularly like their listing of a year’s worth of notebooks in one sweet bundle.
Worth a [...]

I’m staring at three half-written blog posts about Important Copywriter Topics, but can’t quite bring myself to finish them.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks, the brain feels like it’s stuffed with cotton balls, and I’m yawning uncontrollably.
It’s time for the Friday Face Plant.
Ironically, the concept of writer’s block has generated more words than all [...]

I’ve been in the business since typewriters were the tool of choice. And I’m pretty damned happy those days are gone.
But a few habits have hung on from the good old days.
For example, I’m on my fourth copy of The Elements of Style. What a book. I don’t look to it for instant inspiration, but [...]

Good news for writers. Especially the value-added sort (that’s us).
The Online Publishers Association conducted a survey which confirms that original, branded content generates more customers - and more revenue per customer - than generic stuff.
Simply put, the relevant, targeted, quality copy we write means higher sales for branded sites (wedding.com, etc) as opposed to user-generated [...]

I use Bloglines to aggregate my RSS feeds, but like any old guy with a failing memory who posts on more than a couple blogs, I’ve lost track of important conversations among the blur of comment boxes.
Since the beauty of a blog is the capacity for give and take, I went looking for a tool [...]

In the old days, the word processor you used was as much a testament divine intention as a rational decision. You used WordPerfect (or Wordstar) because that’s what god intended you use, and except for those cranks pounding on typewriters, you didn’t look too far afield.
Today, there are writing tools of every color, and though [...]

Pulling an all-nighter? Facing a succession of deadlines? Caffeine addict?
If you’ve got a schedule you can meet only with the help of enormous quantities of caffeine, this helpful Web site will let you know exactly how much you can ingest before it kills you on the spot.
With listings of many different beverages, the site helpfully [...]