As a copywriter, you must be a chameleon -- able to blend in with your surroundings. In other words, you have to write to suit your client.
"I don't know the last time I actually used a comma or semicolon," says Bernadine Ward, a copywriter for a West Coast radio station. "We have to use simple terms and simple sentences, because you only get one chance to understand something over the radio."
Writing for radio is different than print because the sentences must be short and direct.
"In radio, our greatest fear is that we simplify for radio and then we won't be able to write anything else," Ward says. But she's really not too worried because she enjoys radio writing.
Most of the promotional copy she writes is for smaller retail stores that can't afford to hire an advertising agency. "Nine times out of 10, they leave the creativity up to me and I am free to come up with a concept," says Ward. "But you still have to be careful. You get a feel from talking to the client of what type of ad they are looking for. If they are a serious business, you don't really want to start off with a joke."
She remains flexible and open with clients.
"Sometimes a client has a distinct idea in mind of what they want, and then you work with that," says Ward. "Ultimately, you are interested in keeping them happy."
Texan Jim Shamlin always dreamed of being a writer.
"I studied creative writing and wanted, like any other writer, to be the next great American novelist," he says. But it takes years to write a novel and more years to get it published. "I had to pay the rent in the meantime, so I took a regular job," he says. Shamlin looked for work as a copywriter.
He hasn't regretted his decision to write copy, even though he started as a clerk in the promotions department. "No one comes straight out of school and moves directly into a copywriting position -- except a fortunate few," says Shamlin.
He worked hard as a clerk, trying to free up time to write copy. "I pestered the copy chief for more work to do, and suggested that she assign me some of the low-priority copywriting," he says. "Eventually she did, and I excelled at it."
Shamlin soon became a full-time copywriter and continued to excel at his work. But that's not to say that he didn't find some copywriting difficult.
Because copywriters work with words, it's sometimes difficult when a client doesn't understand the English language. Shamlin says writing a promotional brochure for a Japanese electronics firm was a nightmare.
"They handed me translated copy from their Japanese-version brochure that was so goofed up that I couldn't make sense of the text," he says.
Words in the brochure were pasted together at random, he says. They didn't make sense no matter how they were rearranged. Shamlin spent many hours on the phone to Kyoto trying to make sense of phrases such as "produce kindly to not often other discreet option."
Sometimes it took hours to produce even a single paragraph. When Shamlin finally deciphered the code, an executive at the company would re-edit the copy back into nonsense.
"They were perfectionists and paid great attention to detail," he says. "I had to argue and explain and do a lot of research." Shamlin had to dig up the grammatical reason that explained why the brochure had to say our company is the best choice, rather than our company is a best choice.
"That took half an hour over the phone to straighten out with one person, and the next person I had to deal with changed the 'the' back to 'a' and I had to explain it all over again," he says.
Shamlin lost money on the job, and it's the last piece he has written for a foreign client. "Most foreign clients are difficult to deal with in this way, and even native speakers of English can be really odd when it comes to bad grammar that they think is good."
Richard Andersen agrees that a language barrier can make communication difficult, but he also finds it rewarding.
"Writing copy on behalf of people who aren't fluent in English can be challenging because a lot of time can be spent ironing out meaning," he says. "But this is one of the greatest opportunities to learn how people from other cultures think and communicate."
In this business, good communication is essential. Things can go drastically wrong if text is considered libelous (defames or damages a person's character or reputation). "A good copywriter should know the legal implications of including a certain quote or using a particular word that might involve a lawsuit," says Andersen.
On some occasions copywriters have to revise their stories to make them legal, but they are constantly having to revise their stories for length.
"Cutting a portion of the text which adds depth to its meaning just because there isn't enough room is a drag," says Andersen. Writers are often sensitive about having their work chopped up by copy editors. "At the same time, squeezing a great deal of meaning into a limited space can produce some of the finest pieces of writing."
"There are a lot of forces trying to control your work," says Shamlin. "It can be really frustrating, and it can make you feel really small when you see your copy being hacked up by other people."
However, on most days the final product shines. "For me, being a copywriter is rewarding," says Shamlin.
The final reward comes when copywriters put away the polish and the work is published. "Opening a newspaper and seeing an ad I wrote, or listening to the radio and hearing a spot I wrote, or even holding a printed brochure in my hands really gives me a great sense of accomplishment," says Shamlin.