Copywriter Slash Novelist: How My Career in Advertising Helped Shape Me as a Novelist
By Matthew Norman | June 20, 2022 |
About a hundred years ago when I was finishing my senior year of high school, my dad and I had a very important conversation about my future.
My parents knew that I wanted to be a novelist. How could they not? It was practically all I’d talked about since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I wrote stories incessantly, I was the editor of my high school’s literary magazine, I took a typing class during summer school once so I could write faster, I bought t-shirts with authors’ faces on them, and, of course, I read and read.
As supportive as my parents were, they were also very practical people. They still are, especially my dad. Although not a man of the arts himself, he understood that no one was going to pay me for trying to be a novelist. Even under the best of circumstances, he knew, it takes years for writers to get paid, if ever, and those who do often make very…very little.
He was right, by the way—on all counts. I didn’t sell my first novel, Domestic Violets, until I was in my early thirties, and after paying taxes and my agent, I took home about enough to buy a nice IKEA bedroom set.
As a way to avoid a life of abject poverty, my dad suggested that I major in advertising and pursue a career as something called an “advertising copywriter.” From his perspective it was a pretty sweet deal. I’d be a writer and I’d get paid an actual salary that I could live on and buy things with. Then, on nights and weekends, I’d be free to work on my own writing.
When you’re eighteen years old, it’s easy to immediately dismiss everything your parents say, because what the hell do they know, right? Well, thankfully I skipped that part and declared my dad a freaking genius. And then I went ahead and did exactly as he suggested.
AN ADVERTISING NOVELIST
There’s that line in “Piano Man” where Billy Joel sings about a “real estate novelist.” I’m not entirely sure what that is, but for more than twenty years I was…well, an “advertising novelist.” And I’m not ashamed to say that I enjoyed it very much. I was good enough at writing ads to keep getting promotions, I made enough money to live comfortably, and I even got to meet a few celebrities along the way.
Looking back on those years among my fellow caffeine-blitzed advertising creatives, I’ve come to realize that copywriting wasn’t just something I did on the side to pay the bills. Truth is, advertising, for better or worse, helped shape my work habits as a novelist, my relationship with the tricky business of criticism, and my attitude toward being paid to write. Here are a few takeaways.
- Inspiration Is Irrelevant It felt harsh to type that, but I decided to keep it anyway because…well, it’s true. If I added up all the hours I’ve spent writing during my professional life—from features and benefits copy for Under Armour hoodies to any chapter of any of my novels—I bet I’ve been truly inspired about thirty percent of that time. That means that more often than not when I’m writing I’m just sitting at my keyboard and grinding the damn thing out. Because that’s the job, and no piece of writing has ever written itself. Pro tip: espresso. It works quickly, and with enough cream it barely even tastes like coffee.
- Deadlines Are Good An old creative director of mine liked to say, “Nothing crystalizes your thinking like a deadline.” He was right. Deadlines are familiar to any professional writer, and we’ve all done what we’ve had to do to meet those deadlines. (See my previous tip about espresso.) Sometimes, however, particularly when we’re working on our own writing projects, there are no formal deadlines. In those cases, you should make one up—and stick to it. You’ll finish your novel by Christmas, dammit. You’ll have a draft of your personal essay by Friday if it’s the last thing you ever do. You’ll revise your memoir before you leave for vacation, so help you God. If you convince yourself that you have to do something by a specific time, you will.
- Keep Consistent Working Hours This will sound downright quaint now in Covidtimes, but when I worked in advertising, I went to an office every weekday at about 8:30 a.m., and I left around 5:30 p.m. Was I a captive? Yeah, probably. Was I dead inside? Maybe a little. However, prisoner or otherwise, such specific working parameters trained my brain to be creative on demand. Those were my hours, and, unless I had a good excuse like a dentist appointment or a vacation, I was working. While I’m not suggesting that you should be writing nine hours a day five days a week—I certainly don’t—I think you’ll find that making a writing schedule and sticking to it will help you produce more pages than you otherwise would.
- Your Writing is Only as Good as Your “Boss” Thinks It Is Oof, that hurt even worse than that “Inspiration is Irrelevant” thing from before. Unfortunately, though, it’s also true. Some of my all-time best ad concepts, headline ideas, and would-be commercial campaigns never saw the light of day because they were mercilessly murdered before my very eyes by creative directors, clients, and legal teams. Those people were my bosses—the gatekeepers. While I definitely believe in taking creative risks and pushing authority when possible, my rate of success went up dramatically when I began to consider what my bosses liked, wanted, and required. As a writer, your “boss” may be your editor, your agent, prospective editors and agents, or readers at large. Whoever it is, understand what your “boss” wants and write with that in mind.
- You Are Competing for Your Reader’s Attention Good advertising breaks through the clutter, right? Same goes for good writing. Make no mistake, the literary marketplace is a cluttered mess, and readers are more distracted than they’ve ever been. Whether it’s through your voice, your concepts, or your prose itself, find a way to demand attention. Readers are tired, overwhelmed, and scatterbrained—and it doesn’t help that they currently have instant access to every TV show and movie ever made. If you give them a reason to turn away from your writing, I promise you they will. So, get out there and grab some eyeballs! (Not really. You know what I mean.)
- Pitching Matters We’ve all seen Madmen, right? Handsome, silver-tongued Don Draper makes an ad for some everyday kitchen product sound like Shakespeare. Okay, well, even if you’re never called upon to wear a suit and pitch your writing in a sixties-inspired boardroom, developing the ability to quickly, articulately, and enthusiastically describe your own work is a vital part of the publishing process. Whether this takes place in person or (more likely) in the form of a query letter, we, as writers, need to be able to sell ourselves and our work. Take it easy on the drinking, smoking, and philandering, though. That stuff takes a toll.
And finally…
- Some People Won’t Like Your Work
Say what you will about the Internet, but it’s great for instantly making you feel bad about yourself. I can Google some of my old advertising work right now and see what people hated about it. And, although I try very hard not to, I can visit GoodReads or Amazon whenever I want and read about how terrible I am at being a novelist. (I was once referred to as a “shittier Jonathan Franzen.”) No matter what you accomplish, and no matter how hard you work at your craft, there are people out there who will think—sometimes loudly—that you’re no good. It’s fine. Ignore them and keep going. Because you’ve got work to do.
FOR DISCUSSION
Unless you were born rich or you wrote Gone Girl when you were fifteen years old, you’ve probably had some jobs over the years. How have those jobs influenced you as a writer? Have you ever had a job that had a negative effect on your writing? What about a positive effect? How have you managed to balance the demands of a job with your need to write? If money were no object, do you think you could write full time? Would all that time to write be a good thing or a bad thing?
Matthew Norman is the author of five novels. His latest, Charm City Rocks, is out now from Dell. His debut novel, Domestic Violets, was nominated in the Best Humor Category at the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards, and his second novel, We’re All Damaged, was an Amazon bestseller. His upcoming novel, Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon, will be out in October. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Baltimore and holds an MFA from George Mason University.
I love everything about this post. Especially the part about giving yourself deadlines (my daughter complained recently that “you always have a deadline, Mom,” and I said “yup, and I always will.” I had my own sign-painting business back in the last century and was also a single mom. Pitching ideas to clients was part of the gig and schedules (and sticking to them) became the stuff of life. Getting up, suiting up, and showing up still works for me in this century. Thanks for a wonderful post.
Hello, Susan. You’re welcome. Thanks!
I also worked as a copywriter and a marketing and technical writer. Working amongst other creatives was inspiring and fun! Also, my success as a corporate writer gave me a cushion to absorb and deflect the rejection I endured pitching my novels. I also learned that every editor, client, and boss made me a better writer. I highly recommend a corporate writing career path until your novels sell!
Hey, Debra. Couldn’t agree more with everything you said. My bosses always made me better, and they helped me realize that “no” often means “not now” or “not yet.” Thanks!
How refreshing to read about your 18-yr-old self really listening to your dad! Great post. I think all of life is great grist for the writing life. Mothering taught me patience (still learning) and tossing plans to live in the moment, seeing everything anew, with wonder. I started writing with my babies and what a joy to have our little moments of joy published with gorgeous illustrations. Before children arrived, I was a scientist (actually one never stops) and learned so much more from the failed experiments and it’s the same with the writing–the wrong turns, obstacles and blocks, all helped me towards the right questions. It’s strange and beautiful how one can make a thing of beauty from the irritations of life, just like how pearls are made.
Thanks, Vijaya. It’s a classic writing formula indeed: Irritations of Life = Good Writing.
Same here. I had an advertising career as a copywriter and ultimately head of a creative department and executive VP, and I’m certain that my years of grinding it out, as you say, honed my baseline ability to craft good prose. My career was in Chicago, including Leo Burnett and D’Arcy (ever hear about the Budweiser TasteBuds from the 70s?), and I truly enjoyed it. But in those days my nights were spent on writing screenplays, which led to a time in L.A. as a screenwriter and script editor. Then, back into advertising, I tackled novels, which led to what I now do instead of advertising–writing novels, editing novels, and designing books and covers (my ad days help with the design part, too). Cheers to all the advertising writers at WU, and thanks to Matthew for writing about us.
Hey, Ray. That’s fantastic. Leo Burnett and D’Arcy are the top of the mountain, for sure. Copywriters Unite!
Matthew, having been a copywriter (and feature writer) for many years, I found myself saying “Yep” and “Definitely” for all your points. Those worlds only helped in working with fictional worlds (and both are real). Thanks.
WOW…Matthew! I read every word of this post and kept nodding my head! I’m a newly published historical fiction author and just starting out with this dreaded marketing. Background in writing helped as a nurse practitioner in psychiatry (the psychology aspect of writing to draw the reader in), co-authored books (unpublished), editing screenplays, and being a copy editor. I’m old enough (83) and wise enough to take criticism as a learning tool. Especially from my editor! Persistence keeps me at the computer, trying out different strategies to draw people in to buy a debut historical book from an unknown author. Persistence keeps me writing the next novel, a literary fiction, a heartwarming, heart breaking story of a woman’s real-life medical & relationship challenges. Music saves her life. Until…the day her music dies. I wake up every morning, thankful for another day. No, the new book is not about me, but you almost thought so, didn’t you? I’ve also learned, at my age, pretty much anything outrageous is accepted of older people. So, here it is from me. I shamelessly market my book on comments to other authors, even you Matthew, a really prolific author, and gifted writer of blog posts. Right to to truthful point. 📚🎶 Christine
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B14GTQXL
Hey, Christine. Congrats on the new book. Get out there and sell that damn thing! :)
Hey, Tom. Sure thing. And thank you.
Those are some great takeaways, Matthew – thanks for a smart, funny and actionable post!
I’m a big advocate of “day job writing,” and have done a wide range of it over the past couple of decades: technical writing, sales proposal writing, advertising and marketing copywriting (selling paperclips, of all things), then corporate communications and executive speechwriting. I totally echo what you say about how it teaches you to treat writing like a JOB.
One further advantage I feel it offers is: it keeps the tools sharp. When you write all the time – particularly stuff that you know is going to get rigorously edited by others who have NO problem killing your darlings – you tend to get pretty good at cranking out prose of a consistently decent quality. Your knowledge of grammar, punctuation and other style considerations gets ramped up, likely by adhering to a specific style guide – even if it’s one you hate (I’m looking at you, AP).
So while I can’t claim that all business writing is “creative,” it’s still writing, and I figure any practice you get at writing well can only help.
And hey, if you ever figure out what a real estate novelist is, could you let us know? That’s been bugging me for years!
A real estate novelist is similar to a bartender novelist, but with better hours.
Hey, Keith. Agreed on the tools thing. Keeps you sharp and always able to fire something off when needed. As for the Billy Joel line, I actually looked it up after I wrote this post. The general interpretation of the line is that the dude in the song wanted to be a novelist but was stuck selling houses. Poor guy.
I, too, spent a dozen years in an ad agency, the 2nd of 4 careers that were all connected by writing for institutions and others. And one skill that I have retained from those agency days is the ability to hit a wall, but then keep going. You’re right — the deadlines imposed by the real world of real business demands do not go away. You have to step up and deliver. And so, I learned to never let ideas stop churning. While I drove, showered, walked the dog….the need to draft campaigns and headlines was ever present. And now, in my recreational pursuit of creative fiction writing, I’ve found that that same discipline kicks in. When I have no idea where a story is going, I keep working at it, often in bits and pieces, often subconsciously, but it is always there, always churning. Sometimes old habits do die hard — but I hope that this one never does.
Hey, Jim. I’m the same way. I’m always writing, even when I’m nowhere near my computer. The brain just keeps doing it. My wife finds it annoying. Ha.
Matt, really enjoyed your piece. And now, instead of years of “selling out,” I think many of us can feel that we were simply investing ahead….
As a fellow copywriter (20 years on the job) all of this resonates with me. :) Especially the ability to shrug off people who just don’t like what you write. I think decades of having everything you write criticized down to every word, every comma, makes it so much easier to shake off criticism of my novels. Not everyone is the target consumer of every product, and not everyone is the ideal reader for your novel. It’s fine. Move on. Write the next thing.
Hey, Erin. Totally! It’s so much better not to have to be burdened with hurt feelings and ego bruises when someone tells you what they think of your work. It’s just part of the game.
When you write mainstream fiction as an indie, it turns out the MAJORITY of people won’t like your reading – the ones who read SPAs are often looking for genres they already love, such as SFF and Romance; and the ones who read mainstream and literary fiction think the sun only rises and sets on writers who are vetted by traditional publishers.
You get used to it, and to hand-crafting approaches to those who seem well-read omnivores with a bit of flexibility. And who produce lovely reviews.
Hey, Alicia. Good point. The marketplace is so divided up and segmented.
Great piece! I worked at Leo Burnett right out of college (where I had drawn a straight line to account management in advertising). I so wanted to sell mini stories and campaigns to clients. After working there, and subsequent jobs at smaller agencies in Chicago, I just couldn’t get to where I wanted to be. I diverted to corporate banking, (ugh, so not me!), but what I learned was persistence in finding your true place to be. I may not have gotten my dream job as an acct exec in advertising, but I did get my dream vocation as a writer and published author. So glad you shared your story.
Thanks, Nancy!