Subject: You Suck

Want to be a professional copywriter? 

Get ready to hear this on more than one occasion.

No matter how good you are

Along the way youre going to write something
thatll bomb. This hurts a lot no matter what
level youre at, but if youre new it can be
completely devastating. 

And hell, sometimes youll hear how much you suck
before you can even finish a project. Almost
everybody thinks they can write

Or that theyd be an awesome writer if they had
enough free time.

And that usually means they wont hesitate to
criticize you if they dont meld up with what they
*think* they want.

Think about where the advice is coming from before
you fly off the handle.

Whats the motivation of the person criticizing
you? Sometimes clients want to criticize you to
show off their knowledge of the product. Sometimes
this is a good thing  you should always be open
to looking for fresh ideas.

But there comes a time when revisions become
rewrites. Big, painful overhauls that waste your
time. 

Its also a good idea to be very specific with
your response to their feedback. Drill into your
reasons for making the choices you made for your
copy. 

Chances are there was a real psychological reason
for choosing one element of your copy over another
element.

When you get into those weeds, youll find that
your clients usually havent thought too hard
about this stuff and give you your way.

If a client starts asking for so many revisions
that youre practically doing 2 or 3 projects, I
might be time to ask for a little extra money. 

Its natural for a poorly performing gig to hurt
your feelings, but dont agonize in failure. Its
an inevitable part of your job. Dont let it
completely fry you, because you eventually have to
get back to work.

Failure and criticism are part of your work. Dont
let the You Suck overwhelm your need to get things
done.
