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Alchemy: Why poetry publishers need to get it together
Poetry publishing can be tough and isolating, and it can feel as though you’re shouting into the void. With that in mind, I’ve written this short piece for the wonderful BookMachine about the need for poetry presses to collaborate. It contains such gems as: “Collaboration is about more than just scoring retweets, high-fives and affiliate…
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Lost, not profound – the tyranny of the motivational quote
We all know people who post motivational quotes. They’re usually lovely people who genuinely wish others well, but they sure post a lot of inspirational stuff. In 2015, a study linked such posts to low intelligence scores, in addition to discreet unfriendings. I’m not convinced by the correlation between IQ and sharing pictures of sunsets and silhouetted…
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“That’s not what I meant!” Getting email tone on-key
Email etiquette guides seem to agree on one thing: when writing an email, best practice is to match the voice and follow the style of the original email received. Sound advice, and something that comes fairly naturally to a copywriter. With increasingly conversational trends, we’re used to matching corporate copy to a reader’s tone of…
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Chocolate Bot – Markov Chocolates and deliciously bad copy
When you browse the menu in a box of luxury chocolates, does the opulent copy make you drool or roll your eyes? One witty programmer is in the second camp, and he’s come up with a sweet form of satire. I first encountered technologist and designer Tom Armitage when I interviewed him for Maker World magazine.…
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Bad ad poetry? Hire poets!
Living in London, we’re surrounded by TFL’s abominable Travel Better London posters, with their godawful doggerel. First, you spot one and sigh gently to yourself. Then you notice another. And another. Ye gods, they’re all over the place, much like their scansion. Then a chill runs down your spine, as you wonder if everyone else…
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Anxiety and freelancing: small ways to stay sane
Freelance writers should by rights be pretty happy. They make their own hours, they can run out for a coffee without comment and they’re being paid to write. After years of desk politics and endless meetings, the freelance life has the potential to be wonderful. Indeed, a report from early 2015, “Self-Employment in Europe” (Hatfield,…
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‘They’ is coming: putting gender on the writing agenda
(*Or should that be ‘They are coming’?) Professional writers, from copywriters to journalists to novelists, seek clarity, and consistent grammar is the girder beneath every sentence. Even avant-garde poets need to know the rules before breaking them. Style guides run into hardback volumes and entire wikis, and debates rage across the internet on points of…
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Late to the party: hyperhonesty in ads
This is a new segment I’m calling ‘Late to the the party’, in which I take the doctor’s advice and let things I’ve taken in settle for a while before responding. This summer, there was positive press in the marketing mags for the “Refreshing Stuff” Oasis campaign created by The Corner. The campaign presented a meta look…
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Good Copy/Bad Copy #1: How to Speak to Women
So you want to sell to women? An honourable and lucrative aim – some women nowadays have money of their own, after all! But before you head in there, copy guns blazing, remember who you’re talking to. When it comes to sales copy, women really only respond to three things: 1. Well-worn cliches – women…
