Eight of Our Favorite Sites for Writing-Related Tools and Diversions

How did we ever survive before the Internet came along? I honestly don’t know. As a Hired Pen, I give thanks every day for writing-related tools and diversions found on websites like these. Word Count The dude behind WordCount got ahold of “a 100 million word collection of samples of written and spoken language from […]

Don’t Be a Whiny Crybaby … and Other Pieces of Sage Advice for Would-Be Copywriters

Every few weeks or so, I get an email like this: Dear Hired Pens, I just finished my graduate degree in obscure 18th century literature, but now I am thinking maybe I need to give up on my dreams and figure out how to pay my bills even if it makes me feel like a […]

The Perils and Rewards of Interviewing a Nobel Prize Winner

One of the great things about being a writer is asking people questions. I began my writing career as a journalist, so I got plenty of practice doing just that. Back then, the interviews were pretty mundane. I had to be creative in coming up with questions because the interview topics weren’t always that interesting […]

The Never-ending Battle to Feed the Beast

“Let’s start a blog,” exclaimed my partner Anna one day last year. “Great idea,” I said. “But I already do all the bookkeeping for the business, so the blog will be your baby, OK?” “Word,” replied Anna, in a weak attempt to bring some urban grit to her vocabulary. A few months later, Anna learned […]

Five Easy Steps for Editing Your Own Work

In a perfect world, you’d never have to edit your own work, but well, you know the drill. The world’s not perfect, life’s not fair, yada yada. So spend a little time now or a lot of time later trying to convince your boss to let you keep your job as a “pubic relations director.” […]

Dispelling a Few Choice Copywriting Myths

One of the random gems I’ve stumbled across in recent years is RainToday.com. It’s an offering of Wellesley Hills Group, a “management consulting, marketing, and lead generation firm focused on helping professional services firms grow.” (btw, The Hired Pens has no relationship with Wellesley Hills Group, so I have no ulterior motive here.) Anyway, I […]

Lessons Learned About Catalog Copywriting

One of the great things about our work at The Hired Pens is the variety of projects. On any given week, I might be working on a website, brochure, newsletter and feature article. One type of work that rarely enters the mix is writing for catalogs. That’s Anna’s bag. She’s had dozens of catalog assignments […]

Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Humorous Route with Your Website Copy

Back when Anna and I were just a couple of crazy kids with a dream, we had an interesting debate. It concerned our fledgling website – and how we wanted to present ourselves to the online world. The year was 2001, and we didn’t have the cash to hire a Web designer. We were going […]

Zeorge497, We Salute Your Genius Wit!

A couple in a swanky restaurant informs the waiter that they haven’t budgeted for their meal. Apparently, they didn’t expect the filet to cost so much more than their recent meal at a taco stand. A customer explains to the video clerk that he only has seven dollars set aside for a DVD priced at […]

‘The Men Have Been Flying Around Me Like Honeybees!’

Part of our job as copywriters is to advise our clients on what not to do. Don’t make the subject line for that email so long. Don’t make users hit the Scroll Down button eight times to reach the bottom of that Web page. And one of my personal favorites: Don’t include anonymous testimonials in […]