I wouldn't want to see Puss-in-Boots cry

(the copy chronicles 6)

We've all experienced the Newbie phase in our jobs. Yes, the awkward days of getting-to-know everyone, grasping the culture, trying to pronounce your colleague's name correctly, learning what things not to say in front of the boss, you know the drill. This Newbie phase normally tags along heaps of attitude too, I can do this and that stuff, too or I think I can do better. I was over that Newbie phase months ago and I believe I've been a good Newbie to the point that a colleague mentioned that my "efficiency had become a curse" (overflowing workload!).

What comes next is the looong Shoulder-Shrugger phase: you do what is needed, enough of pleasing the boss because you've already succeeded, do your best work possible, don't question the system. Go with the flow. Yeah, do what the client says.

After this is the Iconoclast period. Well, wait, not really. Not all people overcome the Shoulder-Shrugger phase, because at the end of the day, we are all doing things for the clients. What creative freedom? *Shoulders-shrug* Iconoclast period happens even within the Shoulder-Shrugger phase, when we get too tired of the things we normally do we want to break out of the system.

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As my posts these days reflect, I'm undergoing the Iconoclast period. I have drowned in all that cliches and it's time to save myself and whatever is left of my writing ability. Okay, don't get me wrong. I'm not resigning, I just want to try new things. Keeping my fingers crossed is part of it as well. Not because I'm willing to try to do things differently doesn't mean other people feel the same way.

I know, it's not going to be easy. Jessica Zafra mentioned in one of her blog entries that in order to write well, one must "write 1,000 words a day, read a book a week". It's all about training and hard work; and these virtues apply to copywriting, too. These past few days, I've been digging cyberspace and utilising my Googling skills to check out the best works of copywriters across the globe, reading a lot of advertising materials online and re-reading my 100 Great Copywriting Ideas book (and I disagree with one of Maslen's points, but that's another story). ll those books and reading materials point out to this: the importance of being able to risk and accept failure when it happens.

Luke Sullivan, one of my copywriting idols, wrote: a sense of play is important, and part of play is failure; the skinned knee, the black eye. Everyone, to a person, said to push past the pain and “fail forward, fail harder, fail gloriously.” Whatever flavor of fail you get, our group said, walk it off and go for it again (Sullivan, 2010).

In one of his blog entries Sullivan also mentioned: SLOPPY WRITING MAKES KITTENS CRY. Yes, I imagined a crying Puss-in-Boots because I have watched Shrek's trailer before reading that entry. And seeing my previous works for several companies, I imagined how many kittens have cried because of them. Hahaha. Pardon my being so literal here.

I admire companies who are willing to risk and I could only wish that all our clients are like them. We cannot change our clients' mindset if we keep doing the same things. We have to prove we can do something else, give them something that will surprise them, forget the safe bets. Don't make those kittens cry.

Be the iconoclast but be ready for some bruises.