Send an article or promotion to run in Early to Rise these days, and it could very well end up right here... 
And I don't care if you're Gary Bencivenga, John Carlton, Clayton Makepeace or even Michael Masterson himself!
But here's the thing. It's not because the copy might be crappy. Let me explain...
You see, I review a TON of writing (cue strings).
Every word that runs in Early to Rise, every word of every promotion, advertorial, email, JV deals, you name it, I've read it. And that's not to mention the edits, changes, deletions, etc.
I'm not complaining - I love it - but this is a lot of copy and it takes a lot of time.
And so after ten to twelve hours (or more) on the computer at work, I just can't stand to stare into the monitor at home for 2 or 3 more hours at night. (OK, I can to read sports updates, restaurant reviews, microbrew news, travel ideas... but puhleez - no more friggin work!).
But Lord knows, at ETR we have a daily ezine and the issues must go out - and so they must go through our very strict "quality control" gauntlet of which I am just one part.
So lately, I've started a new routine. I print stuff out. Wow, paper - what a concept!
The advantage is that I can then carry it around and review a few pages whenever I have a moment. At a traffic light... At a quick lunch... When I'm waiting for a haircut... or even when I'm in the... well, you know.
Call me old-school, but I like reading from paper. I seem to get a clearer picture. Little problems with promos jump out at me. Of course when I'm doing serious reviews I do them in quiet and in one session. But for smaller blocks of non-urgent copy, I'm getting a lot more done with this new approach.
Are you an old-schooler too who still likes paper? Let me know if I'm not the only one!
3 comments:
I'm with you, Charlie. I think us old school folks have a penchant for paper because it's in our DNA -all those reams we fed into typewriters, you know? We generate tons of paper in our business, too - real estate - and there never seems to be enough time to review it all. I don't know if I'll be taking it into the loo with me, but I like your idea of reviewing bits here and there. Thanks for the fun post.
Ken Haedrich-AnnapolisHomeDigest.com
YES, I like paper...especially to proofread. Before I submit a travel article, I print it out before I go to bed, leave it near the coffee pot, then read it outloud between sips of wake-up juice the next morning. Errors seem to jump off the page.
Rebecca McCormick,
Travel Journalist and Photographer, Hot Springs Village Voice
Hi Charlie, I wouldn't want to say that I'm "old school," but that building has gone into decay.
But not me! I do love the feel of paper. When I'm doing copywriting or anything creative or important, I almost always print out versions to go over. I'm a lousy self-editor, so I have to read closely for errors.
It's also an AHA creator. Why reading the hard copy give me new ideas more than on screen, I don't know.
I hadn't thought about the portablility factor. Especially for my morning "reading room."
Tom Justin
www.FirstStepInternetMarketing.com
www.HowToTakeNo.com
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