15 creative tips Bizzy gave to friends this year
Did she follow her own advice?? Um...
Greetings, readers. This is your intrepid writer friend Bizzy Coy, checking in from the wilds of Sullivan County, NY.
Winter came early to Camp Coy this year. We’ve already had one snowstorm that knocked out the area’s power for two whole days. My little woodstove was called into action to keep me and the pup warm.
Country livin’!
My new short story in Grand Journal
I’ve been toiling away at short stories all year. Not funny stories, which is what I’ve mostly written in the past. Actual serious stories! “Literary”-adjacent stories! A new thing for me.
I’ve started to submit some of these stories for publication, and one of them has found a home. “Buttered Toast” has been published in the new issue of Grand Journal. Huzzah!
Grand is a beautifully printed art & literary publication. It’s the brainchild of Aaron Hicklin—the owner of my local bookstore and host of the podcast Shelf Life—whose sumptuous accent I could listen to every minute of every day.
“Buttered Toast” has everything you need: a slimy condom left behind at an Airbnb, needlepoint as a dissociative measure, kids doing unpaid manual labor, a disappeared dad and an unstable mom.
Take a peek.
Excerpt from “Buttered Toast”
At the new place (and every place was the new place, until they left, when it became the old place), Sarah was assigned to clean. She did not mind. She preferred to keep her hands busy so her mind would stay quiet. She cleaned at the old place. At a few of the old places. Cleaning was better than whatever it was the adults did all day. Talking? Crying? Feeling their stupid feelings?
Cleaning was real. Cleaning had a before and after. Unmistakable evidence. You could see it, right there in front of you. You could feel the burn of the hot dishwater. The softness of the clean clothes. Real.
It was like Sarah’s dad said once, when she was a little kid. He was making her breakfast before he went to work. He must have made her breakfast many times, but she could not remember any of those times, only this one time in particular.
“Do you want butter on your toast?” Even asked.
“Yes,” she said.
He brought her plate to the table. Where was the butter? She didn’t see any butter. Even explained, he had buttered the toast, but the toast was warm, so the butter melted, soaked into the bread so you couldn’t see it anymore, but it was still there. She would taste it as soon as she took her first bite.
“No,” she cried, with actual tears. “I want butter!”
Even slathered the toast again. Cold thick pats, unmistakable icebergs of butter. Sarah was satisfied.
“You’re one of those people,” he said, “who have to see it to believe it. Nothing wrong with that. A pretty good way to be.”
For the first time in her young life, she experienced the awareness that her dad loved her. He had always told her he loved her, but she never felt it in her body, never knew it, until then.
He usually kept a distance, as though he was watching her in a zoo—interested, entertained, but careful not to get too close, no hugs, no kisses, no tickles, no spontaneous affection. With the toast, she had proof, proof of how he really felt. He didn’t say, come on, you’re being silly, go ahead and eat it. He saw what she needed, and he respected it. What else was that but love? It melted into her until she glistened.
It was the last time she would ever see him.
Don’t forget…
You can read my other short story “Ruminants” in Litt Magazine. It’s got weed-eating goats, medical quackery and a gay relationship torn apart by paint colors. What’s not to love?
15 creative tips Bizzy gave to friends this year
As usual, I can’t keep my mouth shut. About half of the advice I gave this year was solicited. The other half, unsolicited. I’m sorry, friends. Sometimes I can’t help myself.
Honor the creative impulse.
If you’re asking yourself “should I make this thing? Should I not make this thing?” the answer is always, yes, make this thing. If your creativity is nudging you, please pay attention.
Go one step farther than you did last time.
It can be overwhelming, and sometimes disappointing, to chase big creative goals. Don’t obsess over the end point. Instead, make something that is just ONE STEP bigger / better / farther / deeper than the last thing you made. Keep moving one step at a time.
The people who will get you there are your peers.
Invest in your friends and peers. Build connections. Work together. Promote each other’s work. Your peers are the ones who will lift you up on your creative journey, more so than distant gatekeepers.
Sometimes you have to address the past to move forward.
This is not necessarily a creative tip, but a life tip that can help your creativity in the long run. Deal with your stuff. Don’t let it hold you back.
Recognize what is meant for you.
Every so often in life there are opportunities that we feel are just meant for us. Jobs, awards, publication opportunities, whatever. If you believe it is meant for you, don’t let it slip through your fingers. Do everything within your (legal and ethical) power to get it. Talk to all the people, do all the extra credit, put it all on the line. Act with the same confidence as though it was already yours. If you don’t get it, you will have done everything you could and will have no regrets. If you do get it, you will have earned it.
Recognize what is not meant for you.
How many times have I chased after something that I wasn’t ready for, didn’t align with my values, or was not a match for me? No more!
Be vocal.
Talk about what you want and what you are working towards. Not just on social media, but in real life. Speak the words aloud to another human being. Let people into your journey.
We interrupt this list for some FREELANCE COPYWRITING-SPECIFIC advice!
Some freelance problems, you just can’t fix.
If the client’s needs and your needs don’t align, don’t take it as a personal failure. That’s the way it goes sometimes. There are many factors outside your control. It’s okay.
A lot of freelance success comes from knowing two things: what you want, and what you are willing to put up with.
Realizing something needs to change is not a failure.
The realization itself is a success. Now you know what’s up. Now you can try something different. Well done.
Freelance pricing is rarely about what you’re worth.
It’s about what the client is willing and able to pay. It’s okay to have different rates for different projects and different clients. Do what you need to do.
If a freelance copywriting client can’t effectively explain what they want you to do, help them figure it out. And charge them for it. Congrats! You’re now a freelance strategist.
The six questions to ask freelance copywriting clients.
Who is the audience? What do you want them to do? Why should they do it? Where and when will they encounter this copy? How will you measure success? And finally, is there a brand voice? (The answer may shock you!)
Things take time.
Keep going.
Have fun.
3 pieces of advice Bizzy gave herself this year
Not content to tell others what to do, I had to sit myself down and have several heart-to-hearts this year. Just a few things I told Bizzy:
Say less.
I’m a talker. I can’t help it. But I’m learning to say the important things, and little else. No need to over-explain, to justify, to ramble, to hedge. Choose your words wisely, Bizzy.
Be where you are.
Be in the place where you live. Be in this moment in time. Be in your current level of skill/success/progress. There is nowhere else to be except where you already are. (I opined about this at length in a recent issue of BIZZY IN YOUR BOX.)
Make the thing.
Stop waiting for someone else to make it for you, or to give you permission, or to figure it out on your behalf. You have all the tools you need to make the thing. Make it.
Pick my brain about freelance copywriting
It’s been a looooong time since I’ve offered up my services as a career buddy. (Career coach sounds too… serious? Official? That’s not what I do.)
In the past, I’ve spoken over the phone or on Zoom with folks just like you. We’ve talked about:
Freelancing
Copywriting
Writer’s block
The advertising/marketing industry
Job-hunting frustrations
Finding freelance clients
Setting and negotiating rates
Figuring out what to do about awkward freelance situations
Gut checks
Roadblocks within paid or personal writing projects
Finding a writing process that works for you
Prepping for job interviews
Applying for grants and residencies
Weird career decisions
Humor writing and publishing
The kinds of “oh, life!” stuff that pops up when you’re a writer and/or freelancer and/or creative-type person.
When I have done this in the past, most calls go one of three ways:
You talk yourself into the brilliant solution you already had inside you all along
You need reassurance you’re doing the right thing, and I tell you yes, you’re doing the right thing
You confess you’ve been secretly watching nonstop live streams of Disney World parades on YouTube, and I confess that I have, too
If you want to pick my brain, now’s your chance. Rifle through the filing cabinet of my 15 years’ experience as a full-time and freelance copywriter. Who knows what you might find in there?
It’s not free this time around! I’ve offered hundreds of free calls over the years, and I just can’t hack it anymore. (You get it.)
50 bucks will get you 30 minutes (which, I’ve found, is exactly the amount of time most people need).
Shoot me an old-fashioned electronic mail (bizzycoy@gmail.com) and we’ll find a mutually agreeable time to chat. I love doing this, so don’t be shy. It’ll be fun. I look forward to hearing from you.
That’s it from Camp Coy. Thanks, as always, for hanging out with me.
I’ll see you next month, with a big announcement about a book I made that will be for sale.
xoxo
Bizzy
Great advice- thanks Bizzy!
I love this. So many truth nuggets in here for writers and creatives, like this one: The people who will get you there are your peers.