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No one knows what they’re doing in this industry. That’s what I love about it; you constantly have to figure it out. Also, getting a job nowadays is so hard so the fact that you have one means others believe in you and your writing. Keep faking it and one day you’ll realize we all are and have been.
Imposter syndrome lives with us all. Take comfort in the fact that you are good at some form of writing. And then practice on your weakness (long-form) like a madperson. The ultimate antidote to insecurity is action. Practice, practice, practice.
If you're good at short, you're better than most. The number of 50-second ":30" scripts I see daily suggests most struggle with the opposite.
But if you want to get better at longer formats, reading a book or so a month will help teach your subconscious how to do it.
👆 Truth
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I’m still a Jr and feel this on some level every day. Feel some confidence in my writing abilities but conceptually, feel I suck most of the time. I just working hard to prove myself wrong.
Reminds me of something Ira Glass said. How we know what great work looks like. But what we make seems or just is so far away. We’re always gonna compare ourselves to the greats. Just takes time and crying over it some. Then we’ll get there.
Keep at it. We can suck together for a while and just learn to suck less as we go along.
I LOVED that Ira Glass insight. Remember, what he said that all great writers share, is TASTE. And because of that, and because it takes time to become a great writer, you have the taste to recognize that your own fledgling attempts SUCK. That’s OK—I’m fact, it’s good. It means you have taste. What about all the delusional idiots who have no taste and think every idea is great? There are a lot of them (some in high positions in creative departments!) You’re already better than them. Keep at it, and don’t be discouraged. Remember what the previous respondent said: practice, practice, practice. John Coltrane used to spend two hours every day just playing scales. Great basketball players take hundreds of shots from all over the court, every single day. Be open to criticism and don’t take it personally. You’re going to get better, if you keep working at it.
I guarantee it.
You’re new it’s ok to not be great at everything. You’ll learn. In the meantime, be a sponge and learn everything you can about your craft. And the best way to do this IMO is to write.
You know, I've had imposter syndrome for 25ish years now. (that's how long I've been in this industry!) I've had clients love my writing/thinking and others who didn't. My only advice is to be yourself. Don't hold back because of doubt. Put "you" into all your writing. Some bosses / agencies will love your writing. Some won't. In the end, as long as you love what you do, and give it your all, you'll have a job.
Reemphasizing what everyone here has already said, being a junior creative is an opportunity to learn and grow. And our work is often judged subjectively. Someone may hate your writing where another loves it.
In my first ever annual review as a junior, my then manager gave me an absolutely scathing report (this only a few months after I’d been hired on full time from my internship). It sent me into a strange place mentally where I couldn’t trust my own judgement. Is my work even good? What even IS good? (Basically the Spongebob “Pickles” episode)
But it also lit a fire under my ass to learn as much as I could from my coworkers, books on advertising, and even a writing class. What I eventually came to realize was that no matter how hard I worked, my manager just didn’t like my style. They were also toxic. A recruiter got my ass out of that job. In a nutshell, always work to improve your craft, but understand that you can’t please everyone.
No two copywriters are the same. Some of the best headline/short form writers I know majorly struggle with long form, and vice versa. You don’t have to be the best at absolutely everything. Just find what you’re good at, and make sure you’re in a place that nourishes those strengths.
It’s all about persistence, buddy. The longer you can keep fighting, the stronger and wiser you’ll be as you take on new challenges. Don’t kick yourself too much. And definitely don’t give up.
^ re: not giving up — the best thing you can do for yourself at this stage in your career is to push yourself to be prolific. Quantity (of ideas, headline options, etc) breeds quality. And after a while you’ll know which paths are more likely to serve you better than others.
Those feelings are very normal and cyclical (for me at least). But it only takes one killer headline to get my confidence back up. Keep working on your craft and keep your head up. If it were easy would you really want to do it?
Find great ads. Discover what makes them great. Work on identifying insights. Great headlines and copy comes from unique perspectives.
If you think your long form writing is strong, odds are you have great headlines hidden in what you’re already writing.
Share your notion of short form vs long form.
What long form copy are you being asked to write?
Anyhow, I’d suggest you get comfortable with breaking free of the notion put in gen-z’s collective head that you are great at everything you try, and if you’re getting feedback from others, or you’ve noticed yourself, that this isn’t true, that it’s failure on your par, know that It’s not. It’s part of a being in a subjective industry. Keep working hard, listen to people you trust. Get better over time. That’s how it generally works.