And yet more copywriting - the past week at work

Above: Claire and I went to Pizza Express

Monday

My “new” job. Because I wanted to make a good impression I caught an earlier train and had to stand all the way to London. I arrived at the agency and walked up the stairs past the old floor and into my new office.

Although I had worked “upstairs” before, and half-coveted a permanent place there, now the transition had actually happened I was (as usual) filled with doubts. Dithering and inadequate Ian may have been, but he was not a hard boss. Terry, on the other hand “runs a tight ship”.

My arrival was encouraging. People seemed to be expecting me. After a brief welcome by Terry I was taken to the back area (screened off by a wall of glass) where I have been allocated a desk opposite Creative Director Marc Baxter.

My new role is to be one and a half days as a copywriter, three and a half days helping on Val’s account team. However, because there is a backlog of copywriting I spent the entire week working with Marc and junior copywriter Claire. Almost immediately Account Director Nicola was briefing me on some work.

Tuesday

More copywriting. In my new job there is much less interaction with the clients, and I miss getting out of the office (often I would invent reasons to go and see someone, just to break up the day). I soon became aware that boredom is likely to be a big factor in my new role.

Lunchtime Claire and I went to Pizza Express for a pizza, some ice-cream and a cup of coffee. It was a hot day, and the air-conditioning in Pizza Express wasn’t working so the atmosphere was sweltering. We also had to watch the time - “upstairs” you get exactly one hour for lunch, with no extensions.

Claire has been a copywriter at the agency for about nine months. It is her first job after leaving university (where she did English). She talked about how difficult Marc Baxter can be, often making her rewrite things - once she had to rewrite an ad seven times before he was happy.

Wednesday

Yet more copywriting. Although I know everyone on this floor slightly, it is surprising how much I don’t know about them (if that doesn’t sound contradictory). The only people I know really well are Rachel and Doug - and they are on the other side of the office well out of the way.

Because as writers we are supposed to need peace and quiet no-one comes into our area to chat. We are trapped behind a big glass wall, able to see the rest of the office being sociable and interacting with each other. Things are worse when Marc Baxter is in the screened-off area as he likes things to be absolutely silent.

I tend to favour long copy rather than short copy. This is not always popular with the Account Executives but because I am quite experienced as a copywriter I am able to sell my work to them. Generally I don’t rewrite things - this is not creative arrogance or egomania but a practical technique to preserve my sanity. I know from other writing jobs I have had that if you give in to rewrites there is no end to it. I tell the Account Executives that I have done my best, and can’t improve on it, but if they want to make any changes they should go ahead make them (very seldom do they do this). I realise that this may lead to a clash with the senior account directors, but I am ready for this (and will “move on” if necessary).

Something must have been said already to Marc Baxter as out of the blue this afternoon he asked to see everything I was working on. He spent about an hour reading through it all, then gave it back to me saying “This is faultless”. He said this in a toneless voice, not at all friendly or complimentary.

Account director Trevor gave me a very late brief so I had to work until 6.30 to get it done.

Thursday

And yet more copywriting so that I was becoming thoroughly fed-up with it all.

Kate rang me up from downstairs ostensibly to ask me about some of the projects I had been working on, but mainly we just talked. Her new business role has gone, and she is back account handling (all the accounts I had taken over from her originally nearly a year ago). She said Ian wanted to move the agency out of the building and they were looking at new offices near Kings Cross.

In the evening I went to the theatre with H.

Friday

Because I had been out so late I took the morning as a half-day holiday (prearranged) and slept until 10am. When I got up I had a shower, a very late breakfast, then went to work. The train journey was very comfortable, and I was able to get a table seat where I read the Guardian and the Times and drank some coffee.

In the office Marc Baxter asked me to write a radio commercial. When I gave it to him he said (grudgingly): “You can certainly throw words down on a page.” He left early at 4 o’clock.

When Marc Baxter had gone Rachel came into the screened-off area and we talked. She said that Terry had appointed me to the writing job without Marc Baxter’s knowledge. The directors of the agency had been angry with the continual back-log of copywriting, and felt Marc Baxter needed some help.

This explains why Marc Baxter has been so unenthusiastic about my arrival. He had just been told by Terry that he was to have an assistant. So this is yet another poisoned chalice to be handed to me.