Why there ain't no Mary Sue A-list copywriters
Published: Thu, 01/09/20
(i.e. Mary Suewalker)
What is a Mary Sue?
It’s an idealized version of the author or what the author imagines, that doesn’t really have any major flaws, is often a projection of the author, and even if they have some superficial flaws (“she’s so clumsy & quirky, I can TOTALLY relate to her!” — and other manic pixie dream girl rationalization hamster spinning…), she is never really in any danger, somehow has all the answers/skills/abilities when needed, and doesn’t have to really learn or earn anything — they just “know” whatever it is they need to win the day.
Put 'em together and what do you got?
Boredom.
Contrast that to characters who are not Mary Sue — and are instead ordinary & flawed people put in extraordinary circumstances, who have to think and work their way out of problems to avoid dying, losing, etc.
Anyway, what does any of this have to do with your copywriting?
If you read the first part of my interview with the great Kim Krause Schwalm this morning, you will see she was very clearly not a Mary Sue copywriter. She was not just handed success, either. And she had to figure out her way into the industry, had to think her way through getting her first control & rewriting ads that completely flopped & bombed, and had to claw her way to the top echelons of the copywriting world.
That’s the beauty of direct response copywriting.
There are no Mary Sues.
No “naturals.”
And, even if there was one, that’d be the last person to learn from.
Why?
It’s not unlike in the dating niche, where there are guys who have never had trouble getting a date since puberty, who women come to when called, and they can pick any chick they want. i.e. they don’t know “how” they do it, because they never had to learn how and never had to figure the game out. Thus, why the top guru-types in that niche tend to be guys who were socially awkward bumbling rejects and rarely the naturals.
Back to Kim:
This is one reason she’s a great resource to learn from.
And if you want to learn the art and science of copywriting from someone like her who had to figure it all out, and wasn’t just handed a career because cronyism or nepotism or accident-of-birth-talent writing world-class ads out of the womb… she’s offering her new Copywriting Velocity program at a discount until Sunday at midnight via my affiliate link below.
And, as a shameless “carrot” to get you to check it out:
If you nab her program before the deadline via my affiliate link she will also send you (no need to send me your receipt, Chuckles) access to my “Swiperoscope Saga: Part 2” videos. These videos contain over 2 hours of Yours Crotchety’s favorite private swipe file ads & sales letters analyzed & examined line-by-line under the proverbial “microscope.”
You can read more about what’s in these videos here:
http://www.EmailPlayers.com/kim
Ben Settle