Every day, I fall to my one good knee and thank my lucky stars that I stumbled upon this copywriting thing.

It really is a spectacular way to earn a living. He turned me, a penniless high school dropout, into a millionaire, and he’s doing the same for many other writers I could name.

However, not everything that every online guru tells you is necessarily the gospel truth. (“DUH!” – right?)

Look, these guys are primarily selling one product. They are also editors. And well… let’s just say that sometimes, they can get a little carried away when selling their books, courses and conferences.

So let’s take a few minutes to set the record straight by examining the three biggest, fattest lies being told online about freelance copywriting…

Big Fat Lie #1: “If you can write a simple letter, you can become a great copywriter.” Nonsense. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: what we do is not about writing. In fact, many of the worst impersonators I’ve ever had were English students. The worst was an English teacher.

Copywriting is first and foremost about persuasion: persuading prospects to pay attention to us and read our sales messages…persuading them to accept our point of view and believe that our products really deliver the benefits we promise. …and finally, persuade them to order NOW.

Just do that in your copy, and stick to promoting products that people already want, and you can make a living as a copywriter.

To make a good living (more than $1 million a year), you’ll need to go one step further: You’ll need to master the art of creating desire for a product or benefit your prospects have NOT yet decided they want.

How are these skills acquired? Well, for starters, you could change your focus: instead of studying writing, study sales. Better yet, take a night job as a salesperson. Maybe at a used car dealer. Maybe selling insurance or vacuum cleaners from door to door.

Learn to anticipate objections and deny them. Learn to measure the value, both practical and emotional, that your product brings to people’s lives. Practice minimizing the price and master asking for the sale.

How do I know it will help you become a better copywriter? I’ve done it, that’s why! In elementary school, I sold greeting cards door to door. In my teens, I sold by buying club memberships door to door. In my early 20s, I sold cars for a Chrysler dealership in Tulsa and video production services in Los Angeles.

Trust me, that experience will help make you a better copywriter than any guru’s book, course, or lecture.

So get your chops dirty. The best copyists I’ve ever had were mediocre writers. A couple of them were downright lousy at grammar, spelling, and punctuation. But they had a gift for persuasion and for creating desire in their readers.

Once you’ve mastered those two all-important skills, you’re 99% of the way home. The rest can be handled by a proofreader.

Lie #2: “Copywriting is ‘the lazy man’s road to riches.'” Uh…come again???

In my not-so-humble opinion, too many people these days try to sell copywriting courses and lectures by painting vivid mental images of the copywriter as a gentleman or gentle lady of leisure.

No hitting… no office hours… no rules. Get rich writing at home in your underwear or at the beach having a mai tai in your Speedos. Start when you want, call it a day when you want, take a day, week or month off when you want.

Reality check, PUH-LEEZE!

First, it takes years of hard work to become a great copywriter: first, learn the ropes… second, sell yourself to a client… and third, apply what you’ve learned in the real world.

Second, the “be your own boss” thing is crazy. If you’re going to be a freelance copywriter, you’ll have more bosses than you can swing a stick at, and each one of them will want a piece of you.

For one thing, every president, group editor, marketing director, marketing manager, compliance officer, secretary, and janitor at every company you’ll ever write for is itching to get their eager little fingers on your copy.

Memorize this, I don’t know who said it first:

The most intense human desire is NOT for air, water, food or sex.

It is the longing of a human being to change the copy of another.

… Objective WHY?

My theory: It’s just office politics. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by playing your copy.

If an employee at a client’s company makes a change and their copy works fine, they can take credit. Suddenly, they might find themselves on the fast track to the big promotion and raise, the corner office, the company car, and the super hot personal assistant.

… And of course, if they make a change and your copy flops, they’re covered. After all; you are the editor, so it is YOUR fault. See? They have nothing to lose!

Meanwhile, as a copywriter, your job is to please every one of your bosses without letting them mess up your sales copy or blur your clarity of vision.

And to do that, you’ll have to exercise the patience of a Job, the diplomacy of a Kissinger, and you’ll have to kiss your mondo buttage.

And when all else fails, you need to have the stones to be as stubborn as a mule and as fierce as a pit bull on steroids in defending your vision.

Now, about the “work when you want, take off when you want” thing, there are a couple of things to keep in mind…

First: Every month, a disgruntled postal worker stuffs a bunch of envelopes, called “invoices,” into your mailbox. Each of them has an expiration date printed on it. Your job is to get the money to pay each one of them before that due date.

That means you’ll probably have to work for it; whether you “feel like it” or not.

Second: Every one of your clients is enamored with irritating little things called “deadlines.” A deadline is a date you are given on or before which you must make your copy. If you don’t deliver, you’ll ruin your promotional program, not just this month, but all year long.

Hitting deadlines and then explaining that you were enjoying your “writer’s prerogative” to work whenever or wherever you feel will NOT earn you a lot of repeat assignments.

The bottom line is that producing great copy requires the energy and work ethic of a floor trader and the attention to detail and intense focus of an air traffic controller.

Now maybe YOU can do all of that for a few hours a day or while ogling the girls on the beach, I can’t.

A few months ago, my dear friend Gary Bencivenga sent me an email to my inbox at 4:30 am and I responded immediately.

“Isn’t it interesting,” replied The Great Gary, “that two of the world’s leading copywriters are already at their desks at this hour?”

Interesting, yes. Amazing? He left it up to you.

Lie #3: “You’ll start making lots of money right away.” Maybe… but probably not.

Think about it for a moment: as a copywriter, you only make money when you make money for other people, right?

But when you’re starting out, chances are you’re COSTING everyone who hires you or copy bosses a not-so-small fortune.

Sorry, but let’s be honest here: There are only three reasons why someone would hire a newbie:

1) You have no idea what makes a great copy…

2) He’s too cheap to pay what a copywriter with a real track record would charge him…

3) In very rare cases, if the client is an expert copywriter, they may see some promise in you and hope that the hundreds of excruciatingly painful hours you’ll have to spend reading, critiquing, and editing your copy will eventually make you money.

In any case, your contribution to this process is not worth six figures a year, and it sure as hell isn’t worth seven!

On the contrary: if the world were a fair place, you would be paying for the education you are receiving.

Think about it for a moment…

>> Before becoming a freelance copywriter, Gary Bencivenga worked for years as a junior copywriter, first for David Ogilvy and then for Dan Rosenthal.

>> Arthur Johnson started out as a junior copywriter at The Franklin Mint, earning, I’m sure, a small fraction of what he does today.

>> Jim Rutz, Kent Komae, Brad Petersen and David Deutsch worked in marketing or advertising agencies as in-house copywriters for years before hanging up their freelance shingles.

>> Carline Anglade-Cole, director of marketing for Phillips Publishing, started out writing staff sales copy before striking out on her own.

>> Heck – I spent years working as an in-house copywriter at an LA agency before starting my freelance business!

My advice: if you can’t find a senior freelance writer to copy you, get an awesome job!

I’m serious. Thousands of agencies and direct response companies are hungry for promising staff writers. You may have to move. You may even have to take a temporary pay cut.

Aim …

>> You’ll be immersed in writing and marketing every weekday…

>> You’ll have your copy critiqued by people who know what they’re doing and have a lot to teach you…

>> You’ll add tons of real-life promotions to your portfolio that help you find freelance clients later and…

>> You’ll earn a living wage by learning a skill that can be worth millions to you for the rest of your life.

If you’re willing to do all of the above, and if you have spec assignments or live samples to prove you’ve promised, I’d start applying for a job at every company and direct response agency I can think of.

Do what it takes. It’s worth it!

Well, now… Aren’t I just a ray of sunshine today?…

If I rained on your parade, please forgive me. But the simple truth is that pursuing a career in copywriting is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme.

However, choosing to become a copywriter may be the best idea you ever had.

In 1974, I was a jobless, jobless high school dropout with a wife and two kids. I got a job at an agency and for five years I earned a living wage.

In my first month on my own, I made more money than I had in a year at the agency.

A couple of years later, he was making a quarter of a million a year plus royalties.

Fifteen years later, he was earning a million a year.

Others have done it faster. As I mentioned before, Carline Anglade-Cole made six figures in her first year as a freelance copywriter, and currently makes around $800,000 a year.

So whatever you do, DO NOT get discouraged. If you need encouragement, look how far you’ve come; all the things you know now that you didn’t know a year ago.

Decide to do whatever it takes in the short term to reap the rewards in the long term. Stay with it. Redouble your efforts. Refuse to accept anything but success.

Take my word for it:

The first time a client transfers six figures into your bank account to pay you for two weeks of work, you’ll be glad you stuck it out.