Blog
Ed Says. . . Goodbye!
Well, the day has finally arrived - I am packing my bags and heading off into the wild and woolly world that exists outside of PR. That's right - I'm dipping my toe back into corporate copywriting, and general e-marketing goodness - as well as a spot of freelance journalism.
My writing career started 4 years ago with retail and marketing copy, but I needed to spread my wings to find out if I was any good at writing other stuff. No one wants to find out that they're only good at writing straplines for remote control helicopters, and it was a decision well made.
After mooching around the freelance wilderness picking up odd jobs here and there for travel websites and a couple of now defunct music blogs, I bumped into Claire and Paul at an Ex Libras gig. After chatting nonsense about Dexter, True Blood and Battlestar Galactica (among other things), I found out they were after an intern, and the rest is history.
There aren't many close knit companies out there who'll take on a stranger after a pub chat and a brief interview in Starbucks, but luckily for me, Claire and Paul welcomed me in with open arms. They showed me the ropes, let me take over their news feed and got me to write so many press releases that I can now bash out 400 words in less than 10 minutes. Not all of those words will make sense, but what can you do?
Well, after loading up my computer with enough music to necessitate a hard drive upgrade, and introducing me to some of the most talented, and friendliest, people in the music biz, I realised something fundamental about my career with ABoF: I am absolutely rubbish at talking to journalists. Let me rephrase that - I'm fine chatting to them outside of work, but when it comes to phoning them at their desk, and trying to sell them a band I turn into a blithering idiot. At least, that's what I think I'm like on the phone to journos. I still managed to land stories and reviews, so I can't have made too much of a bad impression, but I could never got over the mental hurdle that makes me want to curl up and die every time I think I'm bothering somebody at work.
So, I thought I'd return to doing what I do best, which is hiding behind a computer, writing my little heart out and ignoring my phone.
The best thing I've gotten out of my time with ABoF is my friendship with Claire and Paul - they're great people, and I don't think I'll need much of an excuse to see the two of them in the future. I still have their Arrested Development box set, and I'm pretty sure Claire will want to keep on stealing my copies of The Walking Dead after I'm done reading them. Plus, they live really near the best cocktail bar in London.
It's been great working with all of you, and don't be a stranger - you'll no doubt see my name popping up on reviews from time to time, so feel free to harass me on twitter: @man_drowning