A little pause: Freelance copy writing (or how my love affair with the comma began)

Such a colorful comma ...

Good Morning Mystique.

Congratulations and welcome to the Online Writing Jobs writing team!

It was a nice way to start the day.

Granted, I figured I’d get an offer. Well, OK. Let me back up. I actually thought this morning that it was odd that I hadn’t heard from them. I figured they would have had time to look at my stuff. Was it that bad that I couldn’t get a copy writing job? Had I completely misunderstood the directions? (Yep, still working on handling rejection or perceived rejection.)

Turns out it was none of those. It just took a couple of days for them to look at it and get back to me.

It’s copy writing for websites, which isn’t exactly what I want to do. It’s freelance, which isn’t ideal, but it will be money in my pocket. I’ll have a greater appreciation for writers when I do get to edit.

I spent a good amount of time this afternoon reading through the content on the website to familiarize myself with everything. I don’t know it, but I know when and where to look for it – kinda like AP Style.

They give you a grade on each assignment, and if you meet all the qualifications, you get a better grade. Better grades can mean higher pay and a chance at higher-paying specialty projects.

If you don’t meet all the qualifications, your grade drops. Too many low grades, and you can be suspended.

You did a fine job on your test assignment, and the editorial staff has provided the following feedback:- Thank you for submitting this writing sample. - Minor grammatical errors detracted from the quality of the provided copy.- In the future, please do not link within the copy to the page that the copy is intended to live on.

Fortunately, I got an A. (I am a perfectionist with rejection issues.) I really want to know what the “minor grammatical errors” were. (See note in parentheses above.) It might be a difference in style from AP to theirs. I also thought linking to a related page on the website to promote one of the company’s other products was a good idea, but apparently not.

I see, in their style guide, they not only like but require the Oxford comma, although they don’t call it that. As a newspaper journalist, I’m not a fan, unless it’s needed for clarity, which I understand. Actually, they like commas a lot, to the point of overuse, in my opinion.

(Did you see how many commas I put in that paragraph?)

It’s not up to me, though, in this case, to make the rules. I just get to follow them. So commas are my friend going forward. And I can’t write like I talk (or think). No, you, dear blog readers, will be my only source for fragments, run-ons and sentences that don’t really … well, you get the picture. I’ll have to get back to journalistic standards fit for publication.

I don’t want it to seem I’m not pleased with this. I am. I feel validated that I can write SEO copy for websites and get paid for it. After I have a few done, I’ll be able to add it to my resume to enhance my job search. It will help me be a better copy editor.

Maybe I’ll really like it. And maybe I’ll fall madly, deeply in love with commas. No, seriously. It’s just a little pause.