I can truly say that writing with Autumn was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had. Not only did I learn about the craft of creative writing, but she gave me the confidence and tools I needed to believe I could write something worth reading.
Holly Brantley, Former Student | Current NC State MFA ProgramHow I happened to become a professional copywriter
I have always been a writer of some kind or another, even before I became a copywriter. It’s how I learn, and I love to learn. In fact, I started my writing career as an English teacher in North Carolina, and I was a pretty good one. I was excited to introduce writing to young people as a tool for thinking, reflecting, imagining, and even making changes in the world.
Despite all that, young Autumn would’ve laughed if you told her she’d grow up to be a professional writer. She wouldn’t have been out of bounds in her skepticism either. I would never have even considered it if it hadn’t been for my husband Jack, an IT guy I first met in New Orleans. He had started a tech business of his own and saw a market for marketing copywriters. Almost the minute we got married, he began to encourage me to start a copywriting business.
I was as skeptical of the idea as young Autumn, and for good reason. I knew nothing about running a business, and I had only the vaguest idea of what copywriters or marketers even do. But I gave it a go anyway because I’m a bit of a go-getter.
That was way back in 2013. Today, I get to write every day and learn about an incredible range of topics – from feline obesity to machine learning processes in insurance underwriting. They’re not all sexy, but I get a kick out of every single project I work on. Being a copywriter gives me plenty of opportunities to stretch my brain and play with words, two of my favorite pastimes. It’s also a great way to meet other people following their professional passions, which is one of my passions.
I love numbers, too. These are a few of my favorites.
I’m proud to belong to and support these local professional organizations.
I’m proud to belong to and support several wonderful local professional organizations.
What does a copywriter do in her free time?
Would you believe that she writes?
You’d think after a day of writing blog posts and white papers and web content I’d be all out of words. Nothing could be further from the truth. All of the writing I do for clients acts as cross-pollination that inspires me to write about other things. Strange things. Like teenage secret agents in my self-published YA series Perilous and Sparks and bluebird-haunted corpses in my folk horror novel-in-progress The Other Side of Yonder.
When I’m not writing for clients or writing fiction for fun, I’m helping build community among writers locally as a board member of the forty-year-old Carteret Writers Group. I also dabble in website and graphic design. I built my first business website in HTML, my second in Drupal, and all the rest in WordPress. I play around in InDesign and PhotoShop, and sometimes, I even experiment with video and audio content.
You’d think after a day of writing blog posts and white papers and web content I’d be all out of words. Nothing could be further from the truth. All of the writing I do for clients acts as cross-pollination that inspires me to write about other things. Strange things. Like teenage secret agents in my self-published YA series Perilous and Sparks and bluebird-haunted corpses in my folk horror novel-in-progress The Other Side of Yonder.
When I’m not writing for clients or writing fiction for fun, I’m helping build community among writers locally as a board member of the forty-year-old Carteret Writers Group. I also dabble in website and graphic design. I built my first business website in HTML, my second in Drupal, and all the rest in WordPress. I play around in InDesign and PhotoShop, and sometimes, I even experiment with video and audio content.
