Last week on the Write Way Newsletter we covered Codename Phantom’s question, the Tl;dr of which was:

Well, I say covered…

…but I wrote and wrote and wrote and decided enough was enough and stopped half way through. Well, less than half way through.

And so this is part two of a three parter.

You can read part one here.

But in case you just need a quick refresher.

Cabin Crewmember Codename Phantom wrote in to ask for advice as a copywriter looking to work creatively, and I said he got one big thing right - which is that he established a level of financial security first.

But before we move on to part two, a brief clarification to make.

One reader wrote in to say:

Now Mauro is dead right that sometimes you need to stick with the boring old job.

But like I said last week, “if you don’t have a job that covers your bills while leaving some time to write, then go get one”. If you have one of those jobs that’s all-consuming and doesn’t leave you time to write, then your creative dreams are just as dead as if you have no job and are constantly stressed out about making ends meet.

You need to find the sweet spot of a job that A) pays the bills and B) you can switch off from at the end of the day.

And you also need to understand that if either of those are missing, the solution is not necessarily to go get another job.

Yes, A) is sometimes solved by a better job, but more often it’s solved by reducing the bills. If you need some breathing space to write, you might have to sacrifice that big holiday, the bigger house, eating out so often, whatever… Live well below your means. You’ll be happier that way.

And B) is not always solved by finding another job either. After all, the job that you’ve been doing for a decade will always be easier than the one you just started. Perhaps the key is building routines and rituals into your day to decompress and move on from the day job. Or it’s getting up to write before work so that you can just crash after.

Whatever works for you, capiche?

With that in mind we’re just about ready to move on to part two and learn:

the second thing that Codename Phantom did right.

And that is that he doesn’t want to start teaching copywriting and ghostwriting at this stage of his career. Here’s the relevant section of his missive:

And all I can say is that this is exactly the right attitude!

Yes, there’s the old trope the CAW-CAWs love to trot out:

"You only need to be one step ahead of your customer/student/client to teach them."

But there’s one problem with that:

It’s plain WRONG.

Everyone always repeats the old story about Frank Abagnale, the conman who claimed he once taught an advanced sociology class for a whole term at Brigham Young University. When he was eventually caught, the copper what caught him allegedly asked:

How in the world did you teach that class? You didn’t know anything about advanced sociology.

And Frank allegedly responded:

All I had to do was read one chapter ahead of the students.

Of course, like almost all the stories the CAW-CAWs use to defend their inadequate attitudes, it’s entirely made up. Abagnale did no such thing and it was debunked fifty years ago.

(You can read more about it from Write Way Reader and Cabin Crewmember John Bejakovic here. Yes, that’s the same Bejakovic that has a new book out about conmen. Hmmm. Just like Abagnale. More for those that read the book, no doubt…)

But not only is the whole story a lie, the lesson is just plain wrong as well, and I hate it.

I especially hate what it’s done to online education.

Over and over I see “you don’t need to be an expert to create a course. You just need to be one step ahead of your students.”

And I call
“Bullshido!”
On that.

Why? Why am I going against the grain, sticking out my metaphorical tongue at received wisdom and calling foul on a common play?

Because of the results:

A rash of derivative cookie-cutter regurgitations of better products.

The old saw is right, at least in so far as you can definitely help someone who is two steps behind you. But you can’t help them half as well as someone with some actual experience in the field.

And it might make me less money but I’d rather point you to those people.

Take marketing or online brand-building.

I’m probably two steps ahead of almost everyone on this list.

(With notable exceptions like Carran’s Cabin crewmembers Kieran Drew and John Bejakovic, who are fifty seven steps ahead of me in that field. At least.)

Could I make a course on marketing that would help you?

Probably.

Could I make a course on online brand-building that would help you?

Definitely.

Could I make one that wasn’t derivative of the marketing and brand-building lessons I’ve learned from John, from Kieran, from Chris Orzy, from the Art of Purpose, from Ben Settle and Daniel Throssell?

No.

Honestly, no matter how hard I tried, whatever I made would just end up being a dollar-store derivative of my own teachers.

Because I haven’t spent enough time in the field to learn my own way of doing things. To try all those tactics out and see what works in my world. To experiment and learn.

I haven't gotten in the reps.

And I’m fed up of “email copywriters” who decide to become email copywriters, consume a ton of Settle/Throssell, spend two or three months in the field, and then release a course teaching you how to write amazing emails.

Yes. That hypothetical person is two steps ahead of you.

Yes. They can teach you some of the lessons they learned from their teachers.

No. They don’t really understand the field at the level required to teach it well, or to add their own sauce to the cooking pot.

It’s the classic “I signed up for email players six months ago so now I’m an email expert” syndrome. But they see dollar bills in releasing their own course, and positioning themselves as the sensei when they're still the student.

I think that's wrong.

There’s a reason all my courses are specifically writing-skill-focused.

Marketing and copywriting courses make more money, no doubt about it. And I know enough about both of those to pass as an expert to 99% of the population.

But I haven’t got the real-world reps in that I'd need to have in order to move from Derivative Derek to Expert Eric.

It’s not my field, see Write Way Newsletter 26 about Writers who market vs Marketers who write for more on that.

So I don’t teach it.

Instead, I make a whole lot less money by recommending courses by the people I trust and learn from. Like High-Impact Writing and countless others. Even when I get nothing for it, like recommending anyone serious about email read Adventures in Copyland and Email Players. It’s better for you so I talk about it.

The thing that people don’t realise is that if you’re just one step ahead of your students, all you can teach is that exact step.

In the academic world where Frank Abagnale was allegedly scamming suckers, that’s enough. After all, if you’re teaching to the book then the book is all you need to know. The immediate step they’re learning in that class is all they need.

But if you’re out there teaching real world skills?

Have the decency to work at it for long enough to get real.

And THEN you can release a course or build your brand around it, start talking about it on newsletters etc…

…just like the aforementioned marketing guru of mine, and fellow Write Way Reader John Bejakovic.

John is one of the three guys that I get all my marketing chops from (a necessary evil when you want to be a writer who actually earns money). John’s one of my favourite email writers, marketers, and all round good guy.

I’ve recommended his emails before, but today is a little different because John has a new book out that he asked me to mention to you all, called

10 Commandments of Con Men, Pickup Artists, Magicians, Door-to-Door Salesmen, Hypnotists, Copywriters, Negotiators, Political Propagandists, Stand Up Comedians, and Oscar-Winning Screenwriters

(And you thought I was wordy…)

It came out on Monday, is already a #1 bestselling new release in multiple categories on the Amazon, and I can personally attest to its excellence.

I know a lot of you have already bought it after I mentioned it in the Cabin on Monday, but for those as are Write Way Only, consider this your heads up.

There is so much marketing gold packed into this short (and cheap!) book, and in a way that makes it accessible for the non-marketer writing types like myself who get frustrated with all the clickbait sales tactic bullshido that passes for "marketing" online.

So pick up 10 Commandments of Con Men, Pickup Artists, Magicians, Door-to-Door Salesmen, Hypnotists, Copywriters, Negotiators, Political Propagandists, Stand Up Comedians, and Oscar-Winning Screenwriters here, and thank me later.

Then you can continue with part three of this series next week…

Meanwhile, may your pipe puff more smoke than Abagnale and his CAW-CAW compadres,

James Carran, Craftsman Writer

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