Comments on: Do copywriters have their own jargon?

By: Ben Locker

Ben Locker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:30:54 +0000

Standfirst, yes – but I’ve worked in magazines. ‘Tone’ does the trick for me, as does ‘voice’. ‘Tone of voice’ is a tad wordy and clichéd, I agree.

By: Ken Munn

Ken Munn — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:08:49 +0000

How about a standfirst. Do we all know what that means?

And my least favourite (thanks John SImmons), tone-of-voice.

By: Harriet

Harriet — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:26:51 +0000

Oh, that ‘word count’ definition is so true.

At the laying out stage it leads to the phrase ‘Edit it to fit’ – normally meaning ‘When we said 800 words, we actually meant there was space for 500′.

Yes, lose the 300 words but don’t lose any of the squillion dot points of user-benefits…

By: Ben Locker

Ben Locker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:10:08 +0000

Oh, that ‘word count’ definition is so true.

At the laying out stage it leads to the phrase ‘Edit it to fit’ – normally meaning ‘When we said 800 words, we actually meant there was space for 500′.

By: Ken Munn

Ken Munn — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:06:00 +0000

Spin it and sex it up. Borrowed from politics?

I’ll just sub it down a bit. I’ll knock out all the shit the client has put in and cut the length 50%.

I’ll make it benefit-led. Surely you don’t expect the public to buy this?

Typos and grammaticals – prime trade jargon.

Word count – a random number that’ll never fit on the page, not even in seven-point.

Kick it about a bit. Take out all the unnecessary words.

By: Tiffany Markman

Tiffany Markman — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:58:54 +0000

I agree with this 100%:

Client: ‘Not quite on message’ = GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN
Client: ‘I’ve had some ideas about the copy’ = Long night ahead

My two cents’ worth:

‘Tweak the copy’ = Re-write it from scratch and charge nothing
‘Have a look’ = Give me free tips and advice on improving it
‘Urgent’ = I need it back within 2 hours, even tho’ it’s 350 pages

By: Judycopywriter

Judycopywriter — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:50:56 +0000

Copybombs: those last minute alts they ‘didn’t want to bother you with’. C-bombs destroy your concept, f*ck up your grammar and turn a great piece of writing into a steaming pile of sh*t.

And the first thing you know about it is when you open that long-awaited print sample…

By: Vicki Jeffels

Vicki Jeffels — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:29:26 +0000

Then of course there’s ‘we need our company/product name in the first three lines at least 4x for SEO!’

By: Harriet

Harriet — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:28:28 +0000

Client: ‘Not quite on message’ = GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN
Client: ‘I’ve had some ideas about the copy’ = Long night ahead

And the prize for most overused line: ‘And all for just *insert insanely expensive price here’

By: Ben Locker

Ben Locker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:21:11 +0000

@Larner and @Vicki Jeffels – you’ve reminded me of a journalistic one, that’s closely related.

‘Put it in house style’ – a euphemism that means ‘Please take my ill-researched notes, fact-check them, supplement them with original information, rewrite them from scratch and then publish the final article with my name at the top.’

The correct euphemism that should follow such a request is too graphic to post.