A Quest for Interstellar Glory (Kinda)
Writers are so full of shit, sometimes. We slap our writing degrees onto About pages under braggy headers like “writing chops," mash in some keyword phrases for SEO, but balk when the time comes to write something interesting about ourselves.
Guilty!
My full-time freelance writing career officially began in September 2020, when I left corporate America for good. Up until then, I'd held three in-house writing roles across those ten years. Technical writing at ESET North America. Copywriting for Welk Resorts (yes, that Welk Resorts). And Content Strategy for MindTouch (now part of NICE inContact).
My career as a freelance copywriter in San Diego was a mixed bag. The first freelance writing assignment I found came by way of Craigslist—I wrote trivia questions at $5 a pop (not kidding). Since then I’ve written SEO blog posts for auto dealerships, site copy for an adult store, and even helped a lactation consultant revamp her website. A startup once paid me to write a historical piece about the Dryden District here in San Diego.
Then I decided to give Upwork a shot. Since then, the quality and quantity of freelance work has expanded dramatically. I’ve put together technical whitepapers for one of the largest IT companies in India, ebooks for a huge marijuana cultivator. I’ve secured a steady rotation of long-term clients, earned Expert-Vetted status, and completed hundreds of jobs.
Check Out My Interview in SDVoyager
Read “Inspiring Conversations with Martin Ceisel of Copy Martin” to learn a bit more about my background and story.
We All Have a Tipping Point...
Of course, you spend enough time with one foot in, one foot out, and eventually you reach decision time. A breaking point, for some. The tipping point, for others. I’d built my freelance business up enough on the side that it started talking to me in the wee hours. It started talking smack at my in-house job, too. The voices grew louder and louder.
Being a full-time freelance copywriter in San Diego wasn’t always my dream. As a kid growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, I wanted to be a meteorologist like my idol Jerry Taft (rest in peace). After coming home from a year spent living in Bratislava, Slovakia, I thought I might put my Slovak language skills to use by entering the foreign service. For years, I've written and published short stories under the pseudonym Anthony Martin.
At one point, I even thought I was going to be a professional football player.
To say I’ve given up on some of those dreams would be a lie. Hope springs eternal (except for football—no chance). The point is, I’ve had the great privilege of being close to big ideas, problems, successes, addictions, recoveries, gigs, jobs, and places. Above all, I’ve been lucky to meet big people with big beautiful hearts.
Writing Chops
Along the way, I’ve put in the hours for a number of in-house copywriting and content marketing roles. My work for these companies includes hundreds of website copywriting assignments, case studies, ebooks, white papers, and blog posts.
M.A. Rhetoric & Writing Studies
San Diego State University (2014)
B.A. Russian & Eastern European Studies
Illinois Wesleyan University (2009)
