“Don’t criticize, don’t complain, don’t condemn.” I’ve heard this piece of advice attributed to a number of people, including Andrew Carnegie.

I’m not much of a complainer. Criticizing? I’m getting better. Condemning? Most of us do that one almost second nature. E.g., “If he keeps on smoking he’s going to have a stroke.”

The following video may spook you out. We filmed it last night. It involves a very moldy jack-o-lantern and one of the best holiday email copy I’ve ever written. I created the piece for one of my old alternative health clients.

The doctor said, “This is outstanding stuff.”

Yet he didn’t use it (he still paid me).

• Nearly 6 in 10 Americans never read another book after high school
• For college graduates, the number drops to 42%
• Average Canadian reads 1.5 books a year (blind people “read” more books!)

Now, as copywriters we can don our “worry hats” and collectively lament the death of our profession…

In response to my video on the use of exclamation points in direct-response copy, Lee Honts commented…

“My view on exclamation points is simple: I understand who I’m writing to - after [that] I just FEEL it.”

I’m going to make a few assumptions in this e-column…

You got into the sales copywriting game to make a lot of money because you don’t have much of it right now.

So while your brain sees six to seven figures in your copywriting future, your real world bank account contains maybe four or five digits in savings. (Maybe three?)

Herein lies this Tuesday morning’s conundrum…

Let’s say you’re writing a sales letter…

It may take you 40 hours to get it 90% as good as you can get it. It may take another 40 hours to conquer that final 10%. The closer a project comes to reaching “perfect” the longer each incremental improvement takes.

Today marks the debut of REALITYcopywriting TV. Depending on your feedback, it may also be the series finale…

In school, I sat up front and answered all the questions –even when no one asked. I slept through classes and still scored A’s.

Yes, I was the Hermione Granger-type… annoyingly smart.

For the last seven years, however, I’ve been working earnestly to erase everything I learned. Here’s why…

Many copywriters tell me that they’re fans of the new Battlestar Galactica TV series.

Doesn’t surprise me…

When the pilot first aired, part two received MORE ratings than part one.

People who don’t care for science fiction can’t get enough of it.

Colin here, writing from Downtown, Seattle…

This vacation marks Cedrik’s first foray into America and abroad… and he’s going nuts. I chased him through all of Nordstrom this afternoon.

I also attended my first call of Shaune Clarke’s “Copywriting Client Marketing System” the Saturday prior. Shaune’s protégé, Terri Dumont reworked the course to a whole new level. She’s the one teaching the program, actually.

We are in good hands.