Customer Reviews

How to Put Your Book Together and Get a Job in Advertising

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I bought this book in the mid-80s when I was a fledgling copywriter in New York City.

It was helpful in focusing on what was important in putting my book together. But not everything in this book is a hard-and-fast fact. For example, in the author's opinion, it is okay to simply have stick figures for your visuals. But every ad person I talked with said this thinking was completely wrong. The truth is, you need to have as professional-looking a book as possible, which means you need to hire, at the very least, a professional art director to draw your visual for you. Better yet, get some photos for your ad if that is what is meant to be there.

Competition for jobs is just so fierce, you need to do whatever you can to package yourself ahead of the next guy. Great ideas are not enough anymore; they need to look great, too.

In the end, I was always given the "great book, no jobs" refrain. After three years of pounding the streets of NYC, I never got a job. There was even an ringing endorsement from a New York creative director on the back cover which read "I will give anyone who follows this book's advice an automatic interview!" I never even got a return phone call from the guy.

I would recommend this book to a beginner, but with the caveat that the ideas inside are just one person's opinion, and should not be considered gospel.

Who better to give advice on getting a job in advertising than someone who's been doing the hiring for some of the world's finest agencies in New York? But this book is more than a bible to those looking to join the game, it's the Cliff's notes to your future in advertising. Even better, it's simply a fun book.

This book was well worth it! I was pleasantly surprised and read it from cover to cover. If you are serious about getting into a career as a creative, this will help you. The title delivers exactly what it says. Good advice, plain and simple.

You know those rare books that you read that actually change you, and the way you think, and you're never the same because it helps you grow and improve and gives you insight to a whole new way of "being" . . . well, this is one of those books.

Let me start off by saying that I have not read this book. I saw it advertised somewhere and was struck by the fact that after having worked in advertising for ten years, I'd never heard of the author. I did a little research and found that that was due to the fact that she had not worked in advertising since 1987 (that would be pre-internet). Of the people she sites as contributors, almost none of them are currently working, or if they are, they aren't working at hot shops.

Putting your portfolio together is the most important step toward getting a job in advertising, actually, it's the only step toward getting a job. So make sure you get the best advice possible - the most up-to-date advice - and get it from someone who is working someplace you would want to work.

Simply stated, "How to Put Your Book Together and Get a Job in Advertising" is a 'must have' for any who would break into the ad business. It is a classic and tells the entire reality of the business and how to break into it. Yes, it's been in print for over thirty years - and remains the industry 'bible' and go-to reference, packed with details fully updated to reflect top firm operations in modern times. From editing copy to the odds of employment, this is a fine winner!

I am now a copywriter in a London advertising agency. Three years ago, all I knew was that I vaguely wanted to get into advertising. I kept dipping into this book for both inspiration and practical advice throughout my job search, and everything in it was a great help. Unlike many others, it doesn't try to teach everything about the advertising business, just the nuts and bolts for an aspiring creative: what a creative director is looking for in a portfolio, and how to go about getting it. It won't teach you to be a brilliant creative thinker (you've got it or you haven't) but it will show you how to pin down your ideas into a format creative directors want to see. Plus masses of inspiration come from mini-essays by different creatives in different agencies. I hope the new edition spreads the word to the whole new generation of creatives (snapping at my heels!). Thanks Maxine, you changed my life!

Many people ask me which book they should read to help them get a job as a copywriter. My usual answer? Get Maxine's book. It is absolutely "must" reading and the first and last word on the subject!

Many people ask me which book they should read to help them get a job as a copywriter. My usual answer? Get Maxine's book. It is absolutely "must" reading and the first and last word on the subject!

A few years ago, as a college student, I had the opportunity of hearing a speaker who got his start as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather. While speaking, and in private group sessions, he disclosed that before going into advertising, he had just gotten his degree in Political Science, a subject totally unrelated to the fast-paced, crazy-creative, lucrative world of advertising. He bought this book, followed it to a T, built his portfolio, and was able to bluff his way into his first job in NYC. He impressed me so much, that I've been looking for this book ever since. I'm so glad that I was able to find it, (still in print, thank goodness) and am anxiously waiting for its delivery. As of December 2000, I have my degree in advertising, but I wasn't prepared for the angst of breaking into the business, and I was given so little guidance in preparing a 'book'. I think this book is really going to help.