Maanasa Sundara

I have been longing for a change in my career, but for the longest time, I did not know exactly what that would look like. It took a lot of networking coffees and interviews to push me in this direction. In the past 2 to 3 years, I reconnected with my love for writing through workshops, book clubs and community circles. I submitted some creative writing to online literary magazines, and got published a few times. I also found myself doing a lot of copyediting and writing at my current job, so it seemed like a skill I could expand upon. I decided to take a leap with this course, despite not knowing anyone with direct experience in taking the course. I took a look at Tasha's work experience and felt inspired. What I found was that copywriting, while initially challenging, sparked something in me and tickled my brain in just the right way. Looking forward, I'm genuinely excited for the career possibilities ahead.

An unintended benefit of this course was the space it gave me to conquer my perfectionism. Prior to this, I had a lot of shame and fear around my writing, so I appreciated the way the course immediately addressed that aspect of being a writer. I learned how to take a more strategic, unsentimental approach to reading and editing my own work. Not unsentimental to the point of not caring, just to the point where I became objective in my refinement process. I became reassured in my abilities as a writer, while also accepting that I have room to grow.

My favorite thing about the course was receiving feedback from Caitland. She would always leave fun and affirming comments in the Google doc! Honorary mention to the "How to be a stronger writer (at any level)" recorded workshop. It was a fun way to demonstrate the chiseling process, while also discrediting the threat of AI.

This course is a good option for someone who is a beginner with a full-time job, like myself, but be prepared to be patient. It could take a bit longer than you'd expect to truly learn the skills and leave with a quality portfolio. Also, print out the course handbook and keep it inside a 3-ring binder. Write out your ideas on the pages. Trust me on this: it helps so much in keeping your thoughts and progress organized in a material way.

I'm glad I now have a strong foundation with many resources to build a freelance career. There's a wealth of information and advice for me to reference as I reach out to potential clients and search for work.