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

by Paetro and Maxine Paetro

Book Overview

Praised as the "essential," "award-winning advertising career classic," here is the industry standard that all aspiring creatives turn to for brutally honest--and often droll--career advice, now fully updated to reflect what most impresses today's top firms. This is the unequivocal go-to source for anyone looking to break into the business. Originally published under the title The Copy Workshop.

Contributors include: David Baldwin, Tom Cuniff,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393732851
• ISBN13: 9780393732856
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Great information, horrible book design

I found this book to be really helpful - what to put, and what NOT to put, in an advertising portfolio; creative and unusual résumé concepts; and all of the insights delivered in a very realistic manner. What is very off-putting is the interior book design. The entire book is set in a HUMONGOUS point size that just screams at you from every page, plus the amateurish illustrations are cheezy. If you can get beyond the aesthetic oddity of the book interior, the information within is quite useful for aspiring art directors. Equally helpful for students just starting out, or for those endeavoring to make a career change.

An invaluable guide for would-be creatives

I am a fiction writer who also wants to write ad copy. I got this book on the recommendation of a professional copywriter and have been glad I did ever since. The book offers sage advice, a comforting hand, and many amusing anecdotes from both Ms. Paetro (herself an advertising professional) and several of the industry's stars. It has informed and inspired me. It has answered questions that troubled me and others I didn't even know I had. It even includes an address to contact Ms. Paetro at for advice-something I've done a couple times. If you want to get into advertising, I highly recommend this book.

Sound Advice and Highly Recommended by the Pros

This is an update of an earlier edition. I've never read the previous edition, but having seen its cover, I wish they had kept the same cover. But I guess that's a fairly minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. To its credit, the "Book" goes beyond just advising on how to put a book (a.k.a. a portfolio to people outside advertising) together. It also offers advice on the job search and interviewing, among other things. A little over a third of the Book is Ms. Paetro's advice. The remaining two thirds consists of advice from numerous advertising veterans, some of them very recognizable names in the industry. The Book itself is kind of an oddity in design. It's somewhat oversized, roughly 8" by 11 ½," and is designed to look like a portfolio. Clever, but I prefer the earlier edition's cover. Most of the type inside is oversized also (14 point?), making it a relatively fast, easy read. The advice appears sound and useful, although the advertising industry is notoriously tough to break into even under the best of circumstances. But my guess is anyone using the advice in this book will have a leg up on others.Whether you are a college student soon to be pounding the street in search of work, or a pro seeking to make a lateral or upward move, there is good advice in here for you. And given some of the names recommending it, it may actually prove to be great advice.

Definitely worth the twenty bucks!

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.

Totally inspirational! It worked for me.

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!