Product Description

Marketers, creative writers, and individuals for whom copywriting forms part of their job are often required to produce innovative and engaging copy in a short space of time. Creativity is not always on hand, and therefore, on some occasions, additional help is required to find the right phrase, description or slogan. "Gabay's Copywriting Compendium" contains a wealth of inspiring tips, ideas and descriptions to aid the writing process, such as advice on spelling and grammar, examples of rhyming words, suggested euphemisms, and odd facts. The compendium goes on to provide a "Top 25 Rules" section for a number of key topics, such as how to brainstorm, how to write innovative copy, and how to think creatively. The text has been carefully designed to ensure the material can be accessed quickly and easily, and the easy to read layout will assist copywriters in finding appropriate help at any particular moment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #633890 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 704 pages

About the Author
Jonathan Gabay is a trainer, coach and creative strategist, and has vast experience of marketing throughout his career, holding positions such as the Creative Director of the Direct Marketing division at Moorgate Plc, the Creative Marketing Group Head at Saatchi and Saatch plc, the Creative Marketing Director at DPA, and the Head of the Direct Marketing Division at GGA. Jonathan has acted as coach and mentor to some of Europes leading creative companies such as Hawksmere training, Reed Training, Accenture, KPMG, Anderson Consulting, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Vodafone, Creative Labs, Clearwater Communications, Barclays Bank, Hayes Modems, Turner Television, Nyman Libson, Paul YKK Zips, Computacenter, Compaq, and James Capel. He also works closely with the CIM. In five years he has addressed around 2000 leading marketers from top UK companies. Key roles include acting as an advisor on creativity and the Web to the Marketing Society, a copywriter on leading through-the-line-brands, and a Web creative strategist for leading e-markets. He is also a Media spokesperson on the Web and imaginative marketing.

Customer Reviews

A great resource for all writers!
This book does exactly what it says on the packaging. It is a definitive guide, for professionals who 'do words', and is most certainly a compendium for any writer, not just the copywriter.

The Copywriters' Compendium is a fantastic and eclectic collection of wordy ideas, appropriate vocabulary, enticing dictum, and well-researched advice for anyone who gets paid to produce outstanding and memorable copy. It is not a guide to tell you how to go about copywriting from scratch - the author assumes you are already in the business - but if you need to add some zing to your text and wow your customers with your words; you've come to the right place.

There are many fabulous sections to pick and choose from at leisure or at work. Personally, I'd find this book fascinating even if I wasn't a writer, purely because the richness of expression with which it is filled could have me musing all day. There is a whole chapter of Gabay's favourite clichés, another of classic similes (amusingly titled 'As thought-provoking as a well-placed simile'), and more with collections of idioms, quotes, metaphors and even tongue twisters. There are, of course, the usual compendium inclusions of commonly misspelled words and grammatical errors, but all so well-presented and clearly explained that they make for interesting reading in themselves.

Yes, there are some tips for providing particular types of copy, such as writing press releases or direct mail, but these are not extensive. The purpose of the book is more concerned with giving you the 'oomph' you need to pep up your prose and provide inspiration when you can't see the vowels for the typescript. Invaluable - and not solely for the use of copywriters, I'm sure.

If I was to try to offer something in the spirit of constructive criticism, I'd be hard pushed to find anything to say, this volume is one of the most useful 'all-rounder' resources I've picked up, and I'm positive it will become a dog-eared and much thumbed edition on my shelf in no time.