Kirsty Martin: Who I am.

400 characters is simply not enough to accurately describe who I am. Whilst at first I was drawing a complete blank, I think the real problem I was facing was trying to narrow down information about myself, my work, and my personality that would ensure people would want to look into me more - potentially to work with me! I am not 400 characters.

So here I am trying again. To describe myself, who am I, and what I do in a limitless space (at least I think it's limitless). My name is Kirsty Martin and I am a 22-year-old (Gen-Z) copywriter. Put simply, I really like words and stories. So much so, I went and did a degree in it. In 2023 I graduated with a 2nd class degree in Linguistics and Media. I'm incredible proud of myself for this achievement as I never thought I would be the 'type' for university. My school years weren't pleasant and I only ended up agreeing to university with my school careers team as I had no idea what else to do with my life. But it was during this time at university I was able to try my hand at copywriting. I completed a placement module in my 2nd year as a product copywriter with a small Nottingham based artwork and prints company. I knew then what I wanted to do.

However, it was neither university, school, nor my placement that introduced me to the actual existence of copywriting. That honour goes to the TV show 'Mad Men'. The show predominantly follows the lives of creative director Don Draper and his secretary (who becomes a copywriter) Peggy Olson, who both work at 'Sterling Cooper' (an advertising agency in 1960s New York). After watching Peggy's promotion to copywriter, I was curious to what the job actually was and what it involved. This in turn, led me to choose a placement position as a copywriter.

Now that's the history portion of this essay covered, what do I actually like to write about? When I was 16-18, I was writing for my own book review blog that I had set up on Wordpress. Because of this, I was fortunate to receive free books to review and was also noticed by prolific crime author Peter James, who shared my review of his book on Twitter. I love to read and another opportunity to write about books, literature and/or the publishing world would be a dream come true. Aside from reading, I also love alternative culture, music, and fashion (think screamy music, all the black clothes in existence, and heavy eyeliner). I think that being apart of this sub-culture has made me very resilient to criticism, as I have dealt with my fair share of odd looks and comments about how I choose to express myself and the music I listen to. Finally (just to make it a list of 3 as that's much more pleasing), I am an avid videogame enjoyer and have been since my very first GameBoy Advance. This is also something I would love to write about.

Where am I now? I am now a proud member of the global Gen-Z copywriting community WordTonic. WordTonic allows me to constantly refine my copywriting skills with weekly prompts and video masterclasses with established copywriters for brands such as Google, Oatly, and Duolingo (everyone's favourite owl). I am optimistic about the future and looking forward to establishing my own career in copywriting.