The Egotist Interviews: Jim Glynn

In Stephen King’s book On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft, his first piece of advice is to write with conviction. “Come to [writing] any way but lightly. You must not come lightly to the blank page,” King says. Though he’s likely never read these exact words in this exact book, Jim Glynn has heeded Stephen King’s advice his entire life. Poetic. Comedic. Shocking. Thought-provoking. From concept through the final piece of punctuation on every page, Jim attacks advertising with conviction – a talent that’s made him a great writer a great many admire. We caught up with this ex-creative director turned freelance copywriter to talk to him about his past, present and future in the business.

Q: You are, shall we say, a seasoned veteran in an industry always looking for hot, young talent. How do you stay fresh creatively?

A: Nice. Hit me with the Old Guy thing right up front. Reminds me of a question they asked Satchel Paige about still being able to pitch in the major leagues even though he was 60. He answered, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” Then he went out and threw three shut out innings. You just have to love what you do.

Q: This business has a tendency to make jaded whiners out of even the most optimistic fools. Do you think removing yourself from the day-to-day bullshit of agency life has allowed you to focus more on the creative product? Or, even as a freelancer, do you find yourself getting mired in the crap?

A: I didn’t remove myself from agency life, I was fired, no doubt for being a jaded whiner. Sometimes I miss not having the control I had as a creative director. Don’t miss the meetings, though. And I am really lucky to work with some very talented people who have my best interests at heart.

Q: You don’t have a website. Has your reputation alone been enough to market your wares? Or are you just trying to find time to get around to putting one together?

A: Not lately. Steve Whittier’s been bugging me to get a website. My wife’s been bugging me to get one. And now you. You’re all right, of course. I need to get on it.

Q: It goes without saying that new technology and new media are changing the way we talk to consumers. What is the role of copy — and the role of the copywriter — in all of this?

A: I heard a writer complain that the internet was going to put us all out of business. Forbes even put agency creatives on their list of ten jobs that won’t be around in ten years. I think the exact opposite happened. The internet didn’t take over advertising, advertising took over the internet. The role of any ad person is to come up with the best ideas he or she can, no matter what the media. I don’t think that has changed. I could be wrong, though.

Q: You clearly take words and writing seriously. In your opinion, has social media turned us all into a bunch of half-literate monkeys?

A: You say that like that’s a bad thing. More jobs for the other half. Actually, I don’t think the world’s ever been more literate. For example, everyone is lamenting the decline of the newspaper industry. But last month I read in Newsweek that newspaper readership has gone up. It’s just that now all those people are choosing to get their news for free at DenverPost.com.

Q: In the mid- to late-90s, Karsh + Hagan was a creative agency on the rise. After your departure, the agency seems to have suffered a slow and steady decline into relative obscurity. Did your leaving have anything to do with that?

A: Absolutely. I was the only reason that place was ever any good. At least, that’s what I’d like you to believe. The truth is they did nice work for years after I left. CA thought so, anyway. They’re probably still doing nice work. Our industry is like all the rest, everything moves in cycles. I wouldn’t be too quick to count those people out.

Q: You are one of the most decorated copywriters to ever come out of Denver. (We’ll attribute most of that to talent, and some of that to the sheer number of years you’ve been doing this.) Do awards matter?

A: I actually came out of Chicago, where I won zero awards. I didn’t start getting any recognition until I moved here. Obviously, that was just the nature of two very different markets. But I like awards. Peer recognition is really the only indication we have that we might be on the right track. You can’t eat them, though.

Q: Professionally speaking, what is your greatest achievement? Greatest failure?

A: I don’t know if I’ve had any great achievements, but I’ve made some lifelong friends who I value more than they know. Which is my greatest failure. I should have let them know how much they mean to me.

Q: We’ve heard that you never want to be a creative director again because you hate having to fire or lay people off. Is that true?

A: Yes and no. I’d be a creative director again in a heartbeat if the situation was right. But laying off people was the hardest thing I ever had to do. “Excuse me, it’s not your fault that we lost the account and it’s not your fault we haven’t been able to replace the business, but you have to go. Sorry about that.” The person who should have been fired was me. Oh wait, I was.

Q: The life of the freelancer is sometimes a lonely one. Do you ever miss being part of a team? Or do you feel your creative contributions (awards, new business wins, work that works, etc.) make you an honorary staffer at your agencies of preference?

A: I most always work as part of a team. In fact, if you ask any of my teammates, they’ll say they’ve been carrying me for years. Probably true.

Q: Are there any Colorado-based clients you’d like to work for but haven’t had the chance?

A: Sure. Far too many to name. I love doing this stuff so as long as the client isn’t out there doing something morally or legally wrong, I’m in.

Q: Right now, there is a disgruntled young creative banging her head against the desk in a Denver ad agency, contemplating quitting to try the glamorous life of freelance. Given the state of the economy, what’s your advice to her? Would it be any different in a better economy?

A: Having a job is better than not having a job. I’m answering these questions right now instead of working on an assignment for the simple reason that I don’t have one. If you listen closely, you can hear me banging my head on the desk.

Q: Are you content with being the “go-to” copywriter for agencies here in Denver? Do you actively seek work in other markets?

A: I’m very grateful there are people who consider me talented enough to hire me from time to time. I do occasionally work for agencies in other markets. That gets a little dicey because they sometimes want me to go there, and that means neglecting people here. I’d rather not do that because the people here are also my friends.

Q: You’ve witnessed the ups and downs of the advertising community in Denver for many years. Any shops or people from the old days you miss?

A: All of them. Like any industry where you work in close collaboration, people come in and out of your life all the time. I try to keep in contact with as many as I can. I need to do better, though.

Q: As a freelancer, you get to see the inner workings of a lot of shops. What are the common threads among Denver agencies that “get it” and those that don’t?

A: Doing good work is hard. It takes time. And it’s not necessarily cost effective. An ad costs what an ad costs, no matter how long you spend on it. The agencies that are in it only for the money would rather not spend the time. And the work looks it. But I honestly don’t see many of those.

Q: Is there anything that could ever draw you back to a full-time position?

A: Money. Power. Fame. The usual.

Q: Would you ever work at CP+B if the opportunity presented itself?

A: Who wouldn’t want to work at one of the best, if not the best, ad agency in the world? It’d be scary, though. I might discover I wasn’t as good as I hoped I was. Might be fun to find out. But I’m sure they have no shortage of hot, young talent banging on their door. They don’t need, how did you put it? A seasoned veteran like myself.

Q: Do you intend to do this forever? If you ever decide to hang it up, we will pay you a handsome fee for access to your contacts.

A: I heard a guy once say that as long as they keep handing me the ball, I’m going to keep throwing. I still get a kick out of doing this. That, and have you seen your 401k lately? I won’t be able to retire until a couple years after I’m dead.

Jim Glynn is available for freelance copywriting and creative direction. Until his website hits, contact him by good old-fashioned phone at 303.675.0711 or find him on our list of Recommended Talent.