Living the Writer's Life:
Amanda Sanchez
By Mindy McHorse

Amanda and her daughters backstage at the Los Alamos Little Theatre in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where they all performed in Twice Upon a Time.
Amanda played Cindy-Rella’s stepmother

Amanda Jo Sanchez, formerly known as Mandy Marksteiner, always had an eye for writing, but it wasn’t till she discovered copywriting that the money piece fell into place. Along the way, she’s shored up her abilities to the point where she can happily take risks and try new ventures without ever feeling limited. Discover how she’s currently reinventing herself while enjoying the journey.

What did you want to change about your life before you became a copywriter?

Amanda used the name Mandy
until her marriage two years ago.
Here, she and her husband are
serenaded after their
wedding ceremony in
Los Alamos, New Mexico.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer and was always on the school newspaper and submitting to journals. I went to college as an English major and a trumpet major, so I had these two different career paths going on for me. I took poetry classes, and at one point said, “Wait a minute, how do you make money as a poet?” And my professor laughed at me like it was funny, and I thought, Wait, what’s so funny?

Then I moved to New York and got a job at a little bookstore and also worked as a proofreader for law firms and for banks. I had really strange hours, proofreading from midnight to 8 in the morning.

Then at the bookstore, I found a Bob Bly book in the discount section called How to Make $80,000 a Year as a Writer, and I thought, Tell me. I want to know. I was just this artsy-fartsy poet trying to figure out how to get stuff published, and Bob was talking about business writing. His book said, “You need clients and they need to be businesses that are making money, and the writing is going to help them grow their business.” I hadn’t thought about it that way. And then I got the letter from AWAI. Bob Bly was mentioned in it, and I thought, Oh, so this must be real. So I started with The Accelerated Program for Seven-Figure Copywriting.

I got that same letter about making a living writing from home. What did you do from there?

At first, I was fitting the writing in while taking care of my kids. And I want to acknowledge motherhood; having a career as a mother was harder than I expected. I’d hear people say, “I started copywriting and made six figures almost immediately.” It took me a lot longer, but I did reach the point where I made six figures.

As a freelancer?

No, actually, the first time was as an employee. There are a lot of different ways to get work as a copywriter. You can approach people and do freelance work, and I have earned money doing that, and you need to make it add up. But there is something to be said also for making yourself a nice strong resume and applying for copywriting jobs with companies.

What’s been your biggest reward so far?

I always feel like I have options. I recognize my opportunities, and that’s something that I’ve learned how to do through writing. I’m good at creating opportunities out of nothing. When I walk into a new opportunity, I feel like I can take a chance. I’m not stuck in a box at all.

You’ve also made some personal changes throughout your journey as a copywriter, including getting remarried.

I got remarried last year in October, and have sort of rebuilt myself. I did a lot of work as a freelancer under the name Mandy Marksteiner, and then I switched to my maiden name and was Mandy Audette. I had to redo my website, got a new logo and stuff. And now I’m Amanda Sanchez, so I feel like I’m starting all over again, and I’m trying to be positive about it. If I’m going to make a whole new website today, who am I now? It’s exciting to get to reinvent myself.

If you could go back and talk with yourself when you were doing editing at crazy hours of the night down in the heart of New York City and dreaming of being a poet, what would you tell yourself about what to expect?

If I was going to give myself a success tip, it’s that it’s important to meet people and get to know people almost nonstop. Everything that I’ve accomplished has been through meeting people and following up with them. You need to remind people who you are, remind them what you do. Try to talk to people every day, and also, write something every day.

Amanda's Living The Writer's Life story was originally published in Barefoot Writer. To learn more about how you can start living your dream writer's life too, click here.

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