American Writers & Artists Institute - Michael Masterson Want to learn more about this opportunity. Is it legitimate Delray Beach Florida

I received an invitation to a free webinar from these people today, under the guise of a trusted partner to Writers Digest.  As someone who established the most successful (if success is measured in number of students hired by top agencies (100% placement) with starting salaries $5-$15k more than the average beginner) non-academic copywriting program in the US - one that is still being copied by dozens of academic and "portfolio" schools - I was appalled.  Not only are several of the company's claims for this course false, the piece itself was written in an antiquated format/style no reputable advertising firm - Direct, Web or Traditional/Multi-media - would hire.  

I do not know that validity of promising $200,000 a year as a copywriter. But, I am a writer myself and make a decent living. I have writer friends who do make a decent income. I do not know ANY who make that much money in one year. I am not quite sure how you could make that kind of money unless you owned an actual writing business with employees who also did writing.

From what I understand about this company, you pay for a course that will teach you how to make the money. There are other opportunities to pay more money for further educational materials. These types of programs can get rather expensive before you make any money yourself.

That might be effective for some people, and I don't doubt some people have benefited from this program. But, I can tell you that you do NOT need this course to make a career as a writer. There are books available and multiple websites that offer jobs to writers. You just have to do a little research and target a field. It might cost you time, but it doesn't have to be a significant investment in a poor economy.

Before I spent money on courses that promise you will make more than my mid-level executive husband who travels the country and works 12 hours a day, get online and search for writer websites. Do your homework. Network. Read. Educate yourself. There ARE jobs out there. You just shouldn't have to pay to find them.

I registered for the course and was pleasantly surprised at the depth and breadth of the lesson material sent to me as well as the supporting materials such as a book filled with some of the most successful copywriting ever written (some still used today in advertising), a book on where to submit - loaded with names and addresses of companies that is solid and up to date, these among other things.
The course itself is thorough from what I can tell and I've done a fair amount of home studying. The problem here was with me, not their course, I was unable to stay focussed on the material and complete my assignments. I do know that the fellow who created this course has gone on to be one of the most successful internet entrepeneurs ever, having founded Agora Publishing, and other ventures.
He is definitely a 10 figure copywriter and a producer. He walks the talk.
I have nothing but deep respect for AWAI and this course, I think disgruntled persons are mainly those who did not complete the material and or apply themselves from what little I've read on other sites than this. I think this offer is one of the best I've ever seen for producing what it promises it can do - teach you the skill of copywriting. The rest is up to the person and many people don't complete it, don't apply themselves fully and thus do not succeed. I've seen very little on the internet that either accuses them of being rip-offs, or information that supports that approach. I would certainly recommend trying them out to see if it fits what you are after. I personallly am going back to my course to pick it up where I stopped before and am going for the paycheck - I know that with AWAI's training I have an excellent chance of succeeding - as you would see if you reviewed the material. There is a guarantee if you are not satisfied with the course that you can return it within a certain time period.
I'm happy with mine. Happy enough to go back to it and get it underway again.
Take care and good luck.