Q: If a writer has spent time as a freelancer and a copywriter and they're applying for a freelancing/staff publication gig, is it a bad idea, in your opinion, to mix together copywriting samples and journalism samples, provided they're clearly demarcated? What about vice versa? Would HR at an ad firm not want to see magazine/newspaper writing from prospective new copywriter?

A: I asked copywriter and mb instructor John Scott Lewinski. He said, concisely, "I would say the samples you submit must be more targeted -- no mixing genres. Otherwise, you look just like a desperate writer shot-gunning anything they can find to get a job."