ANDY HOLT
WRITER / EDITOR
I'm a professional writer for publications and brands. I live in Los Angeles.
Writing for publications: For six years, I wrote satire for The Hard Times and their gaming offshoot Hard Drive. Four of those years, I was an editor at Hard Drive. I worked with the other editors to define the voice of Hard Drive and build the site into a well-known name in the gaming world. My short stories and satire have also appeared in McSweeney's, One Story, Chicago Quarterly Review and other publications.
Writing for brands: I have seven years of experience writing copy for brands. I was a full-time copywriter at Guitar Center (2019-2022) and Amplify Marketing (2022–2024). I’ve been on contract with Mackie since 2024. Working for a large retail company, then a boutique agency, then directly for a single brand, I’ve written a huge variety of copy for all kinds of purposes.
I have a BA in English (Wake Forest University) and an MFA in fiction writing (University of California, Riverside).
SAMPLES
COPY / SATIRE / FICTION
Copy
I contributed to all major catalogs and other print media during my time at Guitar Center. Below are two selections of pages I wrote for their holiday publications. Any quotes in the articles come from interviews I conducted myself.
Guitar Center. Be Heard. Print, Holiday 2019.
Guitar Center. Music Unites Us. Print, Winter 2021.
Emails
I have written countless emails for both Guitar Center and Mackie. Below is the series of “welcome emails” I wrote for Guitar Center. You receive this series of emails over the course of weeks after joining the Guitar Center mailing list.
Guitar Center. Welcome email series.
Landing pages
I’ve written landing pages for sales, promos and other events for multiple brands, plus some permanent landing pages, too.
Guitar Center. Dream Big. Landing page.
Mackie. GO Places. Landing page.
Product pages
I wrote all of the below product pages, among others. I also wrote and designed the Amazon pages for most of these products.
Logitech G Yeti for the Aurora Collection
Blogs
Below are some of the many blog articles I’ve written for Guitar Center and Mackie.
How to Choose the Best Audio Interface
The Best MIDI Controllers of 2024
How to Choose the Best Electronic Drum Kit
9 Reasons You Should Use a Podcast Mixer
Which Mackie Mic Is The Best Podcast Microphone For You?
Mackie Mixer Rundown: ProFX Series Mixers
The Vera Project Reopens Iconic DIY Venue Black Lodge With Help From Mackie
Composer Jeff Rona Built a Surprisingly Compact Dolby ATMOS Studio With Mackie
10 Ways Mackie Set a New Industry Standard With SRM V-Class Loudspeakers
How Mackie SRM V-Class PA Speakers Take Studio Sound to the Stage
Things to Do in Sydney: Artist Atlas feat. Salarymen and Casa Rosa
SRM V-Class: Making Speakers More Intelligent With Advanced Impulse DSP
Things to Do in Barcelona: Artist Atlas feat. Teana
11 Things You Can Connect to CR Studio Monitors
Things to Do in Seattle: Artist Atlas feat. Tinsley
Press releases
I wrote all of the following press releases for Mackie.
Videos
I shot and edited this series of videos for AEA Microphones at their factory in Pasadena.
Satire
The Hard Times
I have contributed many articles to the satire publication The Hard Times, including several that appeared in The Hard Times: The First 40 Years. You can find all my articles for The Hard Times on my author page.
Hard Drive
I was an editor at The Hard Times sister publication Hard Drive, which focuses on video games and nerd culture. I worked with a core group of editors to grow Hard Drive to rival the size of The Hard Times, helping to build an audience and voice for the site. Here’s my author page for Hard Drive.
Ace Watkins
I co-created the satirical gamer presidential candidate Ace Watkins with my Hard Drive co-editors. The campaign began as a Twitter account, but grew to include a podcast and live events. The campaign was covered by GameSpot, Newsweek, Forbes, Know Your Meme and other websites.
Fiction
“Book Drop Mysteries” — Three to Four Ounces, 2011.
“Hope Mine” — Hair Trigger, 2013.
“A Big Red Jumble of Lines” — Chicago Quarterly Review, 2013.
“Thrill House” — Chicago Literati, 2014.
“Where the Bees Are Going” — One Story, 2016. See interview.