Product Description
Whether you are looking to freelance while working in another field, or support yourself as a full-time writer, here is a tried-and-true blueprint to success! Covering everything from knowing when to take the plunge to negotiating publishing contracts, aspiring freelance writers will discover proven guidance and inside information for finding appropriate markets, developing outlines and first drafts, writing effective queries, creating properly formatted manuscripts, breaking into business writing, developing marketable ideas, and much more. The ultimate guide for anyone who wishes to make money from writing!
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 Two-Thirds Full of Great Information ( eve_granger )
The first third of the book is a review of how to write, how to do research, and what you should have in your office ("a chair," "a desk," "a place to store your writing supplies"), with which I am sure the average person looking to start a freelance writing career already knows. In fact, if you don't know how to write and conduct writing-related research, or have a place to put writing supplies, a career in writing probably never crossed your mind. For this, the book received four stars instead of five.
Still, I have to recommend this book to anyone trying to start a career in writing who doesn't know quite where to begin. The second two-thirds of the book are filled with a grand assortment of helpful hints and information that are vital to a successful freelance-writing career. In particular, her advice on figuring out exactly where you should look to publish your work is extremely valuable. An entire chapter is devoted to the submission process, which includes how to deal with editors who don't reply to your submissions and how to deal with rejections.
For me, the query letters she presents helped a great deal. She presents real letters-to-the-editor so there is no confusion about exactly what it should look like and what it must include. I didn't know about "hooking" with queries; I just assumed they were written like resume cover letters. Imagine how much failure I might have encountered, otherwise. And, not to be outdated, she even includes a chapter devoted to e-mail queries.
Overall, I thought this book was an excellent resource for a budding freelancer. I felt as though it would have been better for her to leave out the first few chapters and get to the point. However, once she got to the point, I was thrilled to pieces that I found this book. I'm sure you will be, too.
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 An Excellent Book For Those Looking For It. ( newnoiseindustries )
Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer will not teach you how to write. You need to do that yourself, with practice and feedback from people around you.
What this book will do is take you step by step through the trials of becoming a paid writer: everything from coming up with ideas to write about to structuring to the finished product, from querying editors for the first time to building a lasting relationship. The "rules" set down apply to multiple forms of writing, and not just for magazines, and references to other work are instructional and welcome.
There is also an excellent overview of how to manage your personal business as a freelancer, which for those of us "creative types," is certainly helpful.
The greatest part of this book, though, is its ability to lead the reader into types of writing for pay that many of us would never even consider. For instance, there is a chapter (written by a different author, suggesting the book's author knows her limits) on writing copy. Though I would never have thought to write copy, and almost skipped the chapter, following reading it and having been convinced that maybe this was a good way to suppliment income, I made some cold-calls as the book suggested, and a few days later, I already have a copy writing gig.
I would highly recommend this book to any competent writer that is looking to make a bit of money doing something that they love. If you can bring the work ethic, this book can bring the game plan.
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A Great Way to Get Started
This book contains all of the essential information I needed to jump start my career as a freelance writer. Having some experience in the field in the distant past, I needed a refresher course and this book provided it. (It would be even more useful for someone without previous experience in the field.) Besides providing proper form for query letters and instruction on how to go about finding and approaching markets, it gives specific guidelines on the right way to pursue a freelance writing career, reasonable expectations and how to organize your work as a business.
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If You Want to Be A Free Lance Writer-This Is A Must Book ( azergo )
I remember very vividly when I sold my first article to a major Canadian newspaper. It was in the mid 1960s, when I had just graduated from law school and I decided that the only way to fame, and perhaps jump- start my non-existent law practice, was to write articles on Quebec Civil Law. Fortunately for me, I was in the right place at the right time, and the newspaper was looking for someone to contribute articles pertaining to this subject matter. They purchased the first several of my articles, and boy was I excited!However, unfortunately, my free-lance writing days came to an abrupt end when no one else was interested in the topic. That is when I decided to devote all of my time and energies into practicing the legal profession. Perhaps, if I had at my disposal Moira Anderson Allen's book entitled Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer, things would have been different. Remember, it was the 1960s, and at the time there were few writing guides pointing you in the right direction to a free -lance writing career.
I did not have Allen to show me how to start my articles, find the right markets, queries and submissions, rights and contracts, and how to expand my horizons. It is these topics and many more where Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer excels. The book is a splendid, in-depth analysis where even the more experienced writer can reap some benefits. Divided into six parts, there is no shortage of vital and interesting information as to what goes on in the minds of an editor to how to interview, and from exploring and evaluating markets to writing for special interest publications and markets. The reader is also exposed to such topics as queries and submissions, legal technicalities pertaining to rights and contracts, as well as setting fees and keeping records. After all, without these essential tools, we will never get to first base with our budding writing career, no matter how talented we may be. What is noteworthy about Allen's writing is her ability to cut away the fat from the meat. Furthermore, she never presumes that the reader should know certain fundamental concepts, and consequently Allen leaves nothing unturned. Allen's writing credentials are impeccable, as proven by the hundreds of articles she has contributed to several publications over her twenty- year writing career. In addition, she has also being called upon to speak at writers' conferences and workshops, and to act as an instructor at many of these events. Commencing a career, as a free-lance writer, is a difficult task, and one in which a great deal of perseverance and patience is required. It is Allen's vast experience and her ability to effectively convey her knowledge from these experiences that is very much in evidence throughout book, and will surely prove to be invaluable to aspiring free- lance writers. Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures and Travel Writer
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An extremely practical and detailed career guide ( mwbookrevw )
Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer by professional author Moira Anderson Allen is an extremely practical and detailed career guide for the aspiring writer seeking to become a paid professional. Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer comprehensively and accessibly covers how to make time for writing; honing research and interview techniques; find markets for written work of all kinds; writing and marketing nonfiction books and articles, and a great deal more. A no-nonsense advice guide packed with tips, tricks, and techniques, Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer is an absolute "must-read" for anyone seriously interested in developing a successful career as a professional freelance writing.
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