Thursday, December 23, 2010

How to make a money being a freelance writer

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How to Win Top Writing Assignments

This was an easy-to-read book written with a "you can do it" attitude - good for writers who are new to the field or are trying to break into bigger markets.

The book is a good mix of the author's experience (what worked and what she learned from mistakes she made), and quotes from editors and other established writers.

Very helpful were the websites with additional helpful information, like a fax site where you can receive your faxes by e-mail at no cost (i.e. no need for a fax machine), websites for writers, websites for finding sources, etc.

Also helpful were sections on negotiating contracts, how to pitch a story, how to study the market for your work (and the importance in doing so), how fact checking works, and how to find story ideas (and spin them off into even more ideas).

If you're the type who does well with assignments, the book has assignments you can do like one on coming up with ideas.

The book is less how to write, than the mechanics behind getting assignments and following through on them. It takes the mystique out of the process. I ended up earmarking a bunch of pages to go back to, and have already used some of the information (mainly websites) to further my own writing.

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