Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 336 pages
- Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
- Edition: 1st Edition September 8, 2003
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0312318529
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312318529
-
Book Dimensions:
8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
- Weighs: 9.6 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Freelance journalists come together to offer advice on their solitary business in this handbook for working, and aspiring, writers. Each of the 26 chapters is penned by a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and their subjects range from how to stock a home office and how to hire an assistant to how to brainstorm new ideas. Lisa Collier Cool's essay on writing a successful magazine query brims with smart suggestions, as does Richard A. Marini's contribution on contracts and protecting your rights as a writer. Perhaps the most valuable part of the book is its appendix, which shares "Tips From the Pros." Here's where Sondra Forsyth recommends, "Always finish a story two days before your deadline," and where Greg Daugherty counsels, "Aim high. Try the best-paying, most prestigious markets first. You may find, as I have, that you're rejected less often and simply treated better." Though the great variety of voices sometimes makes for abrupt transitions and small contradictions, this advice-filled book successfully provides an enlightening guide to the field.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Here's a writers' guide that concentrates on an aspect too many similar volumes put to one side. Writing, the book's contributors (professional writers all) say, is a business. And freelance writers, especially, need to understand this most basic fact. Unlike so many how-to-write books, aimed at creative writers or journalists with steady jobs, this one is targeted at freelancers who earn their income from aggressively seeking out assignments, who write for newspapers and magazines and corporate publications all at the same time, on a variety of subjects. The book covers the essentials: setting up a home office, writing a query, conducting research, finding story ideas, etc. The contributors illustrate their points with stories drawn from their own writing lives, demonstrating that it is, indeed, possible to make a decent living as a freelancer--if you're willing to write as much as you can, and if you remember that you are in business and a business exists to make a profit.
David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader ReviewsOne glance at a bookstore will confirm there's a plethora of how-to books relating to every aspect of writing, but there's only a handful of authoritative books which address the critical issues of writing as a business. The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels is one of them. Produced by the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the book features 26 chapters from 26 ASJA members ~ all seasoned, working writers and experts in their fields. The guide presents a great variety of opinions on a wide range of topics of value to freelance writers, including establishing a freelance business, self promotion, research tools, writing for the Web, contracts, taxes and deductions, and working with editors and agents. Each chapter contains the latest information, relevant anecdotes from the contributor's life and straight-forward advice on how to succeed in business as a writer. The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing comprises the following chapters: * Freelance Writing Today ~ and Tomorrow by Jim Morrison * Planning a Writing Business by Erik Sherman * The Writer's Office and Tools by Samuel Greengard * The Mystery of Ideas by Jack El-Hai * Seven Secrets of a Successful Magazine Query by Lisa Collier Cool * How to Sell a Book by Sherry Suib Cohen * Writing for the Web by Lisa Iannucci * Why Literary Agents Need You More Than Ever ~ And How to Get the Agent You Need by Michael Larsen, AAR * Research: Finding the Right Stuff by Minda Zetlin and Steve Weinberg * How to Find Experts by Estelle Sobell * Writer-Editor Relations by Megan McMorris * Collaborations: The Pleasures and Perils of Shared Bylines by Sarah Wernick * The Serendipity of Specialization by Claire Walter * Self Publishing: Alternatives for Getting Books into Print by Marilyn and Tom Ross * Networking by Sandra E. Lamb * This Pen for Hire: Leveraging Your Skills by Anita Bartholomew * Op-Eds and Essays: Leveraging Your Knowledge by Larry Atkins * Reprints, Re-Slants, and Other Ways to Resell Your Work by Kelly James-Enger * Making Pictures by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett * Employing a Writing Assistant by Lester A. Picker * Contracts: Protecting Your Writers' Rights by Richard A. Marini * Creating Brand You : Promoting Yourself and Your Work by Jennifer Pirtle * Writers and the Law by Sallie Randolph and Timothy Perrin * Taxes and Deductions by Julian Block * Forays and Fiction by Kathryn Lance * Moving to Full-Time Freelancing: It's Not a Leap by Robert Bittner * Appendix: Tips from the Pros As you can see, this anthology turned reference book covers a lot of territory and addresses all of the major business issues facing professional writers today. Most notable are chapters, 'Research: Finding the Right Stuff' and 'How to Find Experts' which offer helpful hints and online links for researching and tracking down experts. I also particularly enjoyed the chapters on contracts, working with agents and self-promotion as a 'brand'. That's the wonderful thing about The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing ~ it addresses such a wide range of specialist areas that there's something in it for every writer working in any genre. And one of the surprise sections is the Appendix which features a variety of quick but insightful comments from other professional writers. They share their trade secrets, everything from techniques for improving their craft to increasing productivity and profitability. While the bulk of the material is aimed at journalists and non-fiction writers (since these writers make up the bulk of ASJA's membership), much of the information and advice can be applied by all writers to improve their skills and their business. If you're serious about writing, read this book and have a pen handy. -- Michael Meanwell, author of the critically-acclaimed 'The Enterprising Writer' and 'Writers on Writing'. For more book reviews and prescriptive articles for writers, visit www.enterprisingwriter.com
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