Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115658 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 206 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Keep query letters to one page. Never call an editor. Face-to-face interviews take up too much time. According to sassy authors Formichelli and Burrell, such standard rules about freelance writing ought to be tossed in the wastebasket with last year's self-addressed-stamped-envelopes. So why do so many writers stick to the rules? "Bugaboos abound because freelance writers work largely on their own," the authors explain, and such isolation makes it hard to learn about better procedures and ideas. Their own guide aims to set freelance writers straight. Full of great tips and common sense, the book demystifies all the stages of getting a piece published, from "Cranking up the Idea Factory" to "Getting the Green." Their overall advice: "Timely ideas and professional attitude...will take you further than the so-called 'connections' lesser writers gnash their teeth over." Upbeat and exceptionally informative, this book is an excellent choice for both working and would-be writers.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Linda Formichelli writes for Family Circle, Men's Fitness, Psychology Today, Woman's Day, The Writer, Writer's Digest, and many other publications. She lives in Blackstone, Massachusetts. Diana Burrell freelances for Contract Professional, Parenting, Psychology Today, The Writer, and Walking, among many other magazines and newspapers. She formerly worked in advertising, marketing, and technical writing. She lives in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Great beginner book - with a caveat
Yes, this book is full of facts that seasoned freelancers already know. But for a beginner, this is a great book. One thing to keep in mind, though: you need to KNOW the rules before you break them. The authors do a good job of explaining why certain rules are in place and when they should or shouldn't be broken, but new writers need to use their common sense as far as what they are comfortable with.

The chatty tone makes this an easy to read, un-intimidating intro to the craft of selling yourself as a freelance writer. I highly recommend it for newbies.

best freelancing book yet
I have read just about every book I've come across on freelance writing and I find this by far to be the best. Most of the others re-hash all the same old outdated information time and again. This one takes a fresh approach and gives you something to think about. I even break their rules! If you are interesting in freelancing this book is one worth reading.

A good resource -- maybe too flip at times
I've read four of these get-started-freelancing books and most were very helpful. Renegade provides a lot of tips from not only the very experienced authors but from other veteran and beginning freelancers and editors, including snappy query letters, tips on getting along with editors and getting paid, and getting paid better.

The advice isn't as renegade as the title indicates. Every suggestion comes under a heading of ``Break this rule:'', which is a good idea for a book. But in reality, in almost all cases, what the authors really mean (and they seem to acknowledge this) is that there are occasional exceptions to these rules. You'd be an idiot to pull a George Costanza and do the opposite of these rules to change your luck.

A minor peccadillo: The writing style sometimes is overly flip, in a ``Freelancing for Dummies'' sort of way. Here's an imaginary example, because I don't have time to reread the book right now to find real ones: ``If you don't hear back about your query in two weeks, don't go setting yourself on fire and jumping off a cliff.'' For me, it sometimes distracts from the message, but I know others will find it friendly and comforting.

I'd like to suggest something I haven't seen in any of the books I've read. Why not have a hand-holding, get-started kick in the pants for procrastinators -- perhaps a step-by-step work session that would tell them to come up with a story idea in a certain field, let's say arthritis treatment, and then list a few websites or other sources for research and some experts in the field on that narrow topic. The exercise would walk the writer through finding actual magazines that would use stories about arthritis and judging which pay the best and are most writer-friendly, and would name the contact people and their emails. Next, a template query on an arthritis story, which of course the hopeful freelancer would rewrite to his/her specific story idea. I think many who are just getting into freelancing can find the whole thing overwhelming. A lesson like that could break the ice.