The Freelance Success Book

The Freelance Success Book, David Taylor, Peak Writing Press, 2003

Periodical editors are engaged in a never-ending search for writing that people want to read, which means that there is a large demand for freelance writers. This book, written by a former magazine editor, tells how to get your name and phone number into an editor's Rolodex.

The first thing a budding freelance writer should do is to get a copy of a book like the yearly Writer's Market and read the submission guidelines for your intended target publication (novels, short stories, magazine non-fiction,etc). If your target is a specific magazine, read, and analyze, several issues of that magazine. Know it better than its editors, and find a niche that is not yet filled.

To call yourself a writer, it's necessary to actually do some writing. The act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is explored, along with what to do when the words just will not come out.

After your masterpiece comes into existence on paper, then comes dealing with the editor. How do you write a query letter (or should you)? Make sure you deal with the right editor, not just any editor. Some editors do business by phone or fax or email; adjust your approach accordingly. Don't gush about how much you love the magazine; editors don't want fan clubs. Get right to the point. The biggest mistake a freelance writer makes in dealing with an editor is laziness; not knowing the magazine inside and out.

Writing for the Internet is totally different than writing for print. Your average web surfer is not going to sit and read the equivalent of a long magazine article on a screen. It's best to break up the text as much as possible with bullets, numbers, colored backgrounds, etc. Also provide lots of hyperlinks, so the web surfer can do more research on their own. The book also covers the legal end of things, inlcuding contracts, libel and ethics in general.

I learned a lot from this book. A copy belongs right next to the dictionary on the bookshelf of every freelance writer, and every would-be freelance writer, in America. It is packed full of useful information, and is money very well spent. I hope this also works for book reviewers...