The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less
- Book Review,
by Peter Bowerman
From Booklist
In this era of entrepreneurialism, Atlanta freelancer Bowerman shows those timid (but talented) souls how almost anyone can forge ahead as an independent writer. His advice is good, couched in brassy prose that is easy to read. He anticipates every conceivable question and issue, including typical charges, marketing oneself, types of available work, and dealing with deadbeats. There are great common-sense tips, too, in the psychology of handling clients who think they are writers, those with limited budgets, and others demanding creativity. Personal anecdotes make the life of a freelancer real; the author includes samples of cold-calling scripts, thank-you notes, and a story or three about starting a writers' group and partnering with other professionals. For beginning scribblers only; more experienced soloists may disagree with some points made. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
ForeWord, The Magazine of Independent Publishing
"…with a snappy conversational tone…Bowerman spells out everything…excellent guidelines and inspiration."
Linda Mitchell, Editor, Kennedy's Career Strategist
"No starving in a garret for this author. If you've ever dreamed of becoming a free-lance writer, you'll be hooked..."
Michael Perry, Author, "Handbook for Freelance Writing"
"Engaging, motivating, comprehensivepowerfully useful. An encyclopedic collection of freelancing fundamentals suffused withfreedom and possibility..."
Teresa Mears, Editor/Publisher, FreelanceSuccess.com
"...everything you need to know to be a freelance commercial writer...a topic most how-to-freelance books skip entirely."
Debra Koontz Traverso, Author, Editor, WriteDirections.com
"Writers regularly ask...where to find lucrative freelance work. From now on, I'll tell them to read 'The Well-Fed Writer'..."
Bev Walton-Porter, Editor-BookStop, Inkspot.com
"...brimming with nuggets of practical advice. If you're serious about writing for fun and profit, you MUST buy this book!"
Moira Allen, Author,
"If you’ve been afraid to tackle corporate writing...this book has everything you need to get you started."
Marcia Yudkin, Author,
"I’ve urged dozens of people to buy 'The Well-Fed Writer'...Now, I’ll be recommending the sequel...resources are unbeatable."
Anne Holland, Publisher, MarketingSherpa Newsletter
"As a publisher who hires freelancers, I’ve learned most writers stink at marketing themselves. This book is enormously needed."
Daniel H. Pink, Author, Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working For Yourself
"This is the smartest, most useful guide to freelancing I’ve ever read....get [it] and follow its savvy advice."
Book Description
Booklist In this era of entrepreneurialism, Atlanta freelancer Peter Bowerman shows those timid (but talented) souls how almost anyone can forge ahead as an independent writer. His advice is good, couched in brassy prose that is easy to read. He anticipates every conceivable question and issue, including typical charges, marketing oneself, types of available work, and dealing with deadbeats. There are great common-sense tips, too, in the psychology of handling clients who think they’re writers, those with limited budgets, and others demanding creativity. Personal anecdotes make the life of the freelancer real; the author includes samples of cold-calling scripts, thank-you notes, and a story or three about starting a writers’ group and partnering with other professionals. Book Description Dream of being a well-paid freelance writer? Long to carve out an enviable lifestyle with plenty of freedom, flexibility AND healthy income? But wait a minute…aren’t the words "starving" and "writer" forever joined at the hip? Not anymore. How about a writing direction with plenty of work, strong and growing demand for good writers, hourly rates of $50-100+ ($60-75 average) and where all time is billed? No flat fees with vast, open-ended commitments of time. Translation? Less time working to pay bills and more time pursuing your writing passions. We’re talking about freelance commercial writing – writing for business entities, large and small – the subject of The Well-Fed Writer, and quite possibly the answer for all aspiring writers who want to turn their love of writing into their living. The book was a triple-book-club-selection (Book-of-the-Month, Quality Paperback Book and Writer’s Digest) and earned several prestigious awards in 2001: 1) Second place in the ForeWord magazine Book of the Year Awards (Career Category) 2) Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest magazine National Self-Published Book Awards 3) Finalist in the Publisher’s Marketing Association Ben Franklin Awards (Best First Book). Why commercial writing? In the past decade, two huge trends have sculpted the corporate American landscape: downsizing and outsourcing. Corporations are doing more with less: fewer people, less resources and smaller budgets. The workload is growing – especially with the exploding Internet – and many organizations rely heavily on freelancers to help them handle it. Why do corporations hire freelancers? For good solid economic and creative reasons. With a freelancer, corporations don’t have to pay salary, benefits, and vacation time. But they will pay a freelancer $60-80 (average) for their time. In addition, they pay only what they need when they need it. And with a network of freelancers, they get a broad spectrum of fresh talent (hard to get with in-house staff writers used to writing about the same topics day after day) which they can form-fit to their specific writing needs. What’s "commercial writing"? Marketing brochures, ad copy, newsletters, direct mail campaigns, video/CD-ROM scripting, speeches, sales sheets, proposals, web content, and so much more. Veteran commercial freelancer Bob Bly, known as the freelance writing "guru" for his 35+ writing titles, says of commercial freelancing: "I know of no other arena of writing so lucrative yet so easy to get started in." The Well-Fed Writer will take you step-by-detailed-step through, indeed, everything you need to know to quickly get your share of this exciting and highly lucrative arena of freelancing.
About the Author
Peter Bowerman is an Atlanta-based freelance commercial writer, columnist, business coach and author. In 2000, he self-published the award-winning Book-of-the-Month Club selection, "The Well-Fed Writer" and in September 2004, released its companion volume, "The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds" (2004). His first book has become a how-to "standard" on starting a lucrative commercial freelancing business – writing for corporations and creative agencies and for rates of $50-125+ an hour. Bowerman's commercial client list has included The Coca-Cola Company, BellSouth, IBM, UPS, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, The Discovery Channel, Junior Achievement and many others. He has published over 250 articles and editorials, leads seminars on writing and is a professional coach on both commercial freelancing business start-up and self-publishing.
Excerpted from The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less by Peter Bowerman. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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