The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels [Paperback]

Timothy Harper (Editor), Samuel G. Freedman (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2003

Whether you're just starting out, considering going full-time, or are already a successful freelance writer, you'll find the information and insights needed to take your work to the next level in this smart, thorough guide. Compiled by the prestigious American Society of Journalists and Authors, the book's twenty-six chapters cover the business from every angle, tackling the topics every freelancer needs to master in order to make it today.

Chapters cover: planning a writing business * generating fresh ideas * the secrets of a successful magazine query * the latest research tools and techniques * writing for the Web * developing areas of specialization * promoting yourself and your work * op-eds, essays, and other ways to leverage your knowledge * contracts * taxes and deductions * working with editors and agents * going full-time * key lessons you won't have to learn the hard way * and more.

Written by twenty-six of the top freelancers working today, this indispensable guide provides trade secrets that others have learned the hard way, inspiration to take your work where you want it to go, and a revealing view into the minds and working habits of freelance writers at the top of their game.

Editorial Reviews

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 Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (September 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312318529
• ISBN-13: 978-0312318529
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #619,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid business info and trade secrets from those in the know, November 26, 2003

By 

Michael Meanwell (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels (Paperback)

One 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

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great information, and highly recommended..., April 24, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels (Paperback)

If you do freelance writing, you'll like this book... The ASJA Guide To Freelance Writing, edited by Timothy Harper. This book is a compilation of subject chapters written by a number of successful freelancers. Each chapter is around seven to twelve pages, and condenses down a wealth of information into a quick reference for amateurs and professionals alike. The chapters include the following (not a complete list): Planning A Writing Business; The Writer's Office And Tools; Seven Secrets Of A Successful Magazine Query; Research: Finding The Right Stuff; Writer-Editor Relations; This Pen For Hire: Leveraging Your Skills; and Writers And The Law.

This is one of those unusual books where the subject matter has to be practiced during the writing of the book. Each of these chapters could easily be viewed as a freelance writing assignment for each author. Because of the experts that have been chosen for each chapter, you get top-level advice that is an example of how freelance writing should be done. I highly recommend this book...

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ASJA gurus share their secrets, March 2, 2004

By 

Julie Hood "OrganizedWriter.com" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels (Paperback)

Compiled from members of the prestigious American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the table of contents from this guide reads like a who's who in the freelance world.

From Lisa Collier Cool, author of How to Write Irresistible Query Letters, you'll learn the seven secrets of a successful magazine query. Ready, Aim, Specialize! author, Kelly James-Enger, explains reprints, reslants and reselling. The self-publishing gurus, Tom and Marilyn Ross, explain the ins and outs of independent publishing.

Even tax-guru, Julian Block, wrote a chapter on taxes and deductions.

The Guide is written by writers who make their living at writing. You are brought into their personal world. Much like sitting down with them over a cup of coffee, you get a first-hand account of their secrets to success.

Some of my favorite parts of this book include: the appendix with short tips from the pros, the bios of the different contributors with links to their web sites, and the unique topics like networking and how to hire an assistant.

Perfect for new freelance writers, The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing gives the ins and out of successful freelance writing.