Customer Reviews

Bob Bly's Guide to Freelance Writing Success: How to Make $100,000 a Year As a Freelance Writer and Have the Time of Your Life Doing It

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have bought and thoroughly enjoyed his Copywriter's Handbook and Secrets of a Freelance Writer. This new book is a compilation of articles that he has written about freelance copywriting. Some of the stuff is very new and informative, most of it he already covers in the the previous two books and in far more depth than this book. He also included several interviews of him which were just pointless ads for the most part. A reader wanting to learn about the copywriting business does not care about his self-promotion in interviews. I immensely enjoyed his interview with Harlan Ellison at the beginning.

This book just feels like Bob Bly being really lazy because he knows he has an audience that he can sell a number of books to and make money without doing anything. I am very dissappointed at the lack of new material in this book. It did not offer the step-by-step advice of Secrets... or Copywriter's Handbook. Those are much better books.

As much as Bob talks about professionalism, I must point out that this book looked like it was typed and printed in someone's garage. The cover doesn't line up on the spine, the back cover is obviously skewed, the cover has nearly come off the binding inside and the pages are all different lengths. The book itself doesn't look professionally typeset, it looks like it was printed on a typewriter. Perhaps Bob was trying to save money and get this self-published. Maybe I got the worst copy in the bunch. And I had to wait two months to get this gem.

Whatever the reason, the overall quality of this book is lacking, especially for such a respected professional writer. I'm wishing I hadn't been so eager to order this book and had simply reread Secrets... and Copywriter's Handbook.

Spend your $15 on Secrets... or the Copywriter's Handbok. Buy this one at the bargin bin of a bookstore. This a really sad effort.

I really enjoyed this book. It contains 48 previously published articles from Writer's Digest to more obscure trade magazines. I could spend a LOT of time searching for this information and am glad Bly's compiled everything together in one handy volume. Some of the information overlaps material covered in his other titles, however he covers some new and interesting ground here as well. I give it five stars.

Thanks to Bob Bly's books, and this one in particular, I've successfully made the transition from corporate attorney to freelance copywriter! Bob Bly gives step-by-step, easy to follow tips, instructions and ideas for building a successful writing business. Some authors discuss theory at length - not Bob Bly. He touches on theory only when it's critical to understanding the concept. Otherwise, he sticks with practical, 'here's what and how to do it' type of information. If you're considering a freelance writing career, don't pass up this book! /s/ Lynn Roberts, Attorney-turned-Writer

This book is a compilation of previously published articles and covers a wide variety of topics such as: book proposals, technical writing, setting fees, speaking etc.

I found a great many golden nuggets of information in these pages. I'd recommend this book for all those who would like to get a good taste of the breadth of Bob's wisdom.

As others have mentioned, the binding is not the best, but I was gentle with the book while reading it, and didn't have any pages fall out. Even with the binding issue, I consider this a worthwhile investment.

I agree that this book is poorly bound. Some of the pages in the front started to fall out as soon as I opened the book. Clearly a self-published book, but nonetheless informative. That said, I haven't read many of his other books, so I can't say whether the information here is duplicative.

Maury Erickson of Filbert Publishing here. I'm one of the people who published this book.

I thought I'd take a moment to reply to a couple comments on this Amazon page.

Yes. I totally agree. In the beginning of our publishing history, we dealt with some definite quality control issues. Thing is, we were hoping to create an earth-friendly product made by local talent. Clearly, that vision didn't work well in the long run. Suffice it to say that we're now printing this title elsewhere and the finished product looks fantastic.

Bob Bly is one of the most generous individuals we've ever dealt with. He's as nice in person as he appears in his books. The information he provides honestly works. You don't need a big-time education. You don't need to be blessed by luck. Just a little elbow grease and know-how will take you very far in the freelance writing profession. Just ask my wife. She's a Bly fan and is currently reaping the benefits.

I appreciate your comments and wish all of you the very best in your freelance endeavors.

I have owned or bought most of Bob Bly's books over the years. They are well written, interesting reading and enticements of fortune are good ego boosters. But don't bank on making $100,000 a year without heavy duty college and extensive experience. In which case you wouldn't be buying a book like this to begin with. Save your money for college.

Bob Bly's books are a godsend. They are easy to follow and honest about the business. A must have.

I was given this book as a gift and made it to about page 20, at which point I threw it in my recycling bin.

I'm sure there is valuable information to be found in the book somewhere, but the quality of binding is so exceptionally poor that it was a pain to read even before the pages start falling out.

It is great that Mr. Bly makes over $100k a year, though disappointing that at this point in his career he is cutting corners to up profits by self-publishing such an utter rip-off.

Bob Bly's Guide To Freelance Writing Success is a straightforward guide to earning up to $100,000 in the business of freelance writing. While many struggling writers barely earn a living wage, Bob Bly's Guide To Freelance Writing Success is packed with tips, tricks, and techniques for tapping hidden markets, earning money form the "quiet" magazine market, writing a "bullet proof" book proposal, 22 rules for successful self-promotion, managing one's time with consummate efficiency, insider secrets to put the Internet to good use, and much more. An absolute "must-have" for any freelance writer looking to earn a steady living.