Customer Reviews

The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock: The Freelance Writer's Guide to Selling More Work Faster (The Renegade Writer's Freelance Writing series)

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I would very much like to have tea with the authors; unfortunately I'll have to settle for reading their book. Friendly and experienced, Diana and Linda offer excellent advice for breaking into magazines and address many writerly concerns, such as how to deal with follow ups, a lack of clips, and editors who ignore you. The second part of the book is even more enlightening - real query letters complete with comments from the editors who received them. It's like having an editorial super-decoder ring at your service.

The first half of this book provides valuable information about breaking into magazine markets. Although the tips are professional and ethical, Diana and Linda are quite funny while talking to us -- and that's the tone of this book. The authors are talking to their readers, not at their readers. I literally laughed out loud several times while reading. The second half of the book consists of samples of successful query letters and comments from the editors who gave the assignments to the writers. This information alone is worth the cost of the book a hundred times over.

I have these two ladies' first book and I really enjoyed it, so I snapped this one up quickly. I wasn't an enthused about this book though. The sample letters are great, as are the comments from editors and writers alike. The problem is that it's all over the map. Granted, they want to appeal to everyone across the board, but the result here is that it just skims along the surface and doesn't really make itself invaluable.

Personally, I was hoping to help on writing queries. It gives us that in the form of an FAQ, but they're very basic questions. Helpful, but simple. As for the letters, there is only one that really applies to beginners, and the rest are by writers who have clips and other writing experience. For a beginner starting out, this creates a feeling of "how am I supposed to get published with no clips?" It would have been much more useful to multiple letters that appeal to each level of freelancer who would be reading this book, and it would have been nice to have a handful of queries written by writers just starting out.

Overall it's a cool reference, but it's not something I'd say you need on your shelf... especially if you're already comfortable writing your queries.

I highly recommend the authors' other book though: [ASIN:1933338008 The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success (The Renegade Writer's Freelance Writing series)]]

"Query Letters That Rock" is terrific. You get a look at actual pitches that sold with comments from the editors who bought them. No matter what kind of magazine you want to write for, Linda and Diana offer tips on how to make it happen.

Rock on!

As a still unpublished writer I had high hopes for this follow up to the incredibly awesome Renegade Writer. I just finished reading it through and this book does not dissapoint! Between the Q&A's and the sample query letters I feel like I learned how to take my queries to the next level. Every writer should have this on their reference shelf!

This is the second book in The Renegade Writer's Freelance Writing series. As suggested by the title, this book takes a different approach than most writing books. Rather than spewing forth rigid instructions and how-to's, this book answers questions and offers samples. The author's are unconventional in their approach and successful. They encourage writers to THINK rather than just follow rules. If rules need to be broken in order to offer your best work, break them without hesitation.

The first section (80 pages in length) answers common questions about writing query letters. How and when do I send it? Length? Content? Clips? Follow-up? Fees? A number of terms are defined; special cases detailed. They tackle basically everything you want to know about query writing. Their answers are informative, thorough and funny.

The second section (the remainder of the book, about 120 pages) contains sample after sample of query letters that worked along with explanations of why they were successful. The authors of this book give their perspectives, but so do the authors of the sample queries and the editors who bought the stories being pitched. Samples come from nearly every type of magazine or periodical: Parenting, Oxygen, USA Weekend, Midwest Airlines, E Magazine, Fitness, Entrepenuer ... and many, many more. The article types are varied as well, from personal profiles to health articles and travel. It's a mine of valuable information.

Final Thoughts: EXCELLENT! The best book I have found on this topic. A must-have resource for freelance writers.

If you're thinking about freelancing, this book is fantastic. If you've been freelancing for a while, this book is fantastic, too. I've been a freelancer for almost two years now, and reading other people's queries in this book has really helped me sharpen my own query writing skills. The Q&A section at the beginning of the book is really helpful, too.

The authors present great information in an easy-to-absorb, conversational style with tips for newbies and pros alike. The actual query letters and editors' comments were most helpful and told the story from both sides of the desk. Highly recommended!

'Query Letters that Rock' isn't the only book on the subject of writing query letters, but it is the best.

The problem with many of the other books is that they tell you what those all important letters should include and how to structure them, and leave it at that.

This guide takes you beyond all that - the first half of the book is a question and answer format that offers valuable tips while the second half presents not only actual query letters that won editors over, but comments from those very same editors! Talk about insider information!

I know I'll refer to this book often, it's the perfect writing coach.

Also, be sure to check out 'The Renegade Writer', another must-have book by these same two authors.

As a freelance writer, I've made successful pitches to magazines, but after reading The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock, I've changed my strategy for submitting story ideas. WOW! The book is divided into two sections. The first part deals with questions the authors have received from writing students and the answers are filled with practice advice and words of experience from Linda and Diana. Then the book gets to the good part - actual query letters that push the envelope and make editors sit up and take notice. Following each letter is narrative from the letter's author and the editor who assigned the story.

I keep my copy next to my computer and refer to it often for practical advice. This is definitely the best book I've read concerning writing and how to get ahead in publishing. Bravo!