Customer Reviews

Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an excellent resource and easy to read. Kelly's writing style, as you might imagine, is perfect. The book is well written and well researched. Her organization is flawless.

However the book is slanted very heavily towards writers that are doing stories in magazines with some information about writing books. She has very little information, perhaps a few pages, on corporate writing and copywriting. If you are trying to start work as a freelance commercial writer for marketing this probably isn't the best book for you.

However if you are interested in writing articles and books as a freelance journalist or writer this book is unmatched and well worth the purchase price. Even though I was looking for information on running a copywriting business I did find information that was very useful and will help me with my consulting by writing articles to promote my practice. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is intersted in a freelance writing business.

How did Six-Figure Freelancing help me? Within a week of reading it, I wrote a letter of introduction modeled on Kelly's examples that landed me interest from four different editors; I cut my writing time on a 2000-word profile by using the structure in the book; and I became more organized about how I spend my writing day, so I waste less time. All this, plus it's just plain inspiring. You may not be close to making six figures, but this book gives you the guts to go out and try. In short, a very worthwhile read.

This book is the latest addition to the small but growing body of literature on "how to make six figures as a freelance writer" and is a worthwhile contribution to the field. In addition to lots of solid advice, readers will value the book for its numerous sample query letters and case studies of how the author and other freelance handled a variety of challenging situations in their writing businesses. I particularly like the advice and examples of how to turn a single assignment into a writing subspecialty, like the writer who turned a one-time $900 article assignment into a $30,000 annual profit center in biotechnology writing.

Bottom line: I thought this was well written but felt I'd already encountered almost all of the provided advice at my large-corporation, professional job. As a plus, the book is an easy read and does an excellent job introducing generic professional skills like good time management, prioritization, networking, negotiating, self-confidence, etc. They're necessary skills for almost anyone pursuing a six-figure salary. However, I bought this book looking for content specific to freelancing. I was hoping for advice on coming up with great topic ideas, finding and interacting with experts, breaking into corporate freelancing, writing well, and finding and researching smaller publications. Not much in the book on those topics. It was a quick, fun read but I won't be reaching for this book as a how-to reference anytime in the future.

Last year, I entered the world of freelance writing and I discovered it's a confusing world. I hadn't a clue about anything, and wasted my money on some not-so-great books that were based in theory or fluff.

This book is unlike all of the others to me, though, because it is COMPLETELY practical. It reminds me of the time two years ago when I took up swimming for exercise. Although I knew how to swim, I was clueless about how to swim for fitness. Fortunately, I had a good friend who swims in triathalons. She patiently told me about what kind of gear to buy, how to create a swimming workout and proper lane etiquette at the pool. She even showed me how to work the swimsuit spinning machine! There were no dumb questions, to her.

Well, James-Enger is this kind of friend when it comes to freelance writing. (I knew how to write--I just didn't know how to do it for money!) In her down-to-earth voice, she shares what it's really like to write for a living and what the true bottom line is: money. Her book is a road map for how to treat writing like a business. She covers preparing your business, i.e. sorting through tax and time management issues. She even gives advice on how to find the right office chair! She also advises on how to develop long-term strategies and to manage the people who are part of your "team," like editors and agents. James-Enger even provides her email address at the end, if you have questions.

This book is a real confidence booster. After reading it, I feel like the little red engine...I think I can, I think I can! It's a must-have for any writer, whether you're just starting out like me or have been in the business for a few years. There are tips that can translate into dollars for anyone!

If you've always wanted to be a freelance writer but were afraid you could never make a good enough living at it, Kelly James-Enger's Six-Figure Freelancing is the real deal, an honest and generous handbook that shows you really can live well by words alone.

Anyone with an interest in full-time freelancing has probably already read a dozen good books on writing that still left them trying to pass go once they closed the covers. This book is different. It's packed with no-nonsense advice, real life examples, and useful templates to launch the novice writer with no contacts or credentials (as I was when I started). Even better, it offers practical tips to bridge the staff writer's switch to freelancing and boost the veteran freelancer's career to the top. I especially like the way James-Enger not only praises the perks of freelancing but points out the pitfalls, including the details many freelancers share only with their closest friends.

As a successful freelance writer I answer lots of questions from aspiring writers who, it turns out, aren't always ready or willing to think of freelancing as a business. Now I just tell them to read Six-Figure Freelancing. If you're trying to decide whether making a six-figure income as a freelance writer should remain your fantasy or become your reality, read this book.

This book is a thorough treatment of the business and marketing dimensions of freelance writing for magazines. It's one I'll go back to many times and one I recommend to anyone seriously thinking about freelancing.

The topics most meaningful to me were:
- creating structured work habits in an unstructured profession;
- learning your target markets and querying them in an effective and persistent manner;
- staying motivated despite the growing stack of rejection slips;
- building relationships with editors and with other freelancers;
- being a dependable business partner for your editors;
- recognizing the different stages of a freelance career, and, of course, surviving the initial stage.

The tone of the book is upbeat and motivating, but the message is clear: It takes determination, self-confidence, business acumen, and good business communication skills to get a freelancing business off the ground.

It impresses and encourages me that James-Enger began as a complete outsider. She did not come to freelancing from an executive position at a big advertising firm or an editorship at a national consumer magazine -- no, the water she jumped into was truly cold. In this book she generously shares the survival skills she picked up in her first years. This is a great resource!

"Mindset. Efficiency. Connections," writes the author on page 1.

Mindset: If solid earnings are important to you, think of yourself as a business person whose business happens to be writing, explains James-Enger. A simple, yet powerful statement. Forget about your great American novel, at least as it pertains to income. Write what your clients need, end of story. Those clients may be editors or corporate managers. No matter. Seek their business, meet their needs, and some will become repeat customers.

Efficiency is essential to making this happen. James-Enger explains how to create templates, reslant stories, and monitor your hourly rate so you know what you're actually earning.

Connections: James-Enger shows writers how to establish and maintain connections in the sometimes chaotic world of freelance.

The serious freelancer will benefit greatly from SFF. Those contemplating freelancing as a possible career would be well advised to read SFF to see what's involved and whether it's right for them.

As someone who has been freelancing for almost four years and is continually looking for new ways to jump-start my business, this book reads like a breath of fresh air! Not only does James-Enger offer a lot of practical advice about growing your business (including sample queries and follow-ups, introductory letters to new clients, and lots of anecdotes from other freelancers) she addresses the motivation side of freelancing, with suggestions for how to stay passionate about what you do. James-Enger approaches freelancing in a very down-to-earth manner, which makes it a great book for beginners. But she's also a marketing whiz with a lucrative writing career, so freelancers in mid-career have something to learn from her as well. I really enjoyed this book! It's a definite must-have for your writing resource shelf.

Thousands of people aspire to be writers. Many give away their work for free to lay claim to the job title. Kelly decided what she wanted to do--write--and it didn't take her long to achieve her goal in the six-figure category. Wow.

What's nice is that she isn't so selfish about how she did it: What??? She's spawning a whole lot of competitors with the issue of this book. She shares good common sense but she also lets us in on the details, details. Her examples, such as how to write query letters and market, are top-notch. Her rules, such as "the 24-hour rule" (query rejected? send another...now!)are tried and true.

I found this book Very useful. In fact, I spent three days doing mailings to editors on my target list...and yes, borrowed some applicable language from a sample letter in the book. Already good results, but I have a long way to go to be as organized as this on-top-of-it author. Her energy is contagious, and her positive outlook, exemplary.


Stehpanie Stephens, journalist