Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal: How to Have a Great Life as a Freelance Writer [Hardcover]

John Clausen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2001

Author John Clausen shows readers how to turn their love of writing into a moneymaking business. They'll learn that freelancing is about more than just knowing how to string words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. Clausen shows how a person's life experiences, friends, hobbies, skills - even former employers - all come into play to make a career in freelance writing. Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal takes writers through the process of becoming a freelancer one step at a time, from getting organized and getting an attitude to finding and keeping an "anchor client," earning an honest buck, spending it smartly and overcoming unexpected challenges. Clausen shows them how to: develop a realistic business plan, design a system and live with it, find an "anchor client," market their services, and deliver the goods every time. His friendly, funny style - a cross between a pep rally, a workshop, stand-up comedy, and good old-fashioned storytelling - will get readers prepared and keep them inspired, enabling them to live their dream and succeed.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This affable book about freelance writing champions two winning aspects of working without a boss: first, your time is your own, and second, there's no cap on your salary. Of course, there's no minimum wage, either, as anyone who has taken on an unprofitable project can surely attest. Author John Clausen happens to be a freelancer extraordinaire with a knack for direct mail and other promotions (though he's also written newspaper and magazine articles, advertising copy, and, obviously, books). He generously shares the wisdom gleaned from his many freelancing experiences, and those of many of his colleagues, regaling us with a remarkable array of freelancing adventures along the way. Clausen's formula? Among other things, "get an attitude" (read: demand big paychecks), find an anchor client, spend half your time scouting for more work, and "don't get sloppy." As a freelancer, he says, every time you are hired, your work will be scrutinized anew; it must always be topnotch and completed by deadline. Don't fret. Almost any writer, he says, "even a marginally talented one, can make a living as a freelancer if he or she will approach the profession with a businesslike attitude, positive thinking, and a sense of humor and fun." --Jane Steinberg

Review

"The simple fact is that almost any writer (even a marginally talented one) can make a living as a freelancer...if he or she will approach the profession with a business-like attitude, positive thinking, and a sense of humor and fun." -- John Clausen

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089879997X
• ISBN-13: 978-0898799972
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, July 26, 2001

By 

Matthew Broadway - See all my reviews

This review is from: Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal: How to Have a Great Life as a Freelance Writer (Hardcover)

John Clausen's book is excellent. It is both entertaining and informative.

Every chapter contains a bit of wisdom in the writing field and a small personal story that tugs the reader along for the ride. I've found most "How-To" books dull and unimpressive. Clausen's book is neither. I was entranced from the opening to the end.

As a comparison, I've read "Stephen King's On Writing" this month as well, and Clausen's book, was far more entertaining and informative. Where King would include endless pages of self-dramatizing autobiography, Clausen would wax poetic with stories about writers, which actually relate to the message he is trying to convey in each chapter.

It is not often that I can pick up a non-fiction book and laugh until I fall out of my chair, and learn something in the process. Clausen's book accomplished this feat.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll love this book, April 2, 2001

By 

Robert W. Bly (Rivervale, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal: How to Have a Great Life as a Freelance Writer (Hardcover)

I read every how-to book for writers I can get my hands on, and this is the most entertaining I've ever read.If you are a freelance writer or want to be one, you'll find inspiration, motivation, sensible advice, and great ideas here. Highly recommended.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rehashed hash, June 26, 2001

By 

"innocents" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal: How to Have a Great Life as a Freelance Writer (Hardcover)

John Clausen's book is helpful only to those would-be freelance writers who have never read one single issue of Writer's Digest magazine. He offers pablum instead of honest to goodness advice.

While I don't doubt Clausen's ability to spin a good tale, this is supposed to be a book that gives how-to's. But every time he gets into waters where you anticipate solid advice, he breaks into another chorus of "I know this guy who made good money doing..."

If the rating were based on story-telling ability, Clausen would get five stars. But if you are looking for solid, firm advice that can really help you earn money, this book is practically worthless.

Save yourself the money and buy a copy of Writer's Market instead. You won't regret it.