131 of 136 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How hungry are you?, June 22, 2001
This review is from: The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less (Paperback)
Think about it. Over the past several thousand years, how many writers have been well-fed? Relatively few. That's the bad news. The good news is that in the so-called Age of Information, there are more and better opportunities for writers than at any prior time in history. Bowerman's primary objective is correctly indicated in the book's subtitle: He suggests how to achieve financial self-sufficiency as a freelance writer in six months or less. After a well-written Introduction (which we would logically expect from an expert on writing), Bowerman organizes his material within 15 chapters which range from "An Enviable Lifestyle" to "The Home Stretch." He then provides three appendices, any one of which is worth much more than the price of the book. Appendix A consists of sales letters, a sample contract, a sample brochure, and a sample direct mail piece; Appendix B offers various writing samples; Appendix C is "For Women Only" and includes interviews with "At-Home Moms" writers.
Here in a single volume is about all the information and advice anyone would need who is thinking about or who has already embarked on freelance writing. Many years ago, a professional writer was asked about how he gets started: "I sit there and stare at a blank sheet of paper and wait until beads of blood begin to appear on my forehead." Today's writer probably stares at a computer screen. Point One: writing is easy but re-writing is VERY HARD WORK It requires great self-discipline. Point Two: Getting someone to pay for what has been written is also VERY HARD WORK. Self-promotional skills are at least as important as writing/re-writing skills. These are my two points of emphasis with which, presumably, Bowerman agrees. He fully understands the importance of both kinds of skills. His is not a writer's manual, per se. It's greatest value really is derived from his observations, strategies, and tactics with regard to achieving "financial self-sufficiency through freelance writing." Keep in mind, that may take more than six months.
Hemingway once explained that he wrote "to get it out." Almost all of the great authors of fiction wrote because they had to and most of them struggled to pay their bills. Few became (and then remained) solvent and even fewer became wealthy. Let's get it straight right now. Do you feel compelled to write? Why? Or would you merely "like to write"? I have yet to meet anyone (including homeless people) opposed to financial self-sufficiency. Let's all assume that it is desirable. Let's also assume that you feel compelled to write and are willing (preferably determined) to make and then sustain a commitment to rigorous preparation. Finally, let's assume that (with talent as well as compulsion and commitment) you produce work worthy of compensation. Now what? Bowerman thoroughly answers that question.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Strunk and White's Elements of Style, King's On Writing (yes, that King), Zinnser's On Writing, any essays written by E.B. White and George Orwell, and finally, two other sources which may seem inappropriate but aren't: Foster's How to Get Ideas and Reiman's Thinking for a Living.
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81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some useful info, but don't take it as gospel, January 13, 2007
This review is from: The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less (Paperback)
I've been a professional technology writer and editor for 15 years. Most of those years were spent as a full-time freelancer, and yes, I made the stated financial goals for most of those years, usually at the high end. Yet, with all these enthusiastic book reviews and people claiming how much they learned from The Well-Fed Writer, I thought it was worth my time to find out why this book is so highly regarded. My conclusion is that it has good information, but it also has a few faults which mar its value.
Let's address the good stuff, first. Bowerman does a good job of encouraging the timid wage slave into the land of working for oneself. If you've been wanting someone to talk you into this career, this book will undoubtedly do so. He also gives a pretty good overview of the different kinds of writing with which he's personally acquainted, which means writing marketing copy. Most readers will walk away with a reasonable sense of how the business side of writing works, and that's a good thing. He has a bright and encouraging writing style, so this is not a painful book to read.
However, I've been editor at several technology publications (as well as writing thousands of articles, a handful of books, product manuals, white papers, newsletters, and more). This has put me in front of a lot of writers who truly want to make a living as freelancers but -- despite the pumped-up "you can do it!" Right Attitude that Bowerman encourages -- simply aren't going to make it.
The biggest reason is that *wanting* to write well doesn't mean you *do* write well. He glosses over the section on "have someone you trust evaluate your work," and I wish he gave more advice here. As just one fer-instance, *don't* ask "am I good enough?" advice from someone who cares about you and knows you well; they'll be positively disposed towards you, and an editor won't. Also, someone who knows you well will "hear" your voice in the words written down, even if it isn't there.
Plus, he assumes that any good writer can write well in any genre. It isn't true. I've worked with book authors who can't write an article, and vice versa. I've seen people who can write a how-to but can't write a product review. Personally, I find it so difficult and slow to write decent marketing copy that I soon realized that I couldn't make money at it (and I hated trying, even though "the money is so much better!").
Succeeding as a freelancer requires several attributes. Yes, you do need to know how to write well. You also need to know how to write for your audience, which is a skill that many lack (I know, as I'm the one who rejects their manuscripts). You also have to do so on deadline. And you have to be able to write well _fast_, to market yourself relentlessly (finding the balance between "persistent" and "pest"), and to remember to send invoices (a surprising weakness but one I encounter regularly).
Because Bowerman comes from a sales and marketing background, some of these skills come more naturally to him. Maybe they do to you, too, but I know how difficult it was for me to learn to drum up business. It took me a few years to learn and adjust to my own weak spots both as a writer and businessperson.
One thing that wasn't a problem for me (or apparently Bowerman) but is very real to others is learning to motivate oneself as a home-worker (which most freelancers are). He covers this last point, but since he's busy telling you that you'll succeed, you may not be aware that maybe you won't.
That sales background occasionally irritated me, because he's so busy reassuring you that you _can_ do this that he leaves out sections on "when to know if you've failed." (Mark Twain said, "Write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for.") And I sure wish he warned readers that there will inevitably be a day where you're owed $20,000 from clients who are good for the money, but you don't have the cash to pay your bills today.
Whew. All that sounds as though I'm trying to talk you out of reading this book. I don't mean to do so; it's a good book. It's just not the only book you should read before you quit your day job and embark on this new career.
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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even an Old Dog Learns a Few New Tricks, May 8, 2001
This review is from: The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less (Paperback)
With more than 13 years experience as a Freelance Commercial Writer, I labored under the impression there was little I could learn about marketing my business. Shortly after starting Peter Bowerman's book I realized my mistake.
Experience taught me the key to longevity was marketing. Yet, starting with Chapter 5 I discovered a bevy of clever marketing tips. Even those marketing ideas I employed -- praised by clients as never seen prior -- were not only described but embellished with unanticipated levels of sophistication. I found myself scribbling notes in the margins and on the back cover so each nugget would not be lost.
Whether you are considering a freelance writing career or are a wizened veteran, this book details a system which can lead to freelance writing's motherlode.
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