Get Paid to Write! The No-Nonsense Guide to Freelance Writing [Download: PDF] [Paperback]

Thomas A. Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2004

Williams shares the trade secrets for defining the style and editorial slant of the publications you want to write for, crafting the all important query letter, finding good ideas for articles, structuring an article, selling information on the internet, and much, much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An essential roadmap to freelance success, covering everything from queries to newspapers, from syndicating to agents, from Internet sales to corporate writing. Learn the secrets of successful freelancing from a master. --Fern Reiss, The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days

Tom Williams has done it again, providing the ambitious writer thorough and valuable manual with Get Paid To Write! Williams writes with an easy style, laying down the pertinent points and illuminating them with his own observations and experiences. A must-have addition for the writer's bookshelf. --Patricia J. Bell, THE Prepublishing Handbook

About the Author

Thomas A Williams PhD, has written for magazines ranging from Esquire to Writer's Digest. He is the author of fourteen books. Williams has started, edited, and published city and regional magazines and is Editor-in-Chief of Venture Press book publishers, a home-based book publishing company. With experience from both ends, he tells us what is necessary both from the author's perspective as well as from the publisher's perspective.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Sentient Publications (February 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591810124
• ISBN-13: 978-1591810124
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,470,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must-have" for anyone contemplating a writing career, June 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Get Paid to Write! The No-Nonsense Guide to Freelance Writing (Paperback)

Thomas A. Williams' Get Paid To Write: The No-Nonsense Guide To Freelance Writing is part of the rather consistently impressive Sentient Publications "The Culture Tools Series". An extremely practical self-starter career guide packed with tips, tricks, and techniques for selling articles to magazines, newspapers, and websites, or even writing a book, Get Paid To Write covers everything from the basic facts of freelance to learning what magazine editors want just from reading a copy, using the query system to one's advantage, success secrets, getting an agent if needed, dealing with the possibility of idea theft, writing especially for business, building one's professional reputation, and much more. A highly recommended "must-have" for anyone contemplating a writing career.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Tools for Writers, April 13, 2004

By 

Steve Bennet (North Haverbrook, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Get Paid to Write! The No-Nonsense Guide to Freelance Writing (Paperback)

This book is an essential arrow in the quiver of any good writer. Freelance writers know that good writing is only half the equation, the other half is knowing what editors and readers want. Williams helps answer this question by calling on his years of real-world experience writing and editing magazines, newspapers and websites. Williams covers every aspect of freelance writing, from idea development to promotion, with thorough, useful advice. As an aspiring writer, I can personally say that this book is a must read for anyone hoping to be their own boss and make money writing. Competition can be stiff but Thomas Williams helps writer gain the edge they need to succeed.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do Not, I Repeat, Do Not Buy This Book, October 8, 2007

By 

Betty A. Ludwig (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Get Paid to Write! The No-Nonsense Guide to Freelance Writing (Paperback)

Get Paid to Write by Tomas A. Williams is more about self-promotion than about providing information for individuals looking to make a living writing. This was the fourth book I've read about freelance writing and by far the worst. There was little relevant information and he spent most of the book promoting his past, current, and future works. It seemed every few pages he was inserting a plug about his website, an article or book he had written or some publishing he had done. I skimmed this book and was very disappointed. In my opinion Williams never provided enough information about the "how to" part of freelancing. He wrote more about the mechanics of writing. For example, he talked about what a good query was: it was well written. He did not go much beyond that explanation and there were no examples. He did, however, go into great detail about how to brainstorm which I found the most useless of all but the most detailed in the entire book. You can definitely tell Williams used to be a professor because he droned on without saying much of anything. If I could give this book a negative star I would.

If you are looking for books about freelance writing, I would suggest The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli & Diana Burrell and Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer by Moira Anderson Allen. Both of these books offer a wealth of information, especially if you are looking to break into magazine writing. Freelancing for Newspapers by Sue Fagalde Lick is another good book if you are interested in information about freelancing for newspapers. Save your money and buy one of these books.