Customer Reviews

Get Paid to Write! The No-Nonsense Guide to Freelance Writing

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I hate to burst the bubble of the one person who rated this book a 1, but I insist. This is one of the many books I have read with real content. Thomas uses his past successes to explain many of his ideas, which I think is better then giving me a list of lofty generalizations. I need meat in my journey to freelance heaven, not fluff. Of course, there is a little product placement throughout the book; he would be a fool not to promote himself, another tactic that he explains. Thomas has inspired me to really take action, and while he writes with confidence and an authority that may offend (some may construe this with arrogance), it is exactly the kick in the a** I need to really get going.