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

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.

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!

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!