The Writing Trade: A Year in the Life

I bought this book when it was new, and I'm now reading it for the fourth time. To me, a freelancer like Jerome, it's like a shot of Vitamin B-12. The late John Jerome loved writing, loved it enough to give up a steady income as a magazine editor to write what he wanted to write -- well most of the time anyway. Beginning in on a cold New Year's Day, Jerome takes us through a year of his life: struggling with words, revising drafts, reading galley proof (yes, remember when they had galley proof), while all the while contending with worn-out plumbing and a dying furnace, and a steady stream of bills. Was it worth it? That's what Jerome wanted to find out -- and share the discovery with us.

John Jerome, freelance writer and author of the book, The Writing Trade...A Year in the Life gives us a 12-month account of a writer's life. The book, written in diary form takes us through revisions, writers block, publication, and most importantly, it takes us through someone else's life. The book isn't just about how to write. Actually it really isn't about how to write at all. "The aim here is to show how a writing life works: A book about the workaday process of making sentences for a living." Jerome said. It's a book basically about someone else's life. Jerome doesn't just talk about his life as a freelance writer he talks about his life's experiences. He tells us about camping trips with his alcoholic father, about his wife C., and about his daily walks with his dogs around the loop where he does most of his thinking and gets most of his ideas. At the beginning of every chapter there are helpful and humorous quotes from famous authors. While the book might not be about writing per say it is filled with good advice and tips. Jerome does a wonderful job of showing the reader a life of a writer, something most of us know nothing about, I was flipping pages fast. If you are looking for a book for entertainment and advice about writing, then A Year in the Life is a worthwhile read. While it is a worthwhile read, it is a book to borrow from the library not buy.

As a full-time magazine and book writer myself, I make it a point to reread this book at least once every year. I never cease to learn something from Jerome's example -- whether it's tips for crafting a nonfiction book proposal, inspiration for generating new ideas, or simply managing the paperwork of selling writer. I only wish he published such a journal for *every* year of his writing life!

In this work, we are privy to the daily life of a writer who has crossed into middle age having acheived the dream of making a living through his art, but at the same time still struggling financially and sometimes emotionally because of his career choice. I am inclined to suggest that this should be required reading for all aspiring writers because of its subject matter. At the same time, it is rather depressing (though not without hope of redemption at hand.) It is especially valuable for the way it portrays the daily discipline of writing and selling one's work.Of course, all is not bleakness and navel-gazing in this book. We also see the beauty of the author's rural home, and the quiet joy of day-to-day life with his wife and dogs. (Though why must he be so jarring as to refer to his wife by an initial? If she wanted to keep her privacy, an unlikely goal at best when your husband is writing a memoir, she could have been called by a pseudonym.)Overall, this is definitely a good read, though not exactly 'fun'.

John Jerome's "The Writing Trade, A Year in the Life" is an insightful and entertaining look into the daily grind of a free lance author. Jerome offers helpful hints and tips toward getting your works published. He offers advice about getting started, organizing large pieces into sub-pieces, contracts, publication and ownership rights, and the daily motivation needed to make it in the writing field. As a future novelist, I found his advice to be invaluable. Some of the more fascinating information was about a few of the more minute details such as software formatting, transitions between thoughts, his insistence that writers should keep a journal, what type of editor would be best to work with and I especially liked his advice about how to view occurrences such as a traffic jam. I guess there is motivation in everything if you look for it. Jerome mixes these bits of information in with his journal entries which consist of, among other things, daily walks in the woods with his dogs, life with "C" and frustrating moments when he creates excuses to distract himself. In learning about his life as a writer we also receive the history of some of his past pieces and some insight into future possibilities. Jerome takes several chapters telling us about a future book idea. He gives us copies of passages that he wrote with this idea in mind, mentions of thoughts that occurred to him while walking and eventually the death of an idea of which he has invested months of thought and several hours worth of journal entries. Jerome is seasoned enough to know when an idea will fly and when partially through a project, it is effectually dead due to loss of interest. Jerome has found an entertaining way to portray the not so glamorous life of the free lance writer. Overall, this book is a must read for anyone considering a career move into the "Writing Trade". Although, I do feel Jerome underestimates himself as a nature writer. His passages about his walks in the woods and his observations of nature and people are reminiscent of Thoreau's style. As Jerome points out, if he could find the funding to concentrate and develop a style on one piece of work, I would hope it would be nature writing. I would love to see him publish in the footsteps of Dillard and Thoreau.