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 This just in: Great Review on E2K/NetAuthor!
This is the book that I've always wanted to write. It is, in my humble opinion, literally "everything you need to know to start your freelance writing career."
This book walks you through the process of launching your career, step-by-step. It tells you what supplies and equipment you'll need, how to develop ideas and decide what to write about, how to locate markets, how to write queries, how to research and structure your articles, how to conduct interviews, and how to handle the business side of writing. It demystifies the process of negotiating contracts, helps you understand your rights as a writer, and shows you how to protect yourself and your writing. Finally, it gives tips on expanding your career -- including what you need to know before deciding to go "full time."
In writing this book, I've drawn not only on my own experience both as a freelancer and a magazine editor, but also on the hundreds of questions that I've been asked by other writers. It's based not only on what I think beginning writers need to know, but on what those writers have said they want to know, based on the questions they ask.
Part One deals with the issues of getting started: Understanding what it takes to become a freelancer, setting up one's office and basic supplies, learning how to "make time to write" (and teaching others to respect that time), setting effective goals, and learning how to understand and cope with rejection.
Part Two looks at the tasks involved in starting that first article: Finding ideas (including understanding what editors want), moving from category to subject to topic to slant, creating outlines and dealing with "word budgets," conducting research and interviews, starting (and refining) that first draft, using sidebars, and writing personal experience articles.
Part Three explains how to market your work, including how to locate sample magazines, whether to write for free, how to write for special-interest publications, writing for magazines, and writing for newspapers (a special chapter by Sue Fagalde Lick).
Part Four carries the marketing question to the next level, by discussing how to develop a query, how to format a manuscript, and what actually happens when your query arrives at the editor's office. It looks at e-mail queries, multiple-pitch queies, and cover letters -- and whether or not to send simultaneous submissions. It also addresses a common fear of beginning writers: Whether or not editors will "steal your ideas."
Part Five demystifies the issues of copyright, rights and contracts, including what constitutes a "use" of rights (whether or not you're paid), how to negotiate a contract or (if necessary) write your own, how to set your fees, how to make sure that you get paid, when to ask for a raise, whether to work for "pay on publication" markets, and how to handle your writing business expenses, income and taxes (including how to survive an audit). (Read the Income and Expenses Chapter online!)
Part Six explores ways to expand your writing business, including how to sell reprints, include photos with your articles, write and self-syndicate a column, write and sell a nonfiction book, write for businesses (a special chapter by Peter Bowerman, author of The Well-Fed Writer), and decide whether (or when) to "take the plunge" and become a full-time freelancer.
If you've ever said to yourself, "I wish I could become a writer, but I just don't know how to get started!" this is the book for you!
Available from Amazon.com!
What Readers are Saying...
I am a fan of Moira Allen's incredibly resourceful website WRITING-WORLD and looked forward to reading her all-in-one guide on freelancing writing. As I expected, NO disappointments here -- all you ever wanted to know about the basics of writing for magazines and going freelance is explained simply and expertly in this book. -- Radhika Meganathan
An extremely practical and detailed career guide for the aspiring writer seeking to become a paid professional. Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer comprehensively and accessibly covers how to make time for writing; honing research and interview techniques; find markets for written work of all kinds; writing and marketing nonfiction books and articles, and a great deal more. A no-nonsense advice guide packed with tips, tricks, and techniques, Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer is an absolute "must-read" for anyone seriously interested in developing a successful career as a professional freelance writing. -- Midwest Book Review
Commencing a career as a freelance writer is a difficult task, and one in which a great deal of perseverance and patience is required. It is Allen's vast experience and her ability to effectively convey her knowledge from these experiences that is very much in evidence throughout book, and will surely prove to be invaluable to aspiring freelance writers. -- Norm Goldman, Editor of Bookpleasures
Moira Allen's book is so good it makes me want to start all over again as a freelance writer. -- Lewis Frumkes, Director of the Marymount Manhattan Writing Center
Allen's advice to freelancers is concise, accurate, and right on target. The chapters on rights, copyright, and contracts, particularly, should be required reading for all aspiring writers. -- Marcia Preston, ByLine
Getting a freelance career off the ground and keeping it there is daunting even for experienced journalists. Moira's book not only has the answers to the business dilemmas that plague beginners but also offers pros revenue-enhancing ideas. Well worth shelf space in every freelancer's library. -- Jennie L. Phipps, FreelanceSuccess.com.
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