Start and Run a Profitable Freelance Writing Business

Elizabeth St Jacques is the author of Echoes All Strung Out and
Survivors: The Great Depression, 1929-1939.

“Do (you) want to be a writer and make money?” If you do, Christine
Adamec advises you to “Forget everything you’ve heard or read about
the heavy competition, the difficulty obtaining assignments, and the
paltry fees that lowly writers routinely receive. With effective
marketing and basic business practices you can and will earn good fees
for your work.” This all sounds terrific, but it’s hardly realistic
for beginners.

Straight off, you should know this is not a how-to-write book. Though
the author does define various genres of writing (the personality
profile, the exposé, the how-to piece, and personal experience
articles), you’ll have to read about the craft of writing elsewhere.

What you’ll find here are the basic tips: advantages and
disadvantages of being a writer, tools of the trade, setting goals,
marketing (targeting markets, queries, agents), working with editors,
research, interviewing, and so forth. Examples of query letters,
questions to ask in an interview, and how to invoice an editor or client
are helpful. But samples such as “Cash Flow Projection,” “Earnings
Plan,” “Pricing a New Client,” and how to decide whether to accept
or turn down a job are nothing short of utopian for the average
beginner. (Rarely can a beginner expect to earn income in the four-digit
range as noted in these examples.)

However sincere the author may be, these terse, fast-paced pages read
more like high-pressure flash commercials. Actually, very little is new
here. If you get this guide, read it in small chunks and keep your feet
firmly on the ground.