These days, everyone from recent English grads to laid-off journalists to retirees fancy themselves freelance writers. But as we well know, not everyone has the business savvy or the chutzpah to actually support themselves from writing. Enter Carol Tice's new eBook, Make a Living Writing: The 21st Century Guide, which demystifies many of the strategies successful writers use to land assignments, establish a niche, and more. While most writing guides focus on blogging or copywriting or writing for magazines and websites, Make a Living Writing offers a broader look at the freelance world, including chapters on all three. There's something to be said for books that look more in-depth at one area of writing, then again, most of the freelance writers I know who make a decent living do so by writing across multiple platforms. Tice's eBook (and her own career, which includes a diverse array of blogging clients and publication credits) reflect that new reality. Sprinkled with examples and anecdotes from Tice's own freelance career, the eBook contains can-do advice on crafting queries that sell, writing articles that wow an editor, finding copywriting clients that are worth your time, and more. Useful links are included throughout, so it's best if you can read the eBook while you're connected to the internet (darn you, airports that charge for wifi!). The sections on writing for publication and writing for businesses contain the most practical and helpful suggestions, while the section on blogging almost feels like an afterthought. A horizontal format and a linked table of contents in the right column make for easy reading, as does the authoritative, yet friendly style and ample white space.
While I did discover some new information in Make a Living Writing, I think it would be most useful to those who are just starting out. Of course, I'm definitely interested in the sequel, Make a Living Writing II: Your Move-Up Strategy Guide, which Tice mentions in several spots.FTC disclosure: the author provided a review copy of this eBook.