Will Write For Food: The Realities of Freelance Writing and What it Takes to Succeed

By Carson Calder

Do you dream of living the freelance writer's life but aren't sure if you're ready? Do you get starry-eyed when you think about how wonderful your life would be as a writer? If so, you really need to read this book.

This book will give you the unvarnished truth, not the romantic ideal, about the realities of this career path. To be successful, writers need to do more than just write well. This book will provide you with a realistic view and practical tips to help you prosper as a freelance writer.

Will Write For Food opens with a quiz to help you decide if you’re ready to make the leap into freelance writing. Don't quit your day job until you've taken the quiz! It's available in the book sample.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carson Calder
• Release date: May 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311662170

Book preview

Will Write For Food

The Realities of Freelance Writing and

What it Takes to Succeed

By

Carson Calder

Copyright © 2015 Carson Calder

All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

1. How Prepared Are You Quiz

2. How Hard Can It Be?

3. Writing is the New Sweatshop

4. Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Yet

5. Choose Your Experts Wisely

6. You Need to Learn Marketing

7. Avoid Shiny Object Syndrome

8. So You Still Want to Be a Freelance Writer

9. Resources

Thank You / About the Author

Preface

It’s important to have dreams. Dreams give us focus and hope, something to work towards, a purpose. My goal for this book is not to squelch your dream of becoming a freelance writer. My goal is to help you avoid the mistakes that I made during my first year as a freelance writer so that your dream doesn’t become a nightmare.

If you get starry-eyed when you think about becoming a writer, this book will bring you crashing back to earth. Consider it reality TV in book form. I’ll give you the unvarnished truth, not the romantic ideal, about what it takes to make it as a freelance writer.

I didn’t write this book from the perspective of success but from the lessons I learned from my lack of success. While most people write how-to books after they’ve become successful, this is a how-not-to book. Consider this an opportunity to learn from my mistakes. My mistakes do not have to be your mistakes.

If I had the opportunity to read a book like this before I started on this path I probably wouldn’t have had a reason to write this book.

1. Are You Prepared to Become a Freelance Writer?

If you’re not sure whether this book will help you become a successful freelance writer take the following quiz. If at least 16 of your responses are yes you don’t need this book. If most of your answers are no, reading this book will help you avoid the mistakes that I made during my first year as a freelance writer.

1. I am a good writer. Yes __ No __

2. I realize that writing well is not enough to achieve success as a freelance writer.

Yes __ No __

3. I understand that the ideal writer’s life does not exist. Yes __ No __

4. I am realistic and objective about how hard it will be to become a freelance writer.

Yes __ No __

Productivity

5. I have self-discipline. Yes __ No __

6. I know exactly how many words I can write every day. Yes__ No __

Financial

7. I have saved enough money to cover at least nine months of living expenses.

Yes __ No __

8. I know how much money I need to make from writing every month. Yes __ No __

9. I am realistic about the scarcity of good paying writing jobs and the competition for these jobs. Yes __ No __

10. I have specific marketing and productivity plans in place to help me reach my financial goals. Yes __ No __

Marketing