zachary petit Archives - Addicted to Writing

5 Amazing Books on Becoming a Successful Freelance Writer

Posted on December 28, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Are you a fan of resolutions? I know I am. I figured the best way to realize our goals is to start them now, as opposed to next week or the beginning of the new year. We are also better off when we accept that there will always be obstacles, cheat days and even weeks. Sometimes, it will seem like the world is conspiring against you. Hell, maybe it is. The universe works in mysterious ways, and I don’t really care about the hows and whys anymore. Okay, maybe I do a little, but it is best if we don’t get hung up.

OK, back to your resolutions. So what if you already had Nutella and other chocolate today? (Yes, I’m talking about me.) Don’t order a mocha at the café. Opt for filter coffee or another healthier option that you like. Take the stairs. Walk 5000 more steps. Turn up the volume and dance away to your favorite song. You can have a cheat day and do your exercise. If you can’t or won’t abstain, you can always work to offset the effects in a way that fits your lifestyle.

You forgot to eat salad at lunch? Make some salad for dinner. Salad doesn’t fill you up? Add protein to it. There are quick fixes to a lot of our problems. Let’s fix the small things, so that if the big things do come, we are a bit more prepared.

If you wrote 2000 fewer words than you are supposed to, go to a productive space and write away. If that production company ignored your email about one script, follow up politely. If your follow-up is not answered or is rejected, send another script. We can do this, people! Yes, it is frustrating hard work with a lot of elements outside our control or influence. So we can at least kick ass at the stuff that is within our abilities.

We can really make 2018 our year.

A resolutions post will come before the year ends, but this post is about my favorite e-books. A follow-up post will arrive that features best blogs and my favorite e-courses.

This post comes with the help of my own library, meaning I own every one of these books. Enjoy!

*Please note that this post contains affiliate links. You won’t pay extra, but everything you buy through my links help keep me update this blog more often and with better, more comprehensive content. I don’t recommend anything I haven’t bought and/or used and loved myself.

Start Your Career as a Freelance Writer by Moira Allen

Moira Allen is one of my favorite writers. She is the creator of The Writing World. As far as I know she is no longer updating, but that website will take years to get through. It is just chock full of great content on all aspects of writing. But if you are looking to start a freelance writing career and like me, prefer a book you can come back to as often as you like, then I recommend her Start Your Career as a Freelance Writer. Truth: I bought it after I’d been freelancing a couple of years. You can skip or skim through more familiar chapters such as equipment, but chapters like setting goals, coping with rejection, starting your article, finding the right markets, queries and submissions, expanding your freelancing business, rights and contracts, and more, are evergreen and chapters you will want to refer to again and again.

The Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing by Amber Adrian

The Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing is a part of the Unconventional Guides series by popular blogger and bestselling author Chris Guillebeau. It comes in two different packages: Pen-for-hire ($39) and editor-in-chief ($58). I own editor-in-chief.

Pen-for-hire includes The Ultimate Freelancers Guide, which is a 55-page guide written by experienced freelance writer Amber Adrian. It covers starting, getting clients, getting paid and what to charge, creating a routine and dealing with freelancing-related fears, building a business and more. These 55 pages are complemented with The Big List or Links and Resources, “Rejection Be Damned” Tools for Success. You can check here for more details.

If you go for the editor-in-chief package, in addition to pen-for-hire’s contents, you get Sample Pitches and Letters of Introduction, Eight Big Bonus Author Interviews, and an additional 44-minute audio interview with veteran travel writer Kristin Luna.

The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing: Write, Work, and Thrive on Your Own Terms by Zachary Petit

I get into a bit of detail The Essential Guide to Freelancewriting by Zachary Petit in my post Do You Need to Buy Another Writing Resource? The Impulsive Information Product Shopper’s Checklist. Zachary Petit is a former editor of Writer’s Digest and a veteran freelance writer. He is funny, honest, practical and experienced. The book covers basics, ideas, author platforms, getting published, pitching, interviewing (so detailed and valuable: I learned a ton in this chapter!), actually writing, people behind the scenes, and business basics.

The book is paved with awesome quotes about writing, the below being my favorite.

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” Philip Roth

The Ultimate Freelancer’s Guidebook: Learn How to Land the Best Jobs, Build Your Brand, and Be Your Own Boss, by Yuwanda Black

Yuwanda Black is a veteran writer who runs the blog Inkwell Editorial. I first heard about the book (and about her) through her guest post on Productive Writers by John Soares. I loved the website. I checked out the contents of the book and decided my library needed this. Her comprehensive guidebook features chapters on mindset, what to sell and what to charge, writing your business plan, start-up costs, building a brand on a budget, marketing, landing first clients, structuring your workday, working with clients, getting ongoing clients, whether to incorporate, common pitfalls to avoid, medical insurance, doing your math, and success stories.

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer

Jenna Glatzer is an award-winning and prolific writer and ghostwriter. She has a testimonial from Celine Dion on her author page. Let that sink in for a second. She has written for Writer’s Digest, Woman’s World, Prevention and more.

Now that we got her credentials out of the way, let’s dive into the content of the book. Chapters are about getting started, finding ideas, finding markets, studying markets, breaking in and personal essays, pitching, style, querying, reprints and spin-offs, submitting/copyrights and keeping track, getting paid/negotiating and submitting the article, interviews, becoming a favorite freelancer, relationships with editors, networking/diversifying clips and more, delving deeper, the life of a writer for hire, examples of successful queries, and useful jargon.

That’s a lot of books. Now let’s do a useful Q & A to help you shop smartly.

Do I need all of these books?

Of course not. But not all books and guides are created equal, and you’d be surprised to know how, in addition to wisdom shared by all or most writers mentioned here, the books create different and equally awesome nuggets. They don’t contradict each other, but rather complement. Do you need to buy even one of them? It depends! Can you spare the fee? And do you find yourself stuck at some point in your career and unable to move forward or improve? Then yes, start with one. Pick the one that appeals to you most. And before going on a buying spree, please, oh please, implement the advice in the first one you bought.

How do I pick?

If they all sound good to you and money isn’t a problem, you can just flip a coin. Or close your eyes and pick randomly. They are all equally good. They were all created by successful veteran writers. But if you pay attention to content, they differ from each other, so pick according to your needs. Remember, you can ask Kindle to send a free chapter if you want to get a taste of their writing style and how the book is.

If they are all awesome, why do you need them all?

Because they are all awesome. Because I’m a shopaholic. Because I need motivation and inspiration. Because I can afford them. Because I study successful information products as I am working to create my own. (That’s right, stay tuned!). And as I mentioned above, they are complementary.

It is more like… I wanted all. I love having a comprehensive library. And I do learn new things or remember things I forget to implement.

Any more questions? Ask away in the comments. Please mention if you own any of these products and how you feel about them.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Do You Need to Buy Another Writing Resource? The Impulsive Information Product Shopper’s Checklist

Posted on September 26, 2016 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Shop Shop Till You Drop. Or you know, run out of money.

Hi, I’m Pinar, and I’m a shopaholic. (Yes, I love and adore the book series (aff.link) by Sophie Kinsella up until there is a baby involved.)

I love shopping so much that I once lost 16 pounds in one summer with shopping (and walking during that shopping) as my only fitness activity.

OK, it is not THAT bad. I can exercise control, and the only debt I go to is during writing contest submission time with one credit card that has a ridiculously low limit. So, not a lot.

But I do love shopping. Clothes, accessories, shoes, make-up, stationery, books, e-books, e-courses…. Ah, yes. Information products.

At this point, I have bought stuff about writing more times than Donald Trump has insulted Hillary Clinton. Or glam metal bands have destroyed the Ozone layer with hair products. Yes, that much.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not an impulsive buyer when it comes to information products on writing. I check out the creator, the content, reviews, and compare with my needs and weaknesses. Then I look at the price and my budget. And then, if it looks like I do in fact need this product, I add it to my shopping cart.

And I find myself checking out products quite often.

Because every time I hit a difficult period, whether I get a few rejections in a row, get writer’s block or hit another frequent roadblock, I love to refresh my knowledge and see what other successful writers have put out there.

But you have to be careful, especially if you are at a stage in your career where you already know a lot, and your main problem isn’t not knowing, but not implementing. Or hitting some career milestone block.

The truth is, sometimes you don’t need to buy anything new, but a visit to your good old library will do.

So to buy or not to buy?

Relax. Some information products are really up-to-date, refreshing and more ass-kicking, and worth every penny. So let’s do a little checklist before we open up our wallets and purses:

Is the information new, correct and applicable?
Do you get free updates?
Does it come in different packages, taking different levels of needs in consideration?
Are there payment plans available?
Is it in a format you know you will take advantage of?
Can you afford it?
*How soon can you reap the investment?

*It’s not just about testimonials. You can actually check out referrer’s body of work, website, products, etc. and see for yourself how much they have accomplished, or if you have liked what you have accomplished. Obviously, not everything can or should be attributed to one resource, but you’ll at least have an idea.

Is it evergreen? Will the information likely hold up a couple of months from now? And will you always have access to it and its updates?
Is the writer/creator open to questions and communication?

You don’t have to say yes to all of these, but if you can’t say yes to more than five, take a breath. Leave that wallet alone. Open the search function of your computer and delve into your library. Make a note of the sources you purchased before, and take a look at their content. See what you are missing. Then walk around and look at your physical library.

Still don’t see what you need? Go through your bookmarks a bit.

You might find this time-consuming, but it is actually one of my favorite methods to come up with new ideas for articles. You also need to organize your files, books and bookmarks anyway, so there’s that advantage.

See? You’ve come up with ideas, done some organizing and have made an informed decision on whether to spend your hard-earned money.

I will try to review each book individually when I get the time, but until then:

My Latest Purchases:

The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing (How To Write, Work and Thrive On Your Own Terms) by Zachary Petit

I was in a shopping mood, browsing through Amazon. I was drawn in by the title and who the author was, but it was the humor of the first couple of pages that drew me in.

In the first chapter, he wrote he “was perplexed by freelancing.” “I had stringers writing for me when I was a weekly newspaper editor, but they were working for beans, and they’d been writing for the paper longer than I’d been there…. I accepted their magical presence but never took the time to find out how they got there.”

I was hooked. The honesty, flow, humor and the fact that he mentioned acid reflux (I have a stomach condition that few people understand so…) I realized this was my kind of writer. Sure, a lot more well-known and successful (he had edited for Writer’s Digest, for crying out loud!) than me, but someone whose style didn’t seem far from my own.

Oh, and the “your own terms” also attracted me. What can I say? I’m a sucker for doing things my way.

I was like “I want to find more about this guy’s journey!”

It has a great deal more about interviews, finding celebrities, pitching, and yes, I learned a lot. Even after six years of freelancing. I wish I had the book in the beginning. So it is one of my go-to books now. We are happy together.

You can buy The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing Freelance Writing (How To Write, Work and Thrive On Your Own Terms) on Amazon. (affiliate link.)

Gina Horkey’s 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success Course

Because Gina is kind of a big deal in the freelance writing/blogging world. I had heard a lot about her and read some of her guest posts. So I checked out her blog and loved that as well.

After loving all of her content, I wanted to check her writing course as well. Now, you might ask, why the hell are you still checking out writing courses after six years?

Okay for one, you always need to stay up-to-date, and you need to keep adding new skills. Also, I’m not a full-time freelancer, as I’ll go into more detail in my review of the course. (I also write screenplays and actually try to sell them, so that also takes a lot of time. And money.)

Now, don’t be fooled that the picture says “newbie freelancers.” If you are a newbie freelancer, you might indeed have to take the time to take the actions course suggests. But when you are established or semi-established, you can jumpstart your pitching process and writing in record time, while still learning new stuff and adding to the old.

I have the growth package, which has a couple of additional bonuses than the starter package, and it lacks the pitch review and a month of coaching from Gina, that the rockstar package has.

I wanted to learn from her because her writing and personality are lovely, and she is a financial success. An active, private and supportive FB group sounded awesome. (I’m very active on the FB group, both with my own questions and comments trying to help out fellow writers in any way I can.)

I’ll go over the details in my review, but if you want to check this course out, go ahead. You won’t regret it if you pay attention and do the work. Yes, it is a proud affiliate link.

What resources on writing have you bought recently?