The Wealthy Writer: How to Earn a Six-Figure Income as a Freelance Writer (No Kidding!)

by Michael Meanwell

Book Overview

The Ultimate Guide to Freelancing for Commercial and High-Paying Markets The choice to begin a freelance writing career was the easy part - now how to be successful is the challenge. How do you set up... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582973113
• ISBN13: 9781582973111
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Another "must read" for copywriters

Add another book to the list of "must reads" for aspiring copywriters. THE WEALTHY WRITER by Michael Meanwell. I thought this one might be a little different from books by American authors, but found largely, what sells in America sells in Australia. I found Meanwell's book to be less engaging at times than Bowerman, Bly or Slaunwhite's books, but also found that he went into much greater (and more appreciated) depth in certain areas. For instance, others simply glazed over speechwriting. Meanwell devotes a very indepth chapter to it. I didn't make nearly as many notes in this book as I did in some of the other similar books, but I can see referring back to this volume on a regular basis. There is a ton of good information here. Where this book falls slightly behind the previously mentioned authors is mostly in the formatting. In places, Meanwell's work seems crammed and some of the samples he uses have been reduced to a size too small for old geezers to read. These things notwithstanding, I still have to put this book in the "must read" category for the target audience.

The Smart Business of Writing

Of all the guides out there that try to offer advice on freelance writing as a business you could really make a living from, you're most likely to keep this one on your shelf and consult it regularly. You could use Meanwell's encyclopedic advice as a reference for years to come. In the real world, it would be a complete miracle if you wrote the great American novel then had it picked up by an agent. You can reach for those dreams in your free time while following Meanwell's methods of making regular money now, in the freelance commercial writing market. This guide runs the gamut from making your career decision to setting up your business to finding available work in the corporate sector, all with practical knowledge from Meanwell's own successful experience. At times this book delves into too much detail, such as when Meanwell starts describing how to write company newsletters or direct mail submissions. But on the other hand, it's amazing how many different topics he covers about freelance writing as a viable career. There are plenty of other books out there that try to teach you how to write, but this one is among the best for at least getting started on making a living by doing what you love, especially when it comes to running a legitimate business. [~doomsdayer520~]

Excellent Ideas!

I was actually surprised at some of the things the author explained about starting a writing business. Since I'm a copywriter myself, I didn't expect him to write a chapter (the first one) about getting corporate clients for copywriting and technical writing assignments as a financial base to your business, which makes sense. Yet many writers or wannabes won't want to do this because it takes the romance out of being a writer. He gives a lot of sound, money making ideas for becoming a money-making freelance writer which are excellent if you want to know the reality of what it takes to be able to be successful as a work-at-home writer. Definitely recommended!

The definitive guide to breaking into commercial writing

I often get emails from people who are hoping to make millions with a first novel, generally, as yet, unwritten. Obviously there is a fairly common misconception that breaking into the world of fiction is easy and profitable. It couldn't be further from the truth. Superstar "names" like John Grisham and Dan Brown may be doing very well from their work (generally due to a powerful marketing team), but most fiction and poetry writers would be receiving a far better hourly rate working on the checkout of a local supermarket or pumping gas. Freelancers looking to make money from magazine articles and other forms of non-fiction fare slightly better, but it`s still a hard slog, with lots of querying, cold submissions and a long trail of rejections and apprenticeship before the relatively low paying acceptances begin coming in. It is rarely enough money to live on, especially with financial commitments like a family and mortgage. However, there is one branch of writing which is both lucrative, and relatively easy to break into: Commercial writing, or writing communications for business - eg sales letters, speeches, newsletters, brochures, advertisements, public relations material of all kinds, technical writing, and so on is a growing field where good writers are in short supply. Michael Meanwell's The Wealthy Writer is a comprehensive guide to creating, from scratch if need be, a lucrative commercial writing practice. While the book focuses almost solely on commercial writing, Meanwell clearly understands that writers will continue to want to produce creative works like novels and poetry for non-lucrative reasons, and stresses throughout the book that commercial writers will not only be honing their skills, but also creating enough free time to allow for other hobbies. Meanwell is very open about the challenges inherent in becoming a commercial writer, and from the start, gets writers to ask themselves the hard questions about their working style, level of commitment, and even things like family situation and health. The book pulls no punches about the need for a serious business plan (and provides the tools to create one), the need to have a roadmap, putting in place systems and procedures, creating a home office, setting up a professional budget, and how to determine your worth to clients. All of this precedes the writing process and makes it clear how important it is to decide the parameters and capabilities of your business before touting for clients or writing a word of copy. The rest of the book provides a serious guide to ensuring that your writing skills are honed and targeted specifically for the commercial market, and covers such things as how to write technical manuals well, how to produce good quality public relations (including using PR for your own advertising efforts), how to write "content" for the web (a rapidly growing field where need is beginning to seriously outstrip skill), speech writing, corporate communications, newsletter

The Wealthy Writer

This is without doubt the most practical freelance writing book that I have ever read. Mr. Meanwell doesn't try to hook the reader with generic tips that have no "real-world" applications; instead, his book is full of specific ideas about how to branch out from the usual freelance jobs into the more unusual, but yet very needed, markets of today that are not as obvious. One thing that I particularly like about "The Wealthy Writer" is that each chapter not only explains the process for getting the deal, but it also elaborates on how to truly satisfy the customer by going beyond the ordinary. Mr. Meanwell provides unambiguous case studies with actual examples of his own work and explanations of how he succeeded in each example. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in starting (or maintaining) a freelance business. Mr. Meanwell has inspired me with this wonderful book, and I plan to refer to it often.