This book was written to help you make a lot of money as a freelance writer.
 
To my mind, too many writers spend too many hours laboring over work for which they are paid only a pittance. We live in a society that often forces writers literally to give away their writings, either for free or for wages that, when figured on an hourly basis, are barely competitive with what an unskilled laborer can earn pushing hamburgers in a fast-food restaurant or moving crates in a warehouse.
 
This book is dedicated to the proposition that writers should be paid a fair dollar for a fair day’s work . . . and that writing is a professional service worth the fees that other professions command.
 
Think about the last few articles or stories you sold. Were you satisfied with the pay? If not—if you feel frustrated by editors and publishers who seem to begrudge you every penny when it comes time to negotiate your fee or advance—this book can change your life!
 
• If you’re tired of being underpaid as a writer, of spending long hours on projects that barely provide a decent living wage, I’m going to show you a different side of freelancing—one that can put you in an income bracket that even a corporate executive, attorney, or physician might envy.
 
• If you’re a new or established freelancer handling commercial projects for corporate clients, I’ll tell how you can double or triple your writing income, how to get new clients, and how to get more business from current clients—and I’ll give you new ways to market your services and expand your business as never before.
 
• If you’re a staff writer employed by a corporation, advertising agency, newspaper, or other organization and you want to quit your job and become a freelancer, I’ll show you how to do it. By following my techniques, you’ll be able to match—or even double—your present salary in your first year of freelancing.
 
• If you dream of writing the Great American Novel, or short stories, poetry, plays, essays, articles, or other literary forms—great! This book will show you how to get lucrative commercial assignments that pay the rent and free you to pursue more artistic interests.
 
• If you’re a moonlighter, a part-timer, or you want to expand your regular income, the type of writing described in this book is ideal for you, because you can work as much or as little as you choose. It’s all up to you.
 
• If you’ve never written for money in your life but you have a hankering to write, or you’re looking for a second career, or to make some money in your spare time working from home, you’ve come to the right place.
 
When I wrote the first edition of Secrets of a Freelance Writer for Dodd, Mead in 1987, I was thirty years old and had five years’ experience as a freelance commercial writer.
 
Now it’s nearly two decades later, I’m 48, and I’ve been a freelance corporate writer for twenty-three years. In the eighteen years between editions, I’ve written hundreds of freelance projects for dozens of clients—and I pass along the new tips, techniques, and methods I’ve learned in this new edition.
 
The question readers of the first and second editions most often ask me is “Can you still make $85,000 to $125,000 a year or more doing freelance writing for the business market?” The answer is yes, although market conditions have changed over the past two decades. Here are the key differences between then and now.
 
First, the bad news:
 
• The recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s—and the uncertain economy of the twenty-first century—put us into a “buyer’s market” from which we will never recover. There is more competition, and, at the same time, budgets are more limited and clients are more cost-conscious. You can still make $100,000 a year or more as a freelance corporate writer, but it’s more difficult than when I started in 1982—no doubt about it.
 
• We live in the Age of Now. Deadlines are shorter. Speed, convenience, efficiency, and client service are becoming ever more critical to many buyers of writing services. For some assignments, how fast you can get the copy to the client—and in what file format—seems at times to overshadow the quality of the writing itself.
 
• There have always been clients who do not care about writing and treat it as a commodity. Such clients have always been and are still a small minority, but their ranks have grown over recent years. You value your craft. Be aware that some buyers do not.
 
• Downsizing has motivated many downsized corporate workers to try freelancing, flooding the market with new writers. Some stay. Most seem to freelance only until they can find another corporate or ad agency job.
 
• Clients expect and demand freelance writers to have adequate office technology and be knowledgeable in a variety of programs and computer skills, including Internet access and e-mail. If you are low-tech or computer-phobic, you are far behind the times—and you need to enter the world of modern computing without further delay.
 
Now, the good news:
 
• Demand for freelance writing services among businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations has never been higher. Many freelancers are struggling to keep up with the workload and fill orders. There are more than enough assignments to go around. Unlike the book and magazine publishing fields, demand for corporate writing greatly outweighs supply.
 
• There is still a lot of money to be made. For the first and second editions of Secrets of a Freelance Writer, I picked the subtitle “How to Make $85,000 a Year,” because that seemed like a lot of money at the time. It’s still a nice income for a freelance writer, but many of my readers report earnings of $100,000 to $175,000 a year—and several make more. One called me the other day to tell me he just hit the $200,000 mark!
 
• Instead of seeing the Internet and CD-ROM as competition for the printed word, see them for what they are: lucrative markets for writers. Do you prefer print? Writing for the World Wide Web has more in common with writing a brochure than it does with writing a movie. It’s easy for print writers to adapt to and enjoy this medium.
 
• Downsizing has resulted in more outsourcing by corporations. They no longer have large staffs of writers and editors. Many documents once produced mainly in-house are now routinely outsourced to freelancers like us, often for big bucks.
 
• Technology lets you get more work done in less time and makes your life easier. With the PC, fax, and e-mail, I can get twice as much work done as I did in the days of the electric typewriter and no fax or e-mail. For the freelance writer, computers and related technology dramatically increase output, which translates directly into greater earnings.
 
For many writers, freelancing is where it’s...