Action packed Guide for beginners and more experienced writers
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Query letters, standing out to editors, being published and getting paid a good amount of money are topics constantly on the mind of magazine writers. Especially at the beginning of a writing career, the whole dance between writers and editors seems frustrating and daunting.

This marketing guide is full of amazing advice and action steps you can take in order to finally get the jobs you deserve. Linda guides you through every step with helpful hints, extremely beneficial advice and many insights she gained in her career.

Once you have read through the book once, you'll go back many times in order to recreate the great information Linda gives you. I cannot wait to put what I have learned to use and receive my very first job for a magazine. I am more confident now that I have read the book than ever before and I am convinced that with the help of the book I will be able to land many jobs.

I would recommend this book to anybody who is trying to have a chance in the crowded world of freelancers. You are your best asset and the more you use that asset the better your chances of success.
383283
Adam Levenberg was a guest speaker for my Filmmaking and Screenings Meetup in Hollywood, and my audience loved his talk.  He sure sold a lot of books that night! I have read The Starter Screenplay and have used it as a guide to the film I'm rewriting now. His book focuses on providing writers with common sense advice on how your first script should be written in order to have better chances of selling. Because it is based on an industry point of view on screenwriting, it makes it a great complement to books like Save the Cat, and Writing Movies-The Gotham Writers Workshop. The Starter Screenplay is easy to read, and will help stimulate your creativity by offering several ways in which you can spice up your screenplay, such as adding 'ideas of value'.  After you're done with your script, you'll find helpful advice on how to successfully sell your screenplay to the people who can actually take it to the next level. I look forward to bringing Adam back as a speaker for our meetup, and I know that you'll enjoy The Starter Screenplay and find in it great guidelines on how to write and to improve your script as well as pointers on getting started with your screenwriting career.
511698
Joe's easy to read and engaging style will make even the neophyte believe they have a chance at writing something worth reading. He kicks things off by quickly dispelling any possible myths by detailing the cold, hard facts about short story publishing, but then immediately sets about outlining exactly what the aspirant writer needs do in order to progress from rejection slip to check. Joe covers everything from the different publications one can approach, writing do's and don'ts, submission guidelines, writing groups to look to for support and encouragement and more. But I think what I liked best was his firm call to action: Commit to writing a short story now! In other words, give 'em horns or go home. A must have for anyone who has ever dreamt of writing more than just your average blog post or article.
3418423
Filled with facts instead of rehashed BUNK from the internet, this guide is useful and worthwhile for anyone interested in writing as a freelancer. It's obvious straight away that the author has lived the life and is speaking from experience. You will learn what to do to set yourself apart from the crowd. You will learn about the pitfalls to avoid along the way.

The only "negative" I found is that he pushes the big three, Elance, Odesk, and Guru, while shying away from other writing opportunities. That is forgivable in that this book cannot cover all available markets, and he does address, albeit too briefly, other ways to market your writing skills.

In any case, this is one you will want to have at your disposal as you build your writing business.
2686447
As an author as well as freelancer, this reader of Ms. Jackson's book has provided invaluable information on the how-to's and wheres to gain access to almost any question a writer could ask. Organized in easy to read, well organized and informative sections and topics, Ms. Jackson offers her experience and know how to both novice and veteran writers. An added bonus is her easy, friendly manner in approaching her topics, and the friendly way in which she offers advice. I felt like I was getting advice from an old friend.
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Lets Write a Short Story
I stumbled across Joe Bunting's blog "The Write Practice"  when I was searching the internet for sites to help me with my fictional writing.  Of all the sites I visited, "The Write Practice"-- with its practical advice and prompts for immediate implementation-- is the only one that inspired me to return day after day.  I was therefore delighted to see that Joe was launching a book on short-story writing, and thrilled to receive an advance review copy--no waiting to get more of Joe's great advice.

Let's Write a Short Story follows much of what I enjoy about the blog:  Explanations are presented in clear terms, followed by practical advice, tips and prompts to action. The book comprises 9 chapters, among them chapters on effective writing strategies, getting rid of writer's block, editing and submission tactics. The book also includes appendices with a list of  suggested places to submit stories of different genres and a formatting checklist. Each chapter, including the introduction and the conclusion, are further divided for easy reading and replete with information.  Make sure to read through each one.  The book covers all aspects of writing, from the creative process and actual writing skills to the practicalities of editing, formatting and how to maximize earnings. There is no dry theory or grammar.

In short, Let's Write a Short Story is an enjoyable and thought provoking read which I found to be insightful, helpful and humorous.  While I read the book straight through in one morning, I will definitely be referring back to it time and time again. In fact, to get maximum benefit I plan to reread the book and study it carefully so that I can begin implementing the many tips.  No more excuses!
1710453
Literary Agents A Writers Introduction by John Baker is a must read for anyone who is serious about writing, or for anyone considering taking the step into serious writing.  This book consists of interviews with forty-four of the biggest name agents in publishing, I should know I've had  rejections from a lot of them, but now I know why. Each interview is an  easy 3-4 pages long but packed with information  Of interest is the near  universal opinion of the state of the publishing industry and the changing  role of the agent, and the agent's reaction to this changing role and how  it affects how they interact with authors and potential authors. You can  also witness how close this community is, as people appear and reappear  from interview to interview.  The one drawback is that more agents weren't  subjected to the interview, but then of course it would be a voluminous  volume.  Another item that would be of interest to a reader is number of  people who claim to have discovered Stephen King and John Grisham.
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Highly useful, well-organized!  Great for first-time writers!!
1524401
With its fresh, open voice, this book is a great introduction to the writing craft for newbie writers. It's also an excellent refresher course for more seasoned writers, and a reminder to us all how much joy and passion writing can bring to our lives...if only we'll let it.

Some of my favorite chapters include: Writing Flow and Your First Draft (Ch 12), The Power of Lists (Ch 20), and Living With Your Book and Driving It to Completion (Ch 23).
1894827
This e-book is perfect for a new writer, but it's also a wonderful tool for someone who has been in the game awhile and needs a refresher. I've been a commercial freelance writer for 2 years and didn't know about a lot of the things Joe mentions in his book. I wish I'd known this stuff when I first started! It's jam-packed with advice, links to amazing tools to help you grow your business and the author really lets his personality shine through his writing. It's not technical or hard, just one guy talking to you about how to be a better writer and marketer in the technological age. It's inspired me to keep going and to set some new goals during a time when I was really struggling in my writing business. Thanks Joe!
1259379
This book is  very thorough, I found it well laid out. Please have your pen ready, this is an action step book. I see how it can really help with building characters, emotions and better stories with the exercises enclosed.

 Note: a. This book  Is under-priced.
  b. Was highly recommended to me by a successful fiction writer, and I'm recommending it to you.
  c.  with the purchase of this book you get access to a lot of free  valuable information at her website.

 my thought is, if you're a fiction writer or a want to be fiction writer this is a must read.
1291641
As a writer (and writing blogger) I find KM Weiland's blog Wordplay is an excellent resource. Her bite-sized tutorials cover all aspects of the writing craft, from getting ideas to the tiny nitty-gritty details of what makes a character great or what makes a description sing. Each post is pithy and to the point, yet full of useful examples so that you can put her advice into practice. If you're a relative beginner you'll find much to improve your work. If you're an old-timer wrestling with a scene or a storyline that's not quite right, you'll find handy reminders that will get you back on track.
764285
I stumbled upon this book a few of weeks ago. I wasn't too sure about the book at first. I thought Parnell was one of those guys who would tell me to write for content mills. Or he was one of those guys who would teach me a quick rich writing method. No. I was wrong. This 500-page book is stuffed full of information. Very helpful information, I might add. When I saw the book was that many pages, I figured it would take a while to read. But half of the book is links to websites to submit your writing.

Each chapter is about one aspect of writing, such as fillers or articles. At the end of each chapter, Parnell includes the links, which is several pages. You pick which ones to submit your writing. At the beginning of the book, he offers suggestions about motivating you to write every day. I sure could use that. For the past few months, I have no motivation to write. Too many things on my mind keeping me from focusing on the important stuff like writing. Parnell says you cant call yourself a writer if you aren't writing. That statement has stuck with me. It gave me the kick in the pants that I need to get going.

Parnell suggests not to try all of the different types of writing at once. Instead, he says to focus on two or three of them. He advises sending off queries to a few places in one type of writing and then focus on another area. That makes sense to me. If he hadnt said that, I would try to do most of the types of writing he mentions in the book so Im glad he suggests we focus on two or three of them.

Back to the links, I love that he includes these. This makes it so much easier for us to get started and keeps us from wasting time looking for resources. He does say that the links could change. He asks us to send him an email and let him know of any updates we find. With the book being as helpful as it is, I have no problem emailing him with updates. After all, he is saving us time so why shouldnt we return the favor?

I enjoyed Easy Cash Writing so much that I read the book twice before ideas really started rolling around in my head. I will be referring to it quite often as a reference and as I begin to do different types of freelance writing. I learned the dos and donts of freelance writing. Some of Parnells ideas weren't even things I had thought about doing. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is getting started in freelancing or for anyone who needs extra help.
2230799
This is an amazing resource book for writers of all kinds. It's relieving how a list can prompt a writer when you're stuck in a particularly troublesome draft. The Dialogue and Action section are definitely my favorite, and the Character Names lists are a LIFESAVER.

The greatest thing about this book is that I can have it at my side when I am disconnected from the internet in an attempt to focus and write. Yes, I know there's hundreds of lists online I can search for - but when I am trying to write distraction free, this is the exact kind of resource I need at my side.

It's not just for fiction writers, either! My husband is a Game Master for games like Dungeons & Dragons and frequently steals it for inspiration to create campaigns and characters for his games!
2081519
I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me some good ideas on how to help myself to become more organized in my writing. My dream is to write a book one day and this may just give me the boost I need to get started. The start of the book had a story from Colleen that helped to make her advice seem like it was from a friend. There are also references to help you go even further into your writing process. The key points at the end of the chapters are a nice way to make your notes on what you need to remember to manage your time and thoughts. This book was so full of information that I will be reading it at least a second time if not more. It will be kept handy to help me along my writing path.
2044176
This book is well worth reading and taking notes!  It would be beneficial for new and accomplished authors, with the many insights and suggestions. The craft of writing  a breakout novel is covered in depth, characters, plot, multiple viewpoints, theme.  This book is about so much more then rising conflict, as previous reviewers suggested, it does gives examples on how to raise conflict in different ways. I appreciate how Mr. Maass compares breakout novels to find what it takes, then breaks it down and spells out specifically what works for those bestsellers.  I choose to read this book over fifteen other books on the craft of writing, and I am going to check out his other books. I will highly recommend this book to others on their journey to learn the craft of writing.
313808
There are a lot of how-to books for beginners on how to write fiction and non-fiction, but very few for the more advanced writer who wants to excel--that is, until a writer friend discovered and referred me to Robert Olmstead's "Elements of the Writing Craft." It was like discovering a rare jewel. Best of all, it was easy to read and easy to follow the well-planned exercises.

The book is incredible, analyzing works of the masters. Olmstead fills the book with exercises the author can apply to their own work. His guide to better writing has been an incredible help to me, and I highly recommend this one-of-a-kind book to develop better writing skills.

Bonnie Myrick Eaton