Freelance Writers Happily Swap Starving" for Well-Fed"

Say freelance writer" and you conjure up images of angst, poverty and the epitome of the creative struggle. But thanks to a pair of how-to guides on commercial" writing (freelancing for businesses small and large and for hourly rates of $50-125+), a new definition may be in order. Thanks to downsizing and a new leaner business model, many companies of all sizes are choosing to outsource much of their creative needs. It all adds up to promising opportunities for freelancers interested in a flexible, profitable home-based career direction.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 12, 2004 - A year ago, Michele Ryan was an at-home Mom, content to donate her writing abilities to the PTA or local civic association. Sensing the economic time was right, she jumped into lucrative freelancing. Today, she helps local healthcare organizations craft their marketing materials, and gets paid $75 an hour to do it. Ryan has tapped the lucrative, accessible but little-known arena of commercial freelancing and for rates that belie the conventional wisdom of the starving writer.

Thanks to a pair of self-published how-to guides, writers weary of toiling for peanuts can learn how to penetrate this dynamic writing field. The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds, scheduled for an official November 2004 release, is a companion volume to the 2000 award-winning triple-book-club selection, The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less (See book milestones below).

The Well-Fed Writer outlined a detailed game plan for establishing a lucrative commercial freelancing business -- writing for corporations and creative agencies (graphic design firms, ad agencies, PR firms, marketing companies, etc.) and for hourly rates ranging from $50-125+. Over the past decade, many downsized companies have turned to experienced freelancers to handle a broad array of written communications needs.

With 95% new content, TWFW: Back For Seconds is not a revised edition, but a companion volume to the first book. It builds on the original foundation with dramatically expanded sections on sales, marketing and cold calling -- demystifying subjects often terrifying to creative types.

In addition, BFS features dozens of firsthand accounts from commercial writers across the spectrum, sharing insights on building the business in smaller markets, on a part-time basis and by way of atypical commercial avenues: not-for-profits, rarely-explored corporate departments, universities, the BIG small-medium-sized business segment and other unusual niches.

BFS six appendices (90+ pages) include an encapsulation of The Well-Fed Writer (essentially making the book a stand-alone volume), a dozen profiles of successful commercial writers, a business primer for the newly self-employed (business structures, taxes, retirement and insurance) and writing resources.

Bowerman asks, Why spend 20-25+ hours slaving over a magazine article that might pay a flat $300 and then fight for your money, when you could do a marketing brochure in a fraction of the time, bill all your hours at an average $60-80/hour and get paid in 30 days?"

Veteran commercial freelance writer Bob Bly, author of 50+ writing titles, says of the field: I know of no other arena of writing so lucrative yet so easy to get started in." With no writing background, paid professional writing experience or industry contacts, Bowerman was paying all his bills through commercial writing in four months. He says, If youre a decent writer and you dream of getting out of the rat race, working from home and having time for a life, this is a great option."

Media: Contact author for interviews or review copies. Visit www.wellfedwriter.com (Media" link) for cover art, author pix, sample radio/TV interview footage, sample chapters, book reviews, Attn: Moms" section for at-home Moms, and more. The book retails for $19.95 and can be purchased through www.wellfedwriter.com and 800-247-6553 (In Bookstores/Amazon in 11/04)

BOOK MILESTONES:

The Well-Fed Writer
Book-of-the-Month Club selection: 2001
Quality Paperback Book Club selection: 2001
Writer's Digest Book Club Featured Alternate selection: July 2000

Second-place: ForeWord Magazine 2000 Book of the Year Awards (Career category)
Finalist: Publishers Marketing Association 2000 Ben Franklin Awards (Best First Book)
Honorable Mention: 2000 Writers Digest National Self-Published Book Awards

The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds

Writer's Digest Book Club Featured Alternate selection: September 2004

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