Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Writing Right: The Business of Writing

D. J. Herda’s first trek into the world of freelance writing came when he was in his twenties and quit his job as a magazine editor. Three months later, he had cranked out a book, received the second half of his advance, and felt pretty good about life in the fast lane. Then he realized he had nothing else in the pipeline, and his funds would be gone in a few weeks. So, back to the real world he scurried—back to newspaper writing and teaching.
The next time he went freelance, he vowed to have a backup project sold before he finished his main project–and then a backup to the backup and so on. That’s when he realized a full-time freelance writer has to plan ahead. “Oh, we’re still romantic and alluring and mysterious and all that other stuff when we’re actually creating our masterpieces,” Herda says. “But for the rest of the day, the week, the year, we have to be a little more practical, put our business beanies on, and scratch around the scorched landscape to make a living just like everyone else. And, let me tell you, it ain’t easy!”
Along his path to what finally became a freelance career uninterrupted by side trips down Editing Lane or Teaching Boulevard, Herda picked up some invaluable pointers on how to write to succeed. How to write to stay alive. How to write to prosper. Here, at last, he shares what he learned about the business side of writing, the legal side of writing, and all the other invaluable stuff that writers hate thinking about let alone putting into practice.
Invaluable? That’s a bold statement, but the questions the author has received from part-time and wannabe writers over the years—as well as from some pretty successful professionals–justify it. If you can think of a query even remotely related to the business side of the craft/art/glory of writing, Herda has already heard it and fashioned a response that should prove useful.