The Well-Fed Writer

I think it’s pretty obvious why I picked up this book by Peter Bowerman. I just quit my job and I want to know how I can make a living off this writing thing. My problem with Bowerman is that he comes off sounding pretty sleazy throughout most of the book. He doesn’t sound like he’s in this to make a living. He’s in this to make a killing. He brags about how he made a goal one year to make $100k in that year and he met that goal.

So what? I don’t want to make $100k/year. I just want to be able to pay my bills, have a little discretionary income and some to put away in savings. The more he went on about it, the more it seemed less like a useful book and more like a place for Bowerman to sling his dick around.

The good news is he got over it (mostly), and the rest of the book is actually filled with really useful information. It has tips on everything from how much you can/should charge for various projects and clients to how to go about finding new work.

I do have a slight problem with his method of finding new work. He is a devoted fan of cold-calling, and while it has no doubt worked for him, I do wonder how much time and effort he has to put into it vs. how much time and energy he could save through other marketing avenues. He emphasizes the law of averages and the fact that you just have to make enough calls to get that client, but how many calls? What else could you have been doing with all that valuable time? In this digital age, I have to believe there are better ways to reach potential clients. Ditto for his advice to send out mailings. Why would I waste time and money on mailings when the vast majority of them will be thrown away?

Bowerman is good at recognizing that his way is far from the only way. He references several other freelance writers who have made it on their own through different means, including networking, subcontracting other writers, and elance (though he stresses the elance success stories are the exception, rather than the rule).

Personally, I found this book to be a real eye-opener, not only in terms of how much I could charge, but where I can start looking for new work. I’m lucky enough that I don’t need to start cold calling anyone yet, but if the day comes when I do feel the need, at least I’ll know how to go about doing that.