Writing is tricky. It’s hard. On occasion, dental work, cleaning litter boxes, and gynecological exams are preferable to sitting down and finishing that article or other project.

That’s why writing is the craft that occupies fifteen shelves of resource books at your bookstore. It’s intimidating trying to figure out if these tomes are worth their cash money. What’s really worth your time and money? That’s where the QRW comes in.

For an honest peek into what books really help freelancers, writers and other creatives, our Resource Review series examines these books, delving deep to determine how useful and entertaining they are in theory and practice.

First up, we start with a gem from another rebel writer: The Renegade Writer.

The Gist

The only rule is that there are no rules when it comes to success…We’ve used simultaneous submissions, ditched the SASE, called editors, sent queries via e-mail, and even queried magazines we have never read, and we know scores of other writers who have had success doing the same.

The beauty of The Renegade Writer is its ability to show how many writing rules, particularly those about freelance writing, are silly and pointless. The authors recognize that our career is tough and uncertain, but blind devotion to rules won’t get you anywhere. There’s nothing to lose by trying something new, something that could be directly in opposition to what others swear by. We’re going to suck and fuck up. But we can also find tremendous success.

Renegade Writer

The book keeps it light and funny, setting forth all the rules we should break about starting out as writers, generating ideas, querying magazines, setting up contracts, and the research and writing process. The authors profile real writers with rule-breaking experience. Along the way the authors routinely contradict themselves and encourage us to break even these nonrules about what we should do, reminding us that it’s up to us to forge our own path.

And that’s the power I took to heart. I got this book thinking I was going to go down the traditional magazine route as an addition to my business, utilizing the query-query-query-and-keep-querying-until-you-pay-dirt-or-go-insane model. But I hated it. I decided that although I wanted to write for magazines it didn’t have to be this traditional method. That’s how I gravitated towards trade magazine writing, decidedly less glamorous but infinitely rewarding in its own right.

In Practice
Other rules I broke after reading the book:

  • Page 23: You Need Connections. Most writers are like me, starting out with a definite lack of names to leverage and connected friends to call on. So as a result we shouldn’t be afraid to do something unique to get on an editor’s/client’s radar, even if it’s a simple introduction and invitation to check out clips. I’ve got quite a bit of business this way.
  • Page 37: Don’t Steal Ideas. Ideas for writing are everywhere. While stealing copy is heinous and should be punished with fingernail extraction, stealing ideas to create your own spin is something that can yield big steps forward.
  • Page 178: Take Every Assignment An Editor Throws Your Way. That’s just frakking wrong. While it’s scary to turn down work, it actually frees you up for the better paying, more rewarding work that can be found.
  • Page 188: You Can’t Do Magazine Writing and Business Writing. That’s how mama pays the bills, ya’ll.

Bottom Line
For freelancers yearning to break into magazine writing, this book is a must. For other writers, those who write for corporate clients, non-profits, associations, trade magazines, and more, the lessons here are also easily transferable. Overall, it’s a terrific resource on your bookshelf.

To Learn More

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