by A. Y. Ford

Created on: January 22, 2010

Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, the authors of "The Renegade Writer," have a lot to say to freelance writers trying to become successful in the business. The subtitle says a lot about the content of the book; "A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success." The premise of the book is that sometimes you have to bend or even break traditional publishing rules to find your place in publication.

The introduction of the book gives you a little background about these two fascinating and talented women. These two ladies know the writing business and are both published regularly in well-known publications. They are not criminals writing from hideouts to keep from being caught. They are real writers who are really getting paid to do what they love.

The first chapter tells the reader how to break into the freelance market by breaking rules and then lists the rules to break. Other chapters discuss, where to get ideas, how to make your query letters stand out, and how to get a solid contract. Each chapter, which is based on one of their renegade strategies, also has an example of another writer that has used the same techniques to find success. These success stories are motivating to perspective writers. The renegade strategies are not so obscure or risky that they are frightening to use. What the reader can gain from this book is confidence. Confidence that you don’t have to do every single little thing right to break into print.

I recommend this book to writers who have tried to write according to all the rules and have come against only obstacles and not success. I suggest that you at least familiarize yourself with the traditional rules that you might be encouraged to break. You still need to be a good quality writer to be published. You can’t ignore all the niceties or publication etiquette. It is important not to be a rebel – and reject all tradition or rules, but to realize you don’t have to be perfect. I also suggest when you read this book you have a pen and paper ready because you are bound to have ideas flashing through your mind that you won’t want to forget before you can use them.

Come on, if you want to break into writing seriously you might have to color outside the lines. Join Formichelli and Burrell on the journey to publication.

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