Don't Quit Your Day Job -- Book Review
QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!
Just not yet.
Jim Denney makes quite a promise titling his book Quit Your Day Job! How to Sleep Late, Do What You Enjoy, and Make a Ton of Money as a Writer! If an aspiring writer were to judge this particular book by its bright colored, exclamation point-happy cover, she would come away feeling she is being sold a quack remedy to cure all of her writing ailments. And even though the title and cover suggest some sort of book version of a snake oil tonic, Jim Denney is not a charlatan, and Quit Your Day Job does turn out to carry some sensible advice within its pages.
If you are someone looking for a nuts and bolts how-to, look elsewhere. And, despite its title, Quit Your Day Job is not a road map to instant riches, but a primer on the sacrifices and rewards the life of a freelance writer brings. Denney, a veteran of sixty-plus books and hundreds of magazine articles, explains in simple and clear prose what the life of a full-time writer is like. He touches on everything from the heeding of the “holy calling” of the written page to the tedious process of editing and looking over contracts.
The book is divided into short, well-organized chapters. Important subjects have their own bold headings and Denney often breaks chapters into numbered or bulleted lists, like “The Seven Habits of a Working Writer,” which makes it easy to understand the delineated concepts. These chapters follow a sort of chronology, starting with the decision to become a full-time writer and ending with a chapter on how a freelancer can keep working while coping with the difficulties that arise from the lifestyle. Each chapter is accompanied by anecdotes from Denney’s own publishing career, these being the most illuminating and enjoyable parts of the book. Denney also sprinkles in quotes from famous and not so famous, yet successful writers that serve to illustrate his points and inspire the reader.
The main thrust of Quit Your Day Job is to make the idea of a working
Just not yet.
Jim Denney makes quite a promise titling his book Quit Your Day Job! How to Sleep Late, Do What You Enjoy, and Make a Ton of Money as a Writer! If an aspiring writer were to judge this particular book by its bright colored, exclamation point-happy cover, she would come away feeling she is being sold a quack remedy to cure all of her writing ailments. And even though the title and cover suggest some sort of book version of a snake oil tonic, Jim Denney is not a charlatan, and Quit Your Day Job does turn out to carry some sensible advice within its pages.
If you are someone looking for a nuts and bolts how-to, look elsewhere. And, despite its title, Quit Your Day Job is not a road map to instant riches, but a primer on the sacrifices and rewards the life of a freelance writer brings. Denney, a veteran of sixty-plus books and hundreds of magazine articles, explains in simple and clear prose what the life of a full-time writer is like. He touches on everything from the heeding of the “holy calling” of the written page to the tedious process of editing and looking over contracts.
The book is divided into short, well-organized chapters. Important subjects have their own bold headings and Denney often breaks chapters into numbered or bulleted lists, like “The Seven Habits of a Working Writer,” which makes it easy to understand the delineated concepts. These chapters follow a sort of chronology, starting with the decision to become a full-time writer and ending with a chapter on how a freelancer can keep working while coping with the difficulties that arise from the lifestyle. Each chapter is accompanied by anecdotes from Denney’s own publishing career, these being the most illuminating and enjoyable parts of the book. Denney also sprinkles in quotes from famous and not so famous, yet successful writers that serve to illustrate his points and inspire the reader.
The main thrust of Quit Your Day Job is to make the idea of a working