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 writer an achievable reality. This does not mean that Denney sugarcoats the difficulties ahead for the would-be freelancer. He treats writing like a job and spends a good amount of pages discussing the economic realities of the business. Denney is nothing if not practical. He zeroes-in on discipline and professionalism as the keys to make it as an ndependent writer. In that sense, Quit Your Day Job is not offering anything that the hundreds of books on writing out there have not already covered. Finding habitual “writing hours” and “cultivate solitude” are prerequisite pieces of advice found in any writing manual, what Denney does that is a bit unique is tie this to dry, but essential business savoir faire a successful writer must obtain in order to succeed. Though the focus of Quit Your Day Job is on the publishing business, there are some useful tips for freelance journalist.
The Essay on Why Does Sammy Quit His Job?
In the short story “A&P”, the character Sammy quits his job for a few different reasons. In the podcast professor Higgins suggest that she quits for two different reasons. Sammy wants to impress the girls. The other reason was because; Sammy mentions that once you make a decision it is fatal not to go back on it. I agree with both reasoning’s. I also agree with both professors that it is a ...
Denney spends some time talking about the importance of tailoring your pieces to the markets you are submitting to. He also stresses the importance of a brief and well-written query letter. This is a good book for a beginning freelancer building up his clip. Here are some of the more relevant tips for beginning freelancers to be found in Quit Your Day Job! : * Try to have several projects in the works at the same time. * Use different bylines to fit different markets while building a reputation. * “Think like an editor,” always look at your piece with a critical eye. * “Sell now, writer later. Constantly submit query letters. * Write, exciting, grabbing queries. * As soon as you have the leverage, ask for a fair payment. Though it is ok accept less money when beginning, you want to be paid market price for your work. ### Author’s note: My concern is with style. To me, my sentences feel forced and clunky. I tried to be a little more conversational in tone than in my first piece, I don’t know if this is noticeable. Sources Denney, Jim. Quit Your Day Job! : How to Sleep Late, Do What You Enjoy, and Make a Ton of Money as a Writer!. 1. Sanger, California: Quill Driver Books, 2003. Print.
