William J. Cook

Unknown to me, a short story I had written for a high school English assignment was submitted for publication by my teacher when I was 15 years old. Her confidence in my work inspired me to pursue wordsmithing in college. But after earning a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications, I went into optical technologies with which I had tinkered since childhood. Shortly thereafter, I joined the U.S. Navy as an Opticalman earning the rank of Chief Opticalman. Yet, through decades in military and civilian optical instrument repair and calibration, I was never far from the writer’s craft.

On seeing many mistakes in consumer articles concerning optics and navigational instruments, I started writing my own articles to correct some of those mistakes. While holding a fulltime job in optics, I authored more than 260 print and Internet articles, earned membership in the American Society of Journalist and Authors, for ten years was editor and publisher of an international optical journal, and published four technical books on optical subjects.

These efforts at the writer’s craft, having earned me many comments about my “way with words” and how I was able to reach an audience that others, often more academically qualified in the subject matter than myself, had failed to do, led me to believe I should turn my attention to introducing prospective authors to freelance writing. Seeing books on writing that were full of peaks but sparse in valleys, I thought the budding writer deserved more than the stained-glass version of the subject.

Although The Concise Guide to Profitable Freelance Writing was not written more for the student than anyone else considering writing as a profession, but it is most certainly the book I wish had been available to me as a high school student.

Whether you want to be a tech writer, novelist, or just want to be adept at writing for school, your profession, or that long-overdue memoir, The Concise Guide to Profitable Freelance Writing will help you reach your goal.

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is like the difference between the lightning bug and lightning.” — Mark Twain

Editors don’t pay much for fireflies; but lightning ... well that’s another story.