Rating: 
Summary: Turn the pitfalls of freelancing into a money-making bonanza
Review: "Making Money in Technical Writing--Turn Your WritingSkills Into $100,00 A Year" is an
unabashedly optimisticlook at turning the pitfalls of freelancing into a money-making bonanza.
Author, Peter Kent, a prolific technical writer and author of numerous computer books, speaks
from experience. He advocates capitalizing on his three-step system of marketing techniques to
hit the cash jackpot. Fresh approaches to the staples of freelancing are covered with detailed
coaching: networking, negotiating with agencies, sales techniques, contracts, the IRS and taxes,
shopping for medical, life insurance and pension plans, incorporating. This is a prodigious
collection of tips--tried and true tools of success used by the author. Beginners or seasoned pros
can mine just the right nuggets of advice from this excellent reference. You will find a wealth of
on-line resources featured in useful web sites, mailing lists and newsgroups. Appendixes offer
technical service agencies, professional associations, training courses and seminars. Working
the three-step system is not just about increasing your income, but about spreading your wings as
a consultant, author of computer books or entrepreneur.
Rating: 
Summary: Not just for technical writers....
Review: I found this book outstanding and completely to my taste. But I am an aggressive entrepreneur and (in business matters) generally an optimist. That seems to be Peter Kent's personal style, so everything he said made perfect sense to me.The mixed reviews given here may reflect different personalities, differing degrees of luck, or maybe just differing job markets (the two most negative reviews are from the Pacific Northwest--coincidence?). In any case: (a) there are nowhere near enough technical writers; (b) there are a ton of outstanding opportunities for people who are bright and well-organized; and (c) if you want to take up the profession, this book can take you from zero to 60 in a couple of years. But I reiterate: you've got to have the contractor's personality. Kent says that in his book, so (you negative reviewers) don't fault him if you see things differently.
Rating:
Summary: Answers Questions Writers Face Today!
Review: If you have ever wanted to know the facts about technical writing and how to get into this field then this book is a gem!! Once again Peter Kent gets down to the nitty gritty and gives you everything you need to know to succeed as a technical writer. Not only is it easy reading it is full of fantastic resources to get you started. Well worth the time it takes to read and the small amount of money it costs to purchase!!
Rating:
Summary: Full of Resources.. A MUST Read!!
Review: If you have ever wanted to know the facts about technical writing and how to get into this field then this book is a gem!! Once again Peter Kent gets down to the nitty gritty and gives you everything you need to know to succeed as a technical writer. Not only is it easy reading it is full of fantastic resources to get you started. Well worth the time it takes to read and the small amount of money it costs to purchase!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not in step with today's market.
Review: It is my opinion that this book presents an overly optimistic view of contract technical writing. First of all, contract tech writing is limited to certain geographic areas. If you live in a nice, quiet little burg, you will have a hard time locating work. In other words, be prepared to move to the big city to find work. Telecommuting is not a reality for most of us. Maybe in the future, but not now! Second of all, everyone and their uncle is trying to get into the profession. Kent fails to mention that a technical "knowledge base" is necessary in order to convince those who have the power to hire you. Just having an English degree won't get you in the door. Thirdly, much of the material is just a rehash from the earlier edition. Buy the book if you must, but keep your reality reading glasses close at hand. Roger Peterson
Rating:
Summary: are you kidding?
Review: Out of touch? Out of step? Did these couple of previous reviews arrive via net or carrier pigeon? Peter Kent is one of the best writers writing about writing today -- and very much *for* today. Being surprised that technical writing requires a "technical 'knowledge base'" is not exactly a sound basis for complaint. For a very different view of Peter Kent's up-to-dateness, check out the consistently 5-star reviews of his Poor Richard's Web Site book, also here on Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Great book by a reliable author
Review: Peter Kent does it again. If you can't learn it from Peter, you probably shouldn't be in the business anyway. Great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Out of Date
Review: The "proceed with caution" guy below sounds bitter to me. I don't recall Kent saying you should buy a new house every time you move. And on the contrary, many agencies *are* "desperate" enough to fall for tough negotiation techniques. The contract writer's task is to distinguish himself/herself through quality work, keep a big cash reserve to remain strong during tough negotiations, and push the envelope on every contract. If you don't act this way you're an undistinguishable commodity, like pork bellies, and deserve to be treated as such. For the record, I didn't make 100K last year. I made 175K. Kent speaks the truth, the problem is that most technical writers can't handle it.
Rating:
Summary: Out of Date
Review: There are two things wrong with this book: it is out of date, and in my opinion encourages mediocre writers to enter the market. The truth is you can make good money as a tech writer today, as a "captive" or as a "freelancer". The one point that Peter does not make strongly enough is that you have to be GOOD at it. You can't just take a few correspondence coarses, suddenly call yourself a tech writer, and expect to make a lot of money. It's so much more than grammer and style--too much to get into here. Skip this book and find yourself a mentor instead.
Rating:
Summary: Proceed with Caution
Review: This book is largely about attitude; that is, having an aggressively enterpenureal viewpoint. Kent sees the technical writing profession as he thinks it should be, not always like it is. There's nothing wrong with this attitude, but I wonder how many of the previous reviewers of this book actually make $100,000 per year. I've been a contractor for eight years, working with and without agencies. Here are some passages from the book which I would rate as "dubious." "Many contractors lead a gypsylike life, travelling from one contract to another - a year in California, six months in Alabama, 18 months in New England." "I wanted to move to Denver, to be close to skiing. Because I was freelance, I was able to do that. I saved up some money, then put everything in a truck and left." Sounds great, Peter, but suppose you have to sell your house first, and it sits on the market for six months? That's going to take a bite out of that $100,000. Here's another one: "I've had agencies tell me $18 an hour, go to $24 an hour when I didn't sound interested, and end up at $40 an hour when I told them I was already on $38 an hour." Sounds clever, but if the agency is any good at all, they won't be that desperate, and will also contact your last employer in regard to your salary. On the positive side, the book does have a number of good chapters on negotiating (but not as brashly as in the above quote), taxes, accounting, interviewing, cutting out the middle-man, etc.. In summary, Kent has presented a worthwhile goal, and a variety of routes for attaining it. Just be sure to look both ways before crossing the street.
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