The Well-Fed Writer, by Peter Bowerman
Terry Freedman, Educational ICT ConsultantReviewed by Terry Freedman
The Well-Fed WriterWhat's a book on writing doing in a publication about educational ICT? Looked at from one point of view it's completely out of place. However, that is not the only perspective available. Much of the ICT curriculum centres on the concept of audience. Whether it's preparing a presentation for a particular audience, or responding to user feedback, the work requires an attention to someone other than oneself, and something other than the technology. Peter Bowerman, the author of TWFW, has managed to forge a living out of writing. It follows, therefore, that he may be able to teach us something about audience, and have some useful web resources up his sleeve into the bargain.
The book is, in effect, a marketing manual for the would-be serious freelance writer. Thus there is much about how to choose products and services (free is not always second-rate compared to exorbitant, it turns out), and how to approach potential clients. There is good advice about website design and what you should provide on the site, a wealth of websites to explore, and guest sections by other writers (including a few I've come across in the blogosphere, and whom I respect as writers).
There are a couple of niggling things. One is that although Bowerman makes it clear that social networking is very important in today's economy (schools that ban them, please take note), he admits that he himself isn't a member of any of them. That is disappointing because he may have been able to distil into a few bullet points the best way of making contacts in such spaces from his own first-hand experience.
As far as I can tell, there is no information about print-on-demand. Given that writers can be their own publishers these days, a section on that would not, I think, have gone amiss. There was a section about it in his companion book, The Well-Fed Publisher, in which he disparages the use of PoD (although at that time Lulu had only just appeared on the scene, and Bowerman himself had not used it yet).
However, given the readability of the book, such annoyances can be overlooked. Although the jocular (in parts) tone can start to sound a bit forced occasionally, it more often has the effect of making you want to look up that website or read such and such a blog.
Bottom line:
Perhaps not the most obvious choice for an ICT department in a school, but full of hidden gems and a cornucopia of resources. Buy it.
Related article: The case for print-on-demand.
Reader Comments (2)
The following comments were sent to me by email from Peter Bowerman. They are reproduced here with permission.
Thanks Terry,
Appreciate the review!
You were right to call me on my lack of social media prowess. Got to get on board that train!
Though, on your suggestion for a section on POD, it really wasn't a fit at all for the book. Remember, this wasn't a general book for writers (in which case, it might have made sense). The book was solely focused on building a commercial freelancing business, not magazine articles, books, short stories, poems, etc.
It WAS a fit for The Well-Fed Self-Publisher, given the subject. But no, I wasn't (and still aren't) a fan of POD. And truthfully, lulu isn't any better. Sure, they have no upfront costs, but you just pay more on the back-end. They're simply shifting around costs. Just did a calculation on what one of my books would run and it's anywhere from roughly $7.50 to $8.50 each. Sorry, but that's no deal. Yes, I pay a lot less than that because I'm printing 5-6K at a time, but just using a short-run printer for, say, 500 copies, even factoring in design costs on your own, it'll end up about the same per book AND you get exactly the design you want, not some template. Hey, it works for some people but it's no holy grail... One man's opinion anyway!
Thanks again!
Thx for responding, Peter. OK, mea culpa, I was out of order taking you to task over PoD given the aims and context of your book.