STARRED Book Review: Writing for Money and Meaning

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

A game-changing book for writers to do what they love and get paid what they deserve

When it comes to books about writing, I’m a hard cookie to crack. I’m going to need more than just your generic advice: adverbs are bad, show don’t tell, write what you love, etc. What I want to know, for real, is how in the world do I do this without spending my whole life doing it for pennies per hour. There are definitely writing opportunities out there for me, but do I really have to take each nickel-and-dime one?

Writing for Money & Meaning is about as practical of a freelance writing book as I could hope for. Eason is an expert who started out like I did, tapping away on a keyboard for little-money articles and hoping that if I complete 200 of them in a month, I can pay my rent. But apparently, time is limited. I can’t just keep typing for 16 hours to get where I need to go. A writer’s gotta eat, too.

That’s where Eason comes in.

Businesses & business-owners now have an easier opportunity to publish books than they did 30 years ago. They don’t need publishers to take on their project, which is really more of a sales tool for their business than a product to sell and get royalties on.

Business-owners know how important their time is and how important an email sequence or landing page is. These things can make them tens of thousands of dollars, so many are willing to invest in a talented, hard-working writer. (That’s you.) But how do you get these jobs? How do you write outside of your comfort zone? How do you turn a $5,000 book project into a $15,000 book project? Eason’s got the answers.

I was so genuinely satisfied with this book. It’s incredibly readable thanks to an approachable voice, and it’s filled with direct and actionable money-making advice. If you’re a writer hoping to make a real living off of this thing, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by skipping it. 

Did you know: In addition to making good money as a writer, you can also write what you love? This may sound like a contradiction to a lot of writers, but not Eason. Her upbeat and positive tone, combined with that actionable advice, makes it seem possible. Not easy, but possible. She’s got tips for following your passion project and giving it the time it deserves in addition to the tasks you take on to pay the electricity bill. Sometimes you’re writing for clients; sometimes you’re writing for readers. As long as you plant your butt in the chair and stay consistent & productive, money and meaning are around the corner. 

I love so many pieces of this book, but my favorites are the conversations about the sales process, rocking the discovery call, closing the sale, and asking (and getting) more money than you think you can get. Not often do I find a book about making money feel quite as possible as I felt with Eason’s Writing for Money and Meaning. 

If you’re a freelance writer looking to sign off of the cheap pay sites and get (and keep) high-paying clients, look no further than this one. Practicality meets approachability in this extremely practical guide to copy, content, ghost, and creative writing.

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