Review of “Industry Talk” by Jennifer Brozek (tl;dr=GET THIS BOOK)

review.pngWhen Jennifer Brozek asked me if I would review Industry Talk (Amazon|B&N|Drive Thru Fiction), I was skeptical: "A book about writing and freelancing for the roleplaying game industry? That’s not really what I do." But I’ve known Jennifer for a few years now, had my work rejected by her several times (and accepted once), and I enjoyed The Little Finance Book That Could, even if I utterly fail at following its advice.

So I said yes.

Thank the heavens.

There’s actually two sections to this book made up of edited collections of columns Ms. Brozek has done elsewhere. First up is the part I was expecting: advice on freelancing in the RPG industry. While I don’t have a ton of experience working in that industry, I’ve got enough time doing freelance work to know that this book is also a valuable reference for anyone doing any freelance writing work… and especially those wanting to make more of a living doing it. It’s a very useful guide, and Ms. Brozek writes in a comfortable, casual style that helps pass along the attitude needed to make this all work.

The second part is advice on how to put together an anthology for a publisher.

Remember, I’m not just an author, but a small (or micro) publisher. Over the last years I’ve worked with five anthology projects from the publisher’s point of view. And let me tell you: every problem, every question, every little thing that could have been headed off before it became a big thing was addressed. Industry Talk is so spot-on that I am making Industry Talk required reading for anyone pitching anthologies to me. Seriously.

If you’ve ever thought about freelance writing or putting together an anthology (and especially if you want to do either in the games industry), this book is well worth the price of admission.  Industry Talk will set you back about $5 electronic, $9 deadtree.