It may be the best of times, it may be the worst of times, to paraphrase Charles Dickens.

It may be the age of old fashioned wisdom or new fashioned hi-tech wizardry. But who cares, really, since you may not be doing so well, whether the times are good or bad. Perhaps you have a sinking feeling that life is passing you by as others around you seem to be enjoying their amazing jobs, earning a good living, taking frequent vacations to exotic places, buying their loved ones expensive gifts for the holidays, finding the time to exercise regularly in plush sports clubs, taking care of their ailing parents in top-notch facilities and retirement communities that cost an arm and a leg.

It's not easy to be constantly looking for a job, updating your resume, clicking the Send button and then sitting around and waiting for days and weeks for a reply. Perhaps once in a while you even get an interview or two which might not go too well. You perhaps end up beating yourself on the head, reading a book or two on how to interview, and feeling like a victim who could not get over the hurdle that life has presented out of nowhere. That's the bad news.

Being a writer is something unique; it's a power invested with dignity, infinite possibilities, and personal freedom. This book is dedicated to that firm belief and practice.

Have you ever considered the amazing fact that every writer actually hires herself? No matter how her "employment status" looks on paper, even if she appears to be "officially employed" and on a payroll, every writer is still as good as the work she produces. Every writer is actually self-employed because we are all as good as the work that someone else is willing to buy and read. And how good we are is something that we control almost 100%, save an unfortunate illness or an accident on the way. There is no other "true guarantee" in a writer's life.

Also consider this: many professions in this world require not only preparation but a license as well. Try practicing accounting, banking, medicine, law, electricity or plumbing without a proper license. Not only you won't get any jobs but you can also be arrested and put in jail. Writing needs preparation too and this book does not intend to teach you how to become a writer from scratch.

...you have the minimum it takes to sit down and write a page or two on a topic of your choice. But, assuming you have those prerequisites tucked firmly under your belt, we have to remind you this other wonderful good news: you do not need a license to write anything.

If you say "I'm a writer," a writer you are. End of the story. Thus you can start writing right now, at this very minute, as surely as I'm writing these words, and there won't be anyone stopping you. You are absolutely free to be a writer. And as a writer, you are free to create and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

To repeat: no one has to hire you. As a writer, you've already hired yourself by putting one word after the other. Marketing and selling requires more effort obviously. But in terms of "having a job," you already have a job. Your keyboard, or the writing pad, is your office. Glue your bottom to that chair and start writing. In this book we'll from time to time remind you of the privileged position you hold as a writer in any society since some writers forget how lucky they are but instead get depressed about "lack of unemployment." The minute you sit down to write, you are employed, namely, by yourself. (More on this inside the book.)

all writers who would like to build a monthly stream of income for themselves by either selling their articles directly or leveraging them by using one of the methods explained