Writing on the Edge — Robert Daley

Writing On The Edge is a trip through various worlds I came to know in depth from the inside: pro football, grand prix racing, French wine, bullfighting, The New York Times, opera, treasure diving, NY police headquarters, Hollywood, and, of course, France. These worlds are portrayed as I knew them, together with some of their major players with whom I became involved. So it's a memoir certainly, but it's also a primer for freelance writers: how to make a living at a tough trade -- how I did it anyway. I had many successes and became what counts as a rich writer (meaning not very rich.) But there were many downs too -- rejections, humiliations, and even lawsuits -- but fewer of these as I learned to protect myself. A freelance writer is unemployed each time he finishes a contract. Where will next assignment come from? There is a certain amount of fear in any freelance life, and in this book too. My career brought big fees and fancy places, but not always. Not nearly.