Want a friendly, easy-to-use manual that gives you the knowledge, tools and inspiration to launch and develop a successful freelance writing career? Writer Mama gives you that--and so much more. As a professional marketing communications writer for the past decade, never before have I been able to conceptualize the trajectory of writing for magazines--and even authoring a book--before Writer Mama. Though I am not a mother, I do write/work from home, and am constantly juggling multiple priorities. I found all of the timesaving tips and recommendations for growing a platform organically over time to be quite relevant to my life and work. Writer Mama made it seem so possible to develop my freelance writing career. It left me exhilarated to roll up my sleeves and get started. I now have a place to turn each step of my writing-for-publication career when I'm confused, stuck, or discouraged. Two thumbs up for Writer Mama!

I loved this book. I inhaled it at one sitting, and am now working through the exercises.

The book pretty much assumes you already know HOW to write - this isn't a book about the craft of writing. It's a book about getting yourself published. There is so much more to getting published than I ever realized --identifying and analyzing your target audience, making sure what you write is timely and relevant, writing query letters, building a platform, systematically mining your life for writing material, and so on. It's all here, explained in direct, friendly prose.

The other thing I love about this book is that it takes you from breaking into print to establishing a writing career. One published filler does not a career make! But it's an important start, and Katz offers ideas for getting that first piece of writing published as well as for building a solid freelance writing career afterwards.

I suppose I will have to update my review a year from now to let you know if Katz's ideas actually launched my presently non-existent writing career. Regardless, right now I am on fire with motivation and inspiration, and that is certainly worth the price of this book!

One realizes right away that Christina Katz has put an incredible amount of work into this book. She provides all the detailed information a new writer needs to know about the freelance writing business, and refreshes the mind of the experienced writer who may have momentarily lost touch with the ins and outs of the business while having children.

Katz supplements her own expertise as a Writer Mama by providing additional resources and websites inside the book that offer Writer Mamas support and good ideas.

There are thousands of books on writing---THIS one is for the Writer Mamas! Whether they are nursing their dreams along with their babies or are already writing and publishing, all of the Writer Mamas will enjoy reading a book just for them.

As Katz points out throughtout the book, one's writing does not have to halt once one has children--it may just need to transition a bit. Writer Mama is the book, and Katz is the author, that helps one undergo that transition the way only a Mama could.

I think this book is really a perfect entree into freelance writing for moms who are trying to launch a home writing business. It offers clear instructions on how to break into writing for magazines and Christina's and other writer-mom's tips on how to juggle the writing life and motherhood.

I've been a professional writer for a dozen years, so some of what I read in the book was not new to me -- however, I have never been a full-time freelancer or a mom before this past year, so the book has already been invaluable to me, especially for the practical mom advice. My struggles are time, organization and to get or not get childcare, tough topics she tackles in the book. Also, I'm used to bigger writing projects, and the idea of writing short pieces with fast turnaround was an a-ha for me, and a good lesson in how to shift my focus and juggle my new roles.

Christina's tone is friendly and clear, and she includes quotes from many successful freelancers and writer mamas. I love it, and read it while I rock my sleeping little one.

A few days ago I received my copy of "Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids" and I've hardly put it down. Christina Katz provides useful and inspiring ideas to help you get published by approaching writing as a job. Something I should have thought of on my own, but didn't. And she shows you how to do it in the snippets of time culled throughout the day as you go about your other job of raising your kids.

Filled with practical step-by-step advice and encouragement, this book has me thinking about ways to move my ideas for stories off my kitchen counter and into print. I love the easy to read format, which makes it simple to refer back to any section. This also makes it easy to consult Christina's pointers on generating ideas or writing cover letters or identifying places to send pitches for my writing again and again.

And the sections on different types of articles - like fillers, how-tos, lists and essays - really expanded my list of ideas for things to send in for publication.

I expect this to become a well used reference that travels with me wherever I go.