I’d heard a lot of good things about Nick Daws Quick Cash Writing Course, but being the ultimate skeptic, I was not convinced. The only way to know one way or the other was to buy it and see for myself.

The book is 185 pages long – I was literally bowled over by the length and the information the book contained.

I’ll start by telling you what I didn’t like about the book, which wasn’t a lot. The biggest bug-bear was the lack of a table of contents.

Being the organised person I am (sometimes!) I like to know exactly where to find things, and this was impossible without a TOC. However, I wondered if Nick Daws did this to stop people like me from skimming the contents. Even if he’d decided not to make the TOC functional, which means you click and arrive at the selected page, a non-functional TOC would have been appreciated. (As I worked my way through, I tagged and marked each section to make it easier to find information in the future.)

In addition to this irritant, there was a lot of information that was repeated over and over on pages 1 to 12. I’m sure many pages could have been eliminated there. On the other hand, a lot of that information was important, so it could just be that Daws was trying to make a point.

He goes into detail about pen names (or pseudonyns) and tells us how cheques can be written out to those names. In Australia it’s not possible, as the tax office here won’t allow it. To open a bank account in Australia you have to go through a ‘one hundred point’ identity check. This involves providing credit cards, driver’s licence, medicare cards, and so on. And under no circumstances can we open a bank account in another name. This information was not provided in the book.

Now that you know what I didn’t like about the book, I’ll tell you what I did like.

Daws spends almost a page about finding time to write. If I had a dollar for every time a writer asked me about that subject, I’d certainly be rich. There are a number of easy but practical ways to find time for your writing.

He also talks about one of my favourite subjects – setting goals. He shows you how to set them, how to make them specific, and also ways to keep them on target.

Okay, so far we’ve not broached the subject of making money from your writing. Don’t be impatient – we’re nearly there!

The book mentions many types of opportunities to make money with your writing. One of those is readers letters – something I’d not thought about as a source of writing income, but obviously a good (and quick) way to bring in cash.

QCW opened my mind to many new ideas. I’d always believed ‘jokes’ were not what publishers required, but found that’s not entirely correct. The samples supplied showed the sort of thing to submit, and literally sent my mind into a new direction.

There’s an in-depth look at fillers – something I’ve considered for quite some time, (I even purchased a book of filler markets) but wasn’t sure how to tackle. This section immediately triggered ideas, which I will now use. (I scribbled down almost a page of ideas while reading this section alone.)

The greeting cards section was also very informative. I had no idea such a wide range of cards were available, and therefore a huge market for writers. Not only did I learn about greeting cards, but also an extensive list of related (spin-off) markets – most of which I’d never heard of.

In addition to the above there is a section dealing with selling photographs – including as a companion to articles, and also as a stand-alone product. I often supply photos with my articles, but have never really thought about the possibility of selling them as a totally separate entity. Another section dealt with writing articles and reviews, and another on comedy writing. Yet another talked about movie ideas and pitches – which had me rather flabbergasted at the money to be made.

QCW also included information on novels, non-fiction books, screenplays and writing for the internet.

One of the most intriguing was about writing crosswords, puzzles, and quizzes. And to be honest, this was another area I hadn’t thought about. (And again, ideas were triggered.)

Daws also talks about selling your work overseas – something many writers don’t do. This is something I’ve done for years, and encourage others to do. I’m not sure why writers limit themselves by only seeking markets locally; it certainly limits your income and marketing reach. The majority of my work is sold outside my own country, and I’ve recently been published for the first time in Australia.

I’d intended to spend just an hour or two skimming this book, but found myself making notes about ideas and where to send them. Some I’ve already sent out. There was so much included in this book that I know I’ll use it as a reference over and over again. I took the plunge and printed the book (yes, all 185 pages!) and had it spirally bound for easy use.

Obviously I didn’t read the entire book in one sitting, but did spend almost four hours reading huge chunks of it. Not only does Daws tell us about specific markets for each QCW subject, he also gives explicit information on how to be successful with each – something most books simply don’t do.

There are a number of bonuses included with QCW, including software called ‘Inspire Me’ – which generates ideas. The bonuses alone are worth the cost of the book, which in my opinion is extremely low for what you get.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to make money from their writing, whether it’s with quick markets or not. If you’ve never been published, this book will help you break in. If you are published, you’ll be presented with a plethora of ideas to boost your writing income in the shortest possible time.