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20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
 this is a nice but outdated book...Aug 06, 2000
By Mayer Goldberg
This is a nice book, written clearly, stays focused. This is more than a how-to book -- it's loaded with pep talk to encourage you on your way to starting your own typing business. I'm sure some readers take to this style of writing; I don't particularly like it myself.The book is a lot smaller than it first seems: It was typeset on a very old-fashioned word processor and printed on what seems like a 9-pin dot matrix printer with a large and low-quality monospace font... To this, someone added titles in a letter quality font, and this typographical nightmare was then sent to the printers... I mention this, because one would hope that a book on how to start a typing business would be able to give some typographic advice -- after all, most word processors today are typographically rich and capable, and one needs to learn how to use these features effectively while not abusing them. No chance for that here, and not because of the author's oversight! -- The most amazing thing about this little book is that it's almost totally outdated. The book was published in 1990 and the information about typing was outdated already back then. Today, it's practically useless: The book discusses typing paper (remember that erasable typing paper? -- if not -- the author will remind you), typewriters and how to test them, and has some information on what appears to be very rudimentary word processing technology. VERY rudimentary. What is still relevant about this book is the information on how to start and manage a typing business: The advice the author gives is plain and simple to follow, makes sense, and works. Everything from how to start a business, how to advertise cheaply or freely, how to keep costs down, etc. Frankly, some of this is a bit outdated too, because I imagine that most home typists would run their accounting, book keeping, invoices, etc on line, that is, on their personal computer... Still, this is a nice book, and if you want to make a little extra cash on the side, you can get this book and learn a thing or two. It isn't an expensive book, and even if it doesn't teach you anything new it will at least help you plot a concrete course of action -- what to do to get started. If you want to use this book, you should try to make up for its weaknesses: - Forget about typewriters unless you're a collector. - Forget about word processing systems that come with a typewriter -- special purpose computers that only work as a word processor -- they're good for anyone but you: (A) You can't upgrade the word processor -- you'd be stuck with whatever you got; (B) These word processors are universally and severely limited as far as typesetting features are concerned; (C) You're locked into them -- they generally don't let you export your files to the format of a PC/Mac based word processor; (D) They're expensive; You could get a PC for the kind of money they cost. The bottom line is that a typist needs to be able to offer typographic flexibility and those systems offer anything but flexibility. - Get a real word processor -- MS Word, Corel Word Perfect, Adobe Framemaker, Interleaf, etc, and MASTER IT. At least glance over the manuals once, just so you know what it can and cannot do. - Follow the advice in The Complete Typing Business Guide as to how to get some business. Focus on colleges and universities. [ There is a lot of money to be made from scientific typesetting -- formulas, equations, tables of formulas and equations, graphs, etc -- This is a skill in itself, and you may want to get some more specialised software. Generally, most math and physics professors HATE to typeset their papers and they'd do anything and pay almost anything for someone else to typeset their papers for them. ] - [The cheater's guide to typesetting; A crash course:] Keep a few examples of neat typesetting work in various categories: A novel, a science book, an article in the humanities, an article in physics, a term paper, resumes for different kinds of jobs -- examples of work that looks sharp and clean and crisp and nice. Configure the macros, styles, formats, etc in your word processor so that you can immitate THOSE styles quickly and effortlessly. Then, when you get some typing work, use those styles. Yes, COPY those styles. Stick to the styles that look best for the category of work you're typing in, and remember: In typesetting, consistency is the greatest virtue.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Very informational for the beginner, yet outdated for 1999.Mar 07, 1999
By barbmt1@aol.com
I thought the book was well-written and easy to read. I read it in a matter of a few hours. It kept my attention span, yet I was often wondering about how up-to-date it really was. I had noted when ordering it that it was copyrighted in 1990, but didn't think too much about it. The price was right and it had ***** afterall! It focused more on typewriters and word processors rather than the technology of today. Maybe that was because beginners may not always have the funds for starting out with a computer. I understand that. But I also think that computers should have been encouraged more. It's the sign of the times. When he mentioned carbon copies, I ignored that because I believe that some people, however outdated it may seem to me, might still prefer them. Then as I was reading some of the examples he gave in the end.....the Chronological Resume...then I knew it was outdated. It has not been appropriate for some years, in my opinion, to include your BIRTHDATE, HEIGHT, WEIGHT, MARITAL STATUS, NUMBER OF CHILDREN on a resume! Prospective employers cannot legally ask those questions of you so why would you include it on your resume?!? Although I found some things to be helpful and informational, I think Mr. Chisenhall needs to get with the program and either revise his book or take it off the shelf.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Very informative and detailedMar 14, 2000
By Shanda D. Welsch
I found the book was very informative and detailed, also very easy to follow. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to start a home typing business.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
The information I needed,finally.Nov 18, 1998
It was the book I've been looking for.It will really help me get my business going.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Start your own home typing business--very informativeMar 14, 2000
By Shanda D. Welsch
I found the book was very informative and detailed, and also easy to follow. I highly recommend this book to anyone intersted in starting a home typing business.
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