There are boatloads of books out there about how to break into the business of music - you can now take every last one of those, box them up, and stick them on a back shelf somewhere. This down-and-dirty how-to guide by industry pros Sciarretto and Florino tells you everything you need to know to wiggle your way into one of the toughest industries around.

Sciarretto's resume is so staggering you'd swear she must be lying. She's done everything from writing for magazines and working on radio to heading up major record labels. So she has the smarts - and some of the tricks - you need to know to get your foot inside the golden doors. The chapter titles virtually tell it all:

• Work For Free.
• Hit the Internet Hard.
• Contacts, Contacts, Contacts!
• Get Used to NO... Accept it, But Don't Settle

I have been writing about music for many years, and after reading this, I realized that I had - in some roundabout way - done all the things outlined here. But I had to stumble and fall and run headfirst into a lot of roadblocks before finally arriving at a place where I could actually support myself as a writer. Read these pages - you can digest this whole book in a couple hours - and you'll be able to avoid the mistakes I made and cut a straight line to the end goal.