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I’ve been using MediaBistro since, like, forever so, when they put out a book for freelancers (and for freelance writing in particular), I totally jumped on that. That was a couple years ago, and it still maintains an important spot on my resource shelf. After the jump, my 5 favorite things about Margit Feury Ragland’s Get a Freelance Life.
Seal Press is a goldmine (I swear, they’re all I’ve been posting about lately) and, though the press is aimed toward women, many of their how-tos and handbooks are relevant to men as well. Which is why I don’t mind bringing up another one of their books, Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears’s The Boss of You.
After reading this book, I feel prepared to rethink and re-tackle the way the way I went about starting up my at-home business and, after reading the 7 things I love about this book, you’ll see why:
I feel as if I’ve been writing a lot lately on the importance of money matters. To that end, I’d like to tell you all about The Money Therapi$t by Marcia Brixey, another how-to from the always-awesome Seal Press. Not necessarily geared toward freelancers in particular, it does take you step-by-step down the path of financial soundness, an always-necessary foundation for a healthy business. Check it:
I read a ton of books in my personal journey toward freelancedom, but I have to admit, the one that provided the impetus to my actually leaving my 9-to-5 was Michelle Goodman’s The Anti 9 to 5 Guide. In fact, my copy is so dog-eared that I couldn’t stop at just listing my five favorites:
Okay. So David Cottrell’s Monday Morning Choices isn’t exactly a freelance-specific book, but I have a weakness for the self-help genre. I find that — like a good session with my shrink — self-help books inspire me to be the best version of myself.
As people who have willingly given up benefits and a regular salary to go it alone, I can’t help but feel that we’re all trying to find a career that’s in tune with the very best version of ourselves. After the jump, some things to keep in mind if you want to maintain a winning attitude:
When I first stumbled upon Brian Kurth’s Vocation Vacations website, I thought it was just about the best idea I’d ever seen. As someone with so many interests, she doesn’t know quite what to do with them, the opportunity to go on a vocation vacation and experience an entirely new career for a limited period of time was incredibly attractive.
Of course, vocation vacations sound an awful lot like internships, and you don’t need to pay for the opportunity to intern. Reasonably enough, Kurth agrees that there are other (free) options for checking out the viability of a new career path, which is where Test-Drive Your Dream Job comes in. After the jump, my five favorite things about this book:
When I first read The Well-Fed Writer, it terrified me. Promising to aid me in gaining “financial self-sufficiency as a freelance writer in six months or less,” author Peter Bowerman then went on to sing the praises of cold calling.
When I was growing up, my parents used to collect magazine clippings of articles with such titles as “What To Do When Your Child Doesn’t Speak.” Since then, the state of things has only improved marginally. I’ve only recently stopped taking anxiety medication, and my shrink still insists that it’s okay to use alcohol as “a social lubricant.”
Perhaps I should pour a nice big glass of pinot noir before ringing up prospective clients…
After the jump, the reasons why I find this book invaluable to any freelancer, despite my abject fear of cold-calling.
Since I’ve started freelancing for a living, I’ve screwed myself over multiple times, mostly by undercharging clients.
It never fails. A new possible client asks for my rates, I panic, and then I proceed to sell myself short. I’m still learning, even as I get a firmer grip on market norms, which is why Laurie Lewis’s What To Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants is such a great resource to have on hand.
After the jump, my five favorite things about Ms. Lewis’s book:
I’m a bit of a booktard.
I started out with Golden Books, moved on to Nancy Drew, graduated to John Saul, V.C. Andrews, and Stephen King, and finally ended up with Barbara Kingsolver, Lorrie Moore, etc.
When thoughts of freelancedom completely hijacked my brain, I naturally moved on to how-tos. Now, to show my gratitude, I feel I ought to highlight some of the books that got me to this point.
This week, I thought I’d mention ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger and Chris Garrett of chrisg. While most of you may not necessarily aim to be career bloggers, I believe it’s a great tool to have in your belt when trying to launch your own business. After all, blogs can showcase your talents, acting as a virtual portfolio. Or they can function as promotional tools. Or they can keep present clients updated on your business. My five favorite things in this book?