Why It Helps To Review the Basics

work-it

Check out this book my husband bought me for Christmas!

(I decided not interpret it is as a commentary on the fact that he’s supporting me, as it was on my Amazon Wish List.)

Allison Hemming — founder of the Hired Guns — wrote Work It! as an antidote to the times…times in which an increasing amount of people are losing their jobs, or are at least worrying about the possibility.

While the majority of the content in her book is aimed at those in the full-time, corporate work force, I found that the lessons therein — especially as they pertained to resumes, networking, and correspondence — were applicable to anyone looking to make money.

And the number one lesson I learned from reading Work It!? It’s never too late to review the basics.

[Read more…]

6 Things I Like About My So-Called Freelance Life

In the midst of blogging, Christmas shopping, and tree trimming, I’ve been sneaking away all week to steal some alone time with My So-Called Freelance Life, the most recent freelance survival guide from alt-work guru Michelle Goodman. And let me tell you. It is good.

Which is why I’m taking a break from our usual Thursday interview to introduce you to a true source of infinite wisdom, in paperback form.

Honestly? This is the book I wish I had a year ago.

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: Get a Freelance Life

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.

[Read more…]

My 7 Favorite Things In: The Boss of You

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:

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: The Money Therapi$t

money therapist.

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:

[Read more…]

My (More Than) 5 Favorite Things In: The Anti 9 to 5 Guide

anti 9 to 5 guide.

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:

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: Monday Morning Choices

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:

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: Test-Drive Your Dream Job

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:

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: The Well-Fed Writer

well fed writer.

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.

[Read more…]

My 5 Favorite Things In: One Person/Multiple Careers

one person/multiple careers

When I first read Marci Alboher’s One Person/Multiple Careers, I felt vindicated. After all, while I had been happily frolicking from interest to interest, maintaining a comprehensive list of things I wanted to do and accomplish in my lifetime, my husband had been calling me unfocused. Unfocused! Can you believe it!?

Alboher’s book assured me that I wasn’t a weirdo for wanting to do so much. She wrote that “slashes” (those receiving income through multiple avenues) seem more satisfied, and less oppressed, than those holding only one job.

I immediately read the passage aloud to my husband and made nyah nyah sounds at him, my immature way of announcing victory. The reasons you should pick up this book as well

[Read more…]