4 Books That Will Make Your Freelancing Easier

Let’s be honest. Everything about the workplace is changing except the higher ups.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could give yourself a true work-life balance? If you could do your job without feeling trapped or harassed?

That’s one of the best things about freelancing. You have the chance to do what you love to do without someone micromanaging you or putting your family last.

You also have the chance to truly take ownership over your career. It’s no secret that so many organizations are laying off hundreds of thousands of workers.

Being able to survive and put food on the table shouldn’t be left up to other people who don’t care about you.

Getting Started As A Freelancer

Maybe 2023 is the year that you’re going to start your freelancing career. Congratulations!

Don’t worry about whether the timing is wrong or right. I started my freelancing journey during the pandemic, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.

Now this is not to say that there won’t be ups and downs in your journey, because that’s life. But one thing that definitely helped me when I started out was getting educated.

Reading books, taking online courses, and learning as much as possible about my craft really helped me to stay grounded. I’m still applying much of what I’ve learned in the beginning of my career.

But there’s so much information out there that maybe you don’t know where to start.

Here are 4 books that really helped me when I was starting out. I hope they’ll be as much help to you as you begin your freelancing career.

Working For Yourself: Law & Taxes For Independent Contractors, Freelancers, & Gig Workers of All Types by Stephen Fishman

If you want a realistic view of what freelancing would be for you, this is the book to read.

As freelancers, we’re so excited about working for ourselves that we don’t think about what could happen to us from a legal standpoint.

What if one of our clients refuses to pay? How do we file our taxes? How can we create contracts for our services?

All of the answers to those questions are covered in this book.

Working For Yourself covers every financial aspect of being a freelancer that you can think of. Choosing the right legal structure for your business. How to price your services accordingly. How to protect your intellectual property.

I definitely use this book as a yearly reference for my business, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who’s seriously thinking about working for themselves.

The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide For Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn and Marilyn Schwartz

As a freelancer, I always want to continue to learn and master my craft. That’s why I was interested in The Copyeditor’s Handbook.

This book is the perfect introduction to the copyediting process. If you’re an author who is interested in self-publishing, this is the best book to read.

The Copyeditor’s Handbook offers a great balance of mindset and practical applications. It goes into detail about what copyediting is and what copyeditors do.

There are also chapters on how to approach each subject of the English language while editing, from spelling to grammar and usage.

It’s pretty much a guide on how to properly copyedit different forms of text.

There’s also an additional workbook called The Copyeditor’s Workbook with exercises to strengthen your copyediting skills.

Like Working For Yourself, I also use this book as a yearly reference. I’m in the process of writing my first horror novel, and this book is a life saver.

Copywriting Strategies by Nicki Krawczyk

One thing you’ll definitely have to get better at as a freelancer is marketing yourself.

This doesn’t mean that you have to become an influencer or become obsessed with hashtags on social media. But you do need to know how to connect online with your target audience.

That’s why this is the perfect book for anyone who wants to understand copywriting.

Copywriting is an essential skill for every business. It helps explain to your clients and customers how you can solve their problems in an authentic way.

This book does an excellent job at explaining what copywriting is and recommending copywriting tips. I love how the insights of a copywriter are mentioned in this book. In fact, I decided to offer Creative Brief services after learning about the subject in this book.

There’s also some tips that can help with improving your writing and holding your clients’ attention.

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in copywriting or who wants to get better at marketing their freelancing services.

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman

Another excellent book about writing marketing copy is The Adweek Copywriting Handbook.

Just like the other books, this book does a great job of explaining the mindset behind writing marketing copy. After learning the mindset, the next section discusses the different elements of copy with real-life examples from the author himself.

What I love about this book is that it covers every aspect of writing copy, including things we may not consider.

Like the psychological triggers that you could use in your copywriting. Or the way that you can answer your customers’ questions in your copy.

I revisit this book monthly. You can use the practical tips in this book for all types of written content.

If you want to get better at writing marketing copy, I absolutely recommend reading this book.

See You At The Top!

Don’t underestimate the power of education.

The more you know about your journey, the better equipped you’ll be.

These books taught me how to think as a freelancer. Once you understand the why behind something, figuring out how is easy.

If you’re interested in freelancing, these books can give you the best insight into what to expect.

If you want to purchase these books, visit my affiliate bookstore at Bookshop.org: Valeria Publications Bookshop

If you’re already a freelancer, feel free to share some additional tips in the comment section below.