Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More by Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon

Although I have actually been freelancing for over three years, I decided to review this book for my Reading 4 Writers blog. I get a lot of emails from newbie writers, so I thought some of them might be interested in this book!

You can see my review of the book here, and a discussion about a related topic here.

Principled Profit by Shel Horowitz

I heard about Shel Horowitz's Principled Profit when I attended his workshop during the Muse Online Writers Conference. Unfortunately, I read this book a little over a month ago, and I'm finding it difficult to recall my impressions.

One thing I do remember is how it galvanized me on the idea of honest marketing. All of us know the annoyance of marketers who just won't go away — whether phone and door-to-door solicitors who won't take no for an answer, or stores with a "used car salesman" approach that makes you forget all about your purchase in favor of running far, far away.

Horowitz takes a totally different approach toward marketing. One thing he talks about is targeting only those folks who are most likely to make a purchase, rather than hitting completely uninterested consumers over the head with your product or services. It benefits both you and them: It saves you time and money, since you're not wasting it on people who simply aren't interested, and it saves the uninterested people the hassle and annoyance of fending off poorly planned marketing attempts.

Principled Profit also talks about things such as collaborating with colleagues and with other businesses in your area, but I'll talk about that more on my Reading For Writers blog.

The Milk Memos by Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette

I am currently reading The Milk Memos, by Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette. This book was a total impulse buy: Last week, when Michael and I were at Tattered Cover (a local, independent Barnes and Noble-style bookstore that offers free WiFi), I spotted it on the shelf right next to where we were sitting.

How can you resist a book with the title "The Milk Memos," especially when it has wide baby's eyes and an almost-bald baby's head on the cover? I picked it up and started looking at it, and I very quickly became intrigued.

The Milk Memos is part memoir, part how-to for working moms. Basically, the authors were both working at IBM shortly after giving birth, so they were both using the lactation room -- the room the company provided them in order to pump at work. Along with other nursing/working moms, they started keeping a little notebook, where they would all leave messages to each other while they were pumping.

The Milk Memos includes some of those exchanges, divided into specific topics and accompanied by related commentary and how-to information. The focus of the book is helping working moms continue to breastfeed; despite the dramatic health benefits enjoyed by breastfed babies, the task of pumping throughout the day intimidates many new mothers into switching to forumla.

The biggest reason why I bought the book was that it has a chapter for work-at-home moms. Since I am a writer who works from home, I thought the book might have some good tips for when Michael and I have a baby. I know that many of my fellow writers are also work-at-home moms, so once I finish the book I also plan to review it on one of my other blogs, Reading For Writers.

Publish & Prosper by Byron and Broback

Thanks to a tremendously busy work schedule, I've gotten a little behind on blogging about my "Livre du Jour," so I'm going to fill you in on what I'm reading right now and go back and fill in the holes as I have a chance.

My current read is Publish & Prosper: Blogging for Business. Considering where I am posting this blurb, I think a lot of my readers should find this book interesting! We all hear that you can make money from a blog, either by using it to market or sell ad space, but so many of us never actually achieve what we'd like with our blogs. In this handy little book, DL Byron and Steve Broback explain exactly how to make your blog work for you.

Even though I've been blogging for about a year and a half, have had my own website for more than two years, and write web copy all the time, I'm learning a lot from Publish & Prosper. Sometimes the book fills me in on why something that I already do works so well. Other times it explains concepts that I've found a little challenging (and does a very good job of simplifying and speaking to the lay person, I should add!). The book also discusses things like the different types of blogs, blog systems, and features available. What a terrific resource for any dedicated blogger!

How to Be Your Own Literary Agent by Richard Curtis

As a freelance writer and a novelist hopeful, I am of course interested in the process of getting a book published. And as a compulsive do-it-yourselfer, I want to be able to handle the process myself - or at the very least understand it!
How to Be Your Own Literary Agent is almost a necessity for anyone who wants to publish a book - whether or not you intend to get an agent. The book basically explains an agent's job - everything from how they decide whether to represent a book, to how they negotiate a contract.

For authors who want to get published without using an agent, this book is a basic how-to guide. For authors who do prefer an agent, the book will ensure that you understand the process well enough to keep tabs on your agent - and make sure he or she is truly working in your best interests! Regardless of which camp you fall into, the information contained in this book will enable you to keep from getting screwed, by either the publisher or your own agent.

Definitely a good book for any aspiring author to own!