The Freelancer's Survival Guide

Publisher's Summary

Most people become freelancers without any idea of how to run a business. They learn in the school of hard knocks. Kristine Kathryn Rusch has taken the school of hard knocks and made it into one of the most useful business books written in years. Included are these indispensable topics:

• How To Negotiate Anything: Freelancers must negotiate everything from the rent they pay to the contracts they sign. Here's how to negotiate on your own-and when to hire someone to negotiate for you.
• Online Networking: In addition to tricks and strategies for online networking from Rusch herself, this Guide also includes advice from such online networking experts as Neil Gaiman, Michael A. Stackpole, and Mitch Wagner.
• The Importance of-and the Difference between-Goals And Dreams: Freelancers often confuse their goals with their dreams. Rusch offers practical advice on how to meet your goals, and the importance of dreaming big.
• How To Survive Failure - and Success: Success, more than failure, derails many freelancers. Rusch explains how to turn your failures into successes-and how to optimize the success when it finally happens.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2010 Kristine Kathryn Rusch (P)2013 Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Critic Reviews

"Not many people understand the publishing business as well as the author business - Kris Rusch is one of them. Her Freelancer's Survival Guide is balanced, ambitious, and packed with information that all writers, editors, and publishers should read." (Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times best-selling author)

Very practical advice

Most memorable moment about following your dreams and making your own path now. Clearly spoken.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Perfect guidelines

The book lead me to make a lot of sense to freelancing and how to choose the lifestyle and work style Ilove. It inspires me.
Thank you to the author!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A must for all freelancers

Rusch has provided a goldmine for freelancers. I have yet to encounter a more comprehensive and targeted resource. When she does not have space for greater detail or does not have the credentials, she points you to outside sources.

As a long-time writer, Rusch has learned her craft and biz through ups and downs, which she uses as examples, but she also has the journalist's skill for researching.

This is a good book for a beginner and a pro whose career seems bogged down by disorganization and misdirection.

But Rusch sums up her own approach to work best: the harder you work, the luckier you get.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

good information, especially for beginners

This book has a lot of good anecdotes for the writer with no, or maybe only a few years experience. Helpful information about the business start-up process for any beginning entrepreneur, and insights from the often perilous, shark-bitten world of Sci-fi writers.

Although there isn't a lot of detailed information about putting together articles or short stories here, the author gives plentiful advice about the publishing industry and different career paths in general.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent Guide for Those Who Need Advice for Freelance Work and Beyond.

I like this book, because it was simple and clear to understand, because it was written by someone who understands that some people aren’t cut out to be employees and loyal to a company their whole lives.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to for themselves and have fun doing so, even if it is challenging work, but not work when you are doing something that you love to do all the time.

I give this rating because it was very uplifting, informative, and inspirational to my own course of life.

Unrefined & Narcissistic

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It should be made clear this book is actually a blog that K Rusch wrote specifically for freelance authors and then capitalized on by saying it's for everyone. There was some valuable information but it could have been distilled to about 45 minutes, instead of fluffed up to 20 hours.

1 of 4 people found this review helpful

Happy to have it!

This is a book I will be revisiting. It touches on the subjects not really discussed anywhere else, And it is great to hear different things discussed both business related and not. If you are considering it, give it a try, you might end up pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful