My So-Called Freelance Life - Michelle Goodman [88]
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, by Twyla Tharp, Simon & Schuster, 2003. Still haven’t gotten off your duff? This legendary choreographer can help you muster up the discipline and cultivate a lifelong creative routine.
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield, Warner Books, 2003. I owe the fact that I got up the nerve to start writing the book you hold in your hands to Steven Pressfield’s brilliant take on why we procrastinate and how to fight it. Enough said.
acknowledgments
Roll credits!
Before I go to Disneyland (i.e., sleep for the next nine days), there are a few people I’d like to thank for their generous help in getting this book off my laptop and into your hands:
Props to Lisa Owens and my Editorial Freelancers Association students for giving me a reason to think long and hard about how to cultivate a kickass freelance business. A big shout-out to Brooke Warner at Seal Press, who championed this project and tirelessly coaxed me to the finish line. Thanks also to Seal heroes Megan Cooney, Andie East, Elizabeth Mathews, and Dylan Wooters for working their bookmaking magic. And special thanks to Elizabeth Wales for her wise counsel and invaluable big-picture advice.
A number of friends and colleagues contributed their time and expertise to this project as well. Diane Mapes read every blasted chapter, talked me off the ledge repeatedly, and remains the best damned writing coach I know. Lauren Bacon, Maria Gargiulo, Emira Mears, and Jill Rothenberg offered invaluable feedback when I was stuck. Money whiz kids Bill Ehardt, Manisha Thakor, and Rhebe Greenwald kindly reviewed the financial chapters of the book. Small business advisers Michael Graham of Washington Lawyers for the Arts, Elizabeth Mance of Accountability Services, and Mikelann Valterra of Women’s Earning Institute shared their priceless insights. Molly Bennett, Lara Eve Feltin, Angela Fountas, Nina Frenkel, Jane Hodges, Kurt Stephan, Julie van Amerongen, and the Biznik and Digital Eve communities offered introductions to a wealth of top-notch interviewees. Thank you all for so generously lending a hand.
My undying gratitude also goes out to the following folks: The Hedgebrook crew, for the lovely Whidbey Island retreat just when I needed it. I can’t think of a more perfect place to begin writing a book. My understanding mom, for bringing me homemade soup. My sister, Naomi, for calling every few days to make sure I was still alive. My ultra-patient boyfriend, Greg, for bringing me the biggest slice of chocolate cake I’ve ever seen and letting me hibernate for weeks on end. And everyone else who emailed missives of encouragement and baited me with finish-line promises of baked goods, mystery gifts, and dinners out with the rest of humanity. Sloppy kisses to the whole lot of you.
Finally, a big fat hat tip to the readers of the Anti9to5Guide.com blog for asking so many fantastic questions about the so-called freelance life. Hopefully I’ve answered them all. My heartfelt thanks also goes out to the clients who’ve kept me gainfully employed over the years—I’m grateful for your contributions to the roof over my head, and the material. And most important, I’d like to thank the fearless freelancers (and the clients who hire them) who put up with my nosy questions and shared their hard-won tips and war stories with me for this book. A roaring standing ovation to you all.
the author
Michelle Goodman is author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube, an irreverent handbook for aspiring cubicle expats. Her articles and essays about alternative careers, human mating rituals, and cultural trends have graced media outlets such as ABCNews.com, CNN.com, Salon.com, The Seattle Times, BUST, Bitch, and The Bark, and have appeared in the anthologies Single State of the Union: Single Women Speak Out on Life, Love, and the Pursuit of