Spike Wyatt’s book on freelancing grabbed me from the title. ‘Going the Half Hog?’ I asked myself. Did this mean a half hearted approach to freelancing, as opposed to going all out aka the full hog? No, it didn’t. Instead this is a book for those who want to make a part time income or work part time as freelancers.

The book is subtitled Freelancing without Marketing – another draw for me. Sure I can get my writer marketing done in a short time, but not marketing at all? I was intrigued.

Going the Half Hog Contents

I found Spike’s book an easy, no-nonsense read. The contents list includes:

• How to freelance as a writer
• What you need to get started as a half-hogger
• The basics of online content creation
• The “natural marketing” alternative that takes almost no time or effort
• Where to find freelance writing jobs that suit you
• How to sort through the crap jobs and find the gems
• The major ways to earn – all with their pros and cons
• Avoiding the cheats and scams
• The editing and proofreading route to success

The Best Bits of Going the Half Hog

I knew I was going to love the book when I read the disclaimer, which stated: ‘the author has been known to talk crap’. From then on, I was clear that this was going to be a down-to-earth read with no pseudo-guru-speak – yay! And I was right.  Spike promises ‘real information with actual, explicit ideas and guidelines’ and that’s what he delivers. Among my favorite bits were:

• on what clients really want – most just want a reliable, professional writer who will produce high-quality work on time, every time
• on getting paid – Repeat after me: you deserve to be paid the same as full-time freelancers of similar talent for similar work.
• on running a writing business – There is no ‘right’ way to run a business, beyond a few simple concepts such as honesty, integrity, producing quality work and meeting deadlines
• on how to freelance successfully – Provide solutions. Create accurate specifications. Offer simple, clear contracts. Keep deadlines. Do quality work.

I also liked the 5 principles of being a good freelancer – simple rules which anyone can sign up to – and the questions you need to know the answers to when you get started. These are especially useful for new writers. New writers will also get value from the section where Spike provides a simple structure for writing articles for an online audience.

My one point of disagreement with Spike was on the importance of spelling, grammar and punctuation. He says: ‘I’m not saying that spelling, grammar and punctuation are unimportant: they just don’t have to be perfect for the majority of online media.’  I say: people notice these things, even if subliminally, and it’s important to get them right. That’s the only niggle – and I’m still prepared to recommend the book.

I know the experienced writers out there are wondering what’s in it for them. I can tell you where I learned something – in the section on scams and cheats. I’ve seen my share of writing scams, but Spike added a couple twists on them which haven’t yet come my way (probably because I stay off the bidding sites.) It’s always good to know about these things in advance.

The Verdict

Overall, I think Going the Half Hog lives up to its description:

With this unique, straightforward book you’ll learn everything you need to get started as a freelance writer, including content creation, ways to earn online, where to find freelance work that suits your skills and schedule, how to sort through the rubbish jobs and find the gems, how to avoid the cheats and scammers, a “natural marketing” alternative that requires almost no time or effort and lots more to build a solid foundation that you can scale up whenever you want.

With all that value, at $7.50 it’s not hard to see this as a good investment in your writing career.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Going the Half Hog and I like it so much that if you click on the links below and buy it, I might earn a few cents.

Check out Going The Half Hog: Freelance Writing Without Marketing (or the Kindle edition) on Amazon.com

Check out Going the Half Hog: Freelance Writing Without Marketing (or the Kindle Edition) on Amazon.co.uk

One of the best books I’ve read recently is Mike Stelzner’s Launch. Even though it’s not a writing book (that is to say, it’s not about technique), it’s a book every owner of a writing business should read. In Launch Mike tells you how to launch a successful business with content. As writers, content is our business and that’s why we should read it. I defy anyone to read it without having at least one lightbulb moment.

This book captivated me as though it had been a best selling novel and I devoured it within a few hours. I know I won’t have taken everything in, so I plan to go back and reread at leisure, dipping into the sections I need as I need them.

The book is subtitled How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition and through 9 chapters, Mike uses a spacefaring analogy to show you how to do just that. He speaks of adding rocket fuel to your launch and shows how you can put the pieces together.

Launch – Chapter Listing

The chapters are:

1. Rockets Don’t Fly Themselves

2. Starting Your Mission Plan

3. Finding Inspiration by Looking Outward

4. Leveraging the Power of Other People

5. Actively Engaging Other People

6. Making Content the Fuel of Your Marketing

7. Creating and Using Primary Fuel

8. Creating and Using Nuclear Fuel

9. How to Employ Marketing

There are also five appendices with examples of primary fuel content. If you haven’t been reading Social Media Examiner, then you’ll enjoy these. A key idea of the book is the Elevation Principle – meeting your customers’ needs by helping them to solve their problems at no cost.

Why Launch Rocks

Since I’m not a natural marketer, but really enjoy writing, the way this book was set out really worked for me. It’s almost like an anti-marketing manifesto – marketing without marketing – heaven! The most useful chapters for me were chapter 5 on engagement and chapters 7 and 8 on creating and using different kinds of content – those were a real cauldron of ideas.

If you haven’t been reading Social Media Examiner, then you’ll enjoy the content samples in the appendix that Mike uses to illustrate his points.

There’s no point in reading a book like this unless it’s going to provoke change. The guidance in this book has inspired me to revamp some of my web properties and resources (this is ongoing), and I’ll be using some of the principles in my next launch.

I highly recommend Launch. I’ve known Mike for a while, since writing a few articles for Writing White Papers back in 2006  so I’ve watched him do exactly what he talks about in this book – that’s part of the reason it’s so inspiring – real advice from someone who has done it.

Grab your copy here:

Launch – Kindle Edition (US)

Launch (Amazon.com)

Launch (Amazon UK)

Launch (Kindle, Amazon UK)

As most of you know, I’m an avid reader of pretty much anything I can get my hands on. That’s why I’m always happy to review new books/ebooks that come my way. Of course, I don’t always get around to publishing the reviews quickly, but I’m working on it. Here are a couple of books I liked that crossed my desk recently.

The Smart Business Guide to Winning New Work

The Smart Business Guide to Winning New Work (aff) by Pawel Grabowski offers some great tips for beginners taking their first steps into self-employment. Small business owners and freelancers are the main target market.

The 50 page ebook is divided into several sections, answering key questions about how to market yourself in order to win new work. Issues covered include:

• What is sales?
• The three traits of a successful salesman
• The 3 characteristics of a good prospect
• Where do you find prospects

I found this book an easy read which will give those starting out plenty of ideas for selling themselves and their services. However, this is not a get rich quick book. Pawel warns readers both at the beginning and the end of the book that putting these lessons into practice in order to achieve success will take hard work – and I like that lesson best of all!

Update: The Smart Business Guide to Winning New Work will be on sale at a 30% discount on April 1, 2011 ONLY!

Guest Blogging Guide

I got this book when I signed up for Pro membership of MyBlogGuest. This is a site which automates guest posting – not in a bad way, but by providing a one stop shop for guest bloggers and those seeking guest posts to get together.  This 35 page ebook provides tips on guest blogging. It covers:

• What is guest blogging?
• Benefits of guest blogging
• What guest blogging is NOT
• How to find great guest posting opportunities
• How to approach the blog owner
• Guest blogging best practices

For me, the most useful section was a search tip in the section on finding guest posting opportunities about using wildcards to help you identify the opportunities. It’s not that I didn’t know about wildcards – I do, I do! – but Ann’s examples showed me how I could improve my searches not just for blogging opportunities but for writing work.

Those were the non-fiction books that made the most impression on me recently. What have you been reading that you’d like to share?

Update: This product is being discontinued. Watch for news of more great products from TOP.

I’m always interested in reading books about writing, so I was pleased when Andy Hayes asked me to review Write Right Online. Andy’s a travel writer and the 30 page book shares what he has learned about online writing.

Who The Book Is For

This book is aimed firmly at the new online writer. In 18 short sections, Write Right Online takes you through everything you need to know about online writing. What I love about the book is that it is a model of simplicity – anyone can follow it – yet it somehow gives new writers information – and examples – they can take away and use to improve their style, their visibility and the reach of their content.

Best Feature

For me, the best feature is the checklist, which goes with the book. Each point on the checklist relates to a tip in the book, so you can easily refer to it if you need a refresher. Even experienced writers will benefit from pinning this checklist up on a notice board in their office, as we all need a reminder some time.

Summing Up

What’s great about this book is that you can read it very quickly and start applying the lessons immediately. If you’re a new writer and want to get it right first time, then £17 ($27)  is a small price to pay.

(Disclosure: I have not been paid for this review, though it does contain affiliate links.)