Book Club: The Freelance Introvert, by Tom Albrighton
Our book club met before the Christmas break to chat about The Freelance Introvert, by Tom Albrighton. Subtitled ‘Work the way you want without changing who you are’, the book promises to help introverts build a thriving freelance career.
Tom Albrighton is a copywriter and the co-founder of ProCopywriters, a professional membership organisation for commercial writers. The Freelance Introvert is his second book, and his third, Cash Money Freelancing, is out now.
In The Freelance Introvert, Tom covers getting started as a freelancer, managing your time, working with clients, marketing yourself and setting prices. In the final chapter, he includes tips for building confidence.
The Being Freelance Book Club reviews The Freelance Introvert, by Tom Albrighton
Before we start, a quick note. This is a bit more than a book review because the theme of the book — freelancing as an introvert — sparked an interesting discussion. The group spoke about how we understand introversion and what it means to be an introvert in the working world. Some shared their own experiences and the lessons they’ve learnt.
Now’s your chance to grab a drink and a biscuit if you don’t have one already!
First, what is introversion?
In her 2012 TED Talk on the power of introverts, writer Susan Cain explains that introversion is more than shyness.
“Shyness is about fear of social judgement. Introversion is more about how you respond to stimulation, including social stimulation.
“Extroverts crave large amounts of stimulation, whereas introverts feel at their most alive, and their most switched on, and their most capable when they're in quieter or low-key environments. Not all the time, but a lot of the time.”
We all want to find an environment and a level of stimulation that feels comfortable to us, Cain explains. The bias comes in because our schools and workplaces are designed for extroverts.
And that’s a reality that some of our book clubbers know well.
Working as an introvert in an extroverted world
Many introverts who are freelance have already suffered the effects, at least to some extent, of working and learning in environments that weren’t made for them.
Jane Barton, now a freelance family historian and maths tutor, worked in academia before going freelance. She shared her experience. How she was involved in lots of collaborative working, workshops, meeting new people and travelling. To get the headspace she needed, Jane spent most weekends “up a hill somewhere, as far away from every other human as I could get.”
After having kids, Jane lost that time and space. Not long after the birth of her second child, Jane experienced a big burnout. She ended up walking away from a job she had once loved.
Without the necessary quiet time it takes for introverts to build up their energy stores, exhaustion can soon set in.
Web designer and developer Luke Johnson says it makes a difference “depending on how much skin I have in the game.”
As a Parish Ministry leader with a community of up to 50 people looking to him for guidance, Luke felt energised being around other people. Or he did in the moment, at least. Afterwards, he’d struggle to wind down. “It would feel like my brain was on fire.”
For marketing effectiveness consultant Jo Gordon, introversion is something that she was only able to embrace after leaving behind the corporate world.
“The more control I have over the way I work, the more into myself I’ve gone. To the extent that I sometimes struggle with some elements of running my business.”
Unlearning to find a way that works for you
“When you’re an introvert and you start working freelance, you realise you can do things another way,” said Jane. Independence and autonomy are key benefits that draw people towards freelancing.
It’s like the process parents and their children go through when they decide to homeschool, explained Jane. Parents have to “unschool” their children, or help them to unlearn the things they were presented with in school.
“Sometimes,” Jane added, “you can swing too far when you’re learning a new way of doing something. After a period of time — in my case it was a few years — you kind of want to get back out there again. But in your way. On your terms. That's a process. It takes a period of time."
Steve added: "After working from home for so long and then going into a coworking space, it took me some time to get used to joining in with drinks and social activities again. It was almost like I had to relearn to be sociable again."
Something that plenty of introverts have in common, sadly, is a lack of self-confidence. Often, at least some of that can be attributed to the difficulty of trying to thrive in a world made for extroverts.
Over-50s marketer Julian Harcourt explained that things have become easier for him with age.
“Depending on the jobs and roles you have, you have to adapt and change. It’s learned behaviour vs. true feeling. And it scars you in a strange kind of way. As you get older, you get more comfortable being your true self.”
Building self-confidence as an introverted freelancer
For science writer Richard Berks, it was the sections on confidence that made The Freelance Introvert stand out from other freelance manuals he’s seen. Where other books cover the practical elements in similar detail, Richard pointed out, self-confidence and beliefs are crucial to success. It was nice to see that addressed in this book.
Copywriter and web designer Ellen Forster agreed. "I appreciated the tips on saying ‘no’, and about having the balls to approach clients to talk about briefs. As an introvert, it can be difficult because of the fear of confrontation.
“But I would have appreciated more advice on things like standing up for yourself, and being heard in a big meeting full of people.”
Because she went through a major burn out, Jane explained, she now suffers from low confidence. “I found that those were the bits in the book that really spoke to me. It wasn't the stuff about being introverted — that felt quite superficial.
“The bits that were useful were when the nature of freelance work dovetailed with the difficulties that you have if you have damaged self-esteem (because you've had these difficult experiences in your previous working life because you're an introvert).”
For copywriter Barney Harsent, that rang true. "With most of this book, if you substitute the word 'anxiety' for 'introvert', you could equally apply the tips."
Was The Freelance Introvert the right book for us?
The main critique (coming from a group of freelancers who have, mostly, been in the game at least a couple of years), was that there was too much generic advice on how to be freelance, and not enough depth when it came to introversion.
"Having read Tom's other book and some of his work, he takes great pride in and is very good at explaining concepts in a very simple way. Perhaps with this book, he could have taken advantage of the fact that he's writing for a more specialised readership,” said business writer Justin Reynolds.
“If you make it sound simple,” said Jo, who’s been freelance for three years now, “you could lull people into a false sense of security.” Finding the balance between what feels comfortable and what is necessary to make freelancing work isn’t an easy thing to navigate.
“It takes a lot more than reading a book. For someone like me who's a raging introvert, I find it more helpful to be in an environment where I have to actually put the work into practice.”
Steve suggested that maybe we weren’t the target audience for the book. Maybe it was aimed at the version of us that existed two, three or seven years ago — before we started freelancing.
The group agreed that it’s a helpful, practical guide for a new or aspiring freelancer. Like artist Heidi, who's been learning about self-entrepreneurship over the past year.
“This is the first book I've read that is specifically about freelancing and I really liked it. I’m reminded by this conversation that you don't have to be an expert to share something because there is always someone who is following behind you. This book is perfect for me, at my level."
For Richard, who explained that he was having a small crisis with his own marketing when he read the book, there was something missing.
“I thought this book would tell me that it's okay — I don't have to be blowing my own trumpet all the time and talking about myself as if I'm the dog's bollocks. The book actually says "When you're a natural wallflower, blowing your own trumpet feels wrong. Unfortunately, there's no way around this." 😳
Making space for yourself as an introverted freelancer
"In the background of this book,” said Jane, “there is a subtle reframing of what the definition of success is.
“There is often an assumption about what success means. For me, it is bound up in the things that come with being introverted, like making space in your life. It was nice that this book had that slant.”
Luke agreed: "I appreciated the tips around giving yourself space of different kinds. “Like letting a partnership go if it's naturally fading off rather than feeling like you have to make it work. Let something die if that's the thing to do.
“Also the idea about thinking of every work request as an invitation to a party. I don't take up every single invitation that comes my way... it's useful to think like that about work requests too. And the tip about giving your worst timeframe and then trying to do better than that. All of those things are about building in space for yourself."
Our final thoughts on the book
The Freelance Introvert is concise with lots of useful information to help both new and established freelancers find their version of success. Some of the group were hoping for more strategies or ideas. Tips for dealing with the challenges that freelancing as an introvert can bring.
Most of us would gladly recommend this book to a new or aspiring freelancer. It’s full of easy-to-read, practical tips and it’s organised well, with reminders at the end of each chapter to help you review what you’ve learned.
For a more detailed understanding of introversion and to learn more about how you can play to your strengths as an introvert, we recommend Quiet, by Susan Cain.
Thanks so much to these BFFs for turning up and sharing their thoughts on the book!
Victor Giménez, Freelance Copywriter, Spain
Luke Johnson - Web Designer and Developer, Saskatchewan, Canada
Jane Barton - Genealogist/Family Historian and Maths Tutor, Glasgow, Scotland
Heidi Horchler - Artist, Arizona, US
Helen Hill - Learning and Content Designer, West Yorkshire, UK
Julian Harcourt - Over-50s Marketing, Surrey/London, UK
Richard Berks - Science Writer for Charities, Gateshead, UK
Barney Harsent - Copywriter, Kent, UK
Justin Reynolds - Business Writer, London, UK
Ellen Forster - Copywriter and Web Designer, North Shields, UK
Jo Gordon, Marketing Effectiveness Consultant, Newark, UK
Summary by Sophie Livingston at Kickstart Content. I write website copy and content for freelancers, coaches and consultants.
Other books by Tom Albrighton
Related books that the BF Book Clubbers recommend:
Quiet, by Susan Cain
Survival Skills for Freelancers, by Sarah Townsend
Start With Why, by Simon Sinek
Previously in the book club
The 20% Rule, by Catherine Gladwyn (highlights here)
Survival Skills for Freelancers, by Sarah Townsend (highlights here)
Hype Yourself, by Lucy Werner (highlights here)
Company of One, by Paul Jarvis (highlights here)
The 12-Week Year, by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington (highlights here).
(The links to books on this page are affiliate. If you click one and purchase within 24 hours, some pennies come in to help keep Being Freelance in biscuits. Thanks for the support!)