Book Club: Survival Skills for Freelancers, by Sarah Townsend
Our summer read was Survival Skills for Freelancers, by Sarah Townsend, who’s been a freelance copywriter for more than two decades.
Sarah was a guest on season 11 of the podcast, where she told her story of being freelance and gave us some insight into how the book came together.
What started as a blog post became a book when Sarah hit the twenty-year mark and wanted to share what she’d learned.
“I don’t think we help one another by putting this little rosy tinted sheen on self employment. It’s much more helpful to share the reality and how to tackle it because then everyone knows what to do,” Sarah said.
In the book, she shares her best tips to help you ace self-employment without burning out.
So what did our book clubbers think?
The Being Freelance Book Club reviews Survival Skills for Freelancers
The book was a quick, easy read and it wasn’t overly-salesy like others we’ve discussed. It read like a series of blog posts with helpful tips at the end of each chapter. We wish we’d read it when we first started - the book is perfect for new freelancers.
In the past, we’ve complained that books haven’t focused enough on freelancing. This one definitely does. With the exception of freelancing as a parent, we couldn’t think of anything Sarah didn’t cover or at least touch on.
It’s generous in advice and there’s a lot of value wrapped up in Sarah’s vast experience. Steve’s spoken to over 220 freelancers for the podcast now and there are few who have been around as long as Sarah has. (A couple that jump to mind are illustrator Stanley Chow, writer Paul Jarvis and photographer Tom Miles, who was Steve’s very first guest!)
It was interesting to think about freelance life before the internet. When Sarah started out in 1999, she spent most of her maternity leave designing comp slips and business cards and writing letters to local companies. What’s the modern-day equivalent? Personalised LinkedIn requests?
We really enjoyed Sarah’s personal anecdotes and examples with other freelancers in the book, and if anything would have loved to have more of those. We also appreciated Sarah’s honesty in saying that it took her a long time to get some things right in her own freelance life.
In the book, she breaks the sections up into myths including “I love my job. Everyday should be a good day” and “I like my own company, I don’t need anyone else.”
As a group, we’ve all been doing this for a while and so the topics felt familiar to us, but it was reassuring to remember that we all share many of the same sturggles and worries.
The book gave us plenty of nice reminders and a general sense of: Yep, I’m on the right track. This isn’t supposed to be easy and we’re all just doing our best, trying to put the things we learn into practice.
And, as is the case with most things worth doing, you learn best by putting it into practice. You can watch all the Bear Grylls you want but until you’re out in the field…
We all agreed that we’d recommend Survival Skills for Freelancers to friends who are just starting out. And it feels like Sarah’s timed it well, too. She couldn’t have predicted she’d need an extra chapter on surviving freelance life in a pandemic!
If you’ve got a friend who’s thinking about going freelance, we think you should treat them to a copy of this book.
And let them know about the podcast and the community, too. It can be lonely when you’re first starting out (or at any time, really). That’s why we’re here and we’re always happy to welcome new Being Freelance Friends.
Thanks so much to these BFFs for turning up and sharing their thoughts on the book!
Scott Ellis, Freelance English Teacher
Vic Giménez, Freelance Copywriter and Transcreator
Lyndsey Clark, Museum and Exhibitions Consultant
Elizabeth M. Jones, Freelance Digital Marketing Copywriter
Laura Smith, Freelance Copywriter at Ella St Communications
Jo Gordon, Marketing Consultant, Data and Analyst specialist
Similar books that the BFF Book Clubbers recommend:
The Freelance Introvert, by Tom Albrighton
Quiet, by Susan Cain
Previously in the book club:
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!)