Customer Rating: 
Summary: Easy Read
Comment: It may sound quitchy, but man, these for dummies books are packed full of information, easy to read and sometimes downright funny.
Another stellar resource from Hungry Minds, Inc.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Should be "Freelance WRITING for Dummies"
Comment: That's what the author is and that's the perspective she writes from. Which is fine with me, because that's what I'm looking to do.
For freelance biz writers, this is a good one-stop-shopping kind of book. I've seen plenty of freelance writing books, and this really addressed my needs transitioning from staff writer at a software company to contractor to freelancer. Too many of these books are all about breaking into magazines (VERY tough to do) or start off by suggesting that all you need to do is just open the Rolodex from your old job and start phoning those CEOs you know. Easy! Others have an aggressive, in-your-face "gonzo" approach to marketing that can be profitable or off=putting. If you're not comfotable with that style, it'll also be UNprofitable.
By contrast, I *like* the upbeat tone, professional tone of this book. I'm tired of all the negativity in freelance books of the "why you'll likely fail" variety. Nobody ever succeeded at something by believing from the outset that they would fail. And with so many others around us willing to say that, who needs a book to say it? The book covers that ground quickly and then gets on with it.
Much of the focus - such as setting up a comfortable work environment and tracking your billable hours - is really targeted to writers and others whose work is mainly sedentary and likely at home. If this doesn't describe you, you may find the book a little frustrating.
I'm just getting started in freelancing from contracting for others, but I found the information in it to be detailed, thorough and accessible. Besides "Freelancing for Dummies," I like Peter Bowerman's books ("The Well-Fed Writer" and "Back for Seconds") a lot, too, on the subject. By contrast, Bowerman skipped the whole "write a business plan" thing. If you're looking to go into freelance writing, these 3 books should be enough to get you off to a good start.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ego-Stroking For Dummies
Comment: "Shiny, happy people wheeling deals" should be the sub-title for this book. The profession of freelancing is for the go getting, self-imaging, assertive (most times aggressive) dynamo. Drake's book failed to include this brief but crucial bit of information in Freelancing for Dummies.Drake does a wonderful job empowering the reader, then again so does Maxwell in The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Both books, although I am sure they sell wonderfully as they are corporate products, are not grounded. Drake should have addressed all of her audiences, not just her likeminded Type-A personality readers.
Some of the contents such as setting rates, collecting fees and paying taxes are needed. However, sections on how to set up one's chair are not. And, the chapter on building an extended staff is, again, assuming that the reader is either an egomaniac with the knowledge to boot, or a former corporate executive.
If you are full of yourself and can't wait to tackle the world with your own business, this is the book for you. If you are a little more on the average side, I suggest you read Sorenson's Power Freelancing. Good luck!
Customer Rating:
Summary: You want a freelancing business? This is THE BOOK!
Comment: Frankly, Susan M. Drake has written extremely well. With 8 years of freelancing experience behind me, I can only nod my head and agree with her with every turn of the page. Written in a very simple manner and easily understood...no fanfare, no big words, just facts.
She covered almost everything there is to cover for the topic of freelancing and you know what? It REALLY is a book for dummies.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Same Old Stuff
Comment: First let me say this: If you are a new "Freelancing for Dummies" will be helpful in putting you on path to getting published. But I do wish the author had put MORE into it, in terms of material that hasn't been seen elsewhere.I also find the author to be overly optimistic, and writing from the viewpoint of someone who has dipped in and out of the profession, and most likely has an alternate means of support. Then, too, the author tries to cover too much, and leaves this reader wondering whether she is addressing those new to writing for publication, or published writers who want to take a shot at writing for a living. (To be fair to Ms. Drake, one or more editors may have had too heavy a hand in the mix.)
The bottom line: Don't ignore this title, but if you've read more than one other book for beginning freelancers you may do better to pick up some books for more advanced writers, and/or genre- or field-specific writing.
