Freelancing
WebsitesScott Card directed his readers last week to The Freelancer's Survival Guide written by SF/F author Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I spent part of last week reading it a few bits at a time and found it both interesting and very helpful. If you are looking for specifics on the current state of the publishing industry and a step-by-step how-to, this is not what you are looking for. Rusch barely skims the surface details of the day to day aspects of writing and publishing. She does, however, go fairly deep into the emotional how-tos of being your own boss, schedules, success, failure, and so forth. I especially enjoyed her two pieces on handling jealousy (your own directed at others/other's jealousy directed at you). What a deft and delicate handling of a difficult subject. Having been on both sides of that issue, much more the latter than the former over the years, I appreciated the advice from someone who has been there and then some. I also really appreciated her pages on Success and Expectations. I had never really thought through the various definitions of success and the problem with managing your own and others expectations. If you read no other pages, read those--and sit down for some quality pondering time and solidify in your mind, and perhaps in a journal, your definition of success and your goals for yourself. Goals not written down and striven for are just wishes.
What is your definition of success?