I’m not very good at reviewing products. I know whether or not I like something, but my ability to really articulate why in a traditional “review” is a bit lacking.
But I never want that to stop me from passing along something that I think may help other freelancers, especially when the product is targeted toward freelance designers.
Not that long ago, I included an article from Jeremy Tuber here on the blog. He’s the keeper of the Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks website. Conveniently enough, that’s also the name of a book of his that I’m still working my way through.
When I bought my Kindle, one of the first books I downloaded was another book by Tuber, Verbal Kung-Fu For Freelancers. I finally finished it this past week.
If you click on that link, you’ll see all the topics he covers. Bottom line: this is a great resource for common client questions/issues and how you might deal with them.
Now I’ll be honest with you… I wouldn’t deal with some of these situations the way Tuber would, nor is he suggesting that you do. His responses are simply suggestions of how you could deal with similar situations when they come up. And believe me, they will come up.
In fact, I think one of the biggest values of the book is the simple matter of exposing you to the wide range of situations a client can throw at you. And by reading his suggestions on how to deal with them, you’ll start to form your own responses based on your experience, your personality and your situation at the time. Sometimes your responses might be similar to Tuber’s, other times you might take a totally different approach.
If you have no ideas of your own about how to respond, go with what Tuber suggests. The advice is coming from someone who is having success as a freelance designer. That’s the type of person you want to be taking advice from… the “been there, done that” type of person.
Not knowing what to expect is one of the biggest stress points of beginning designers. So when you have a book that lays out over 100 possible scenarios and how to deal with them… well, I trust you can see just how valuable that is.
With Christmas just around the corner, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to Tuber’s two books and his iTunes program. It will help lay a great foundation as your get ready to tackle 2010.
Tags: being a starving Graphic Artist Sucks, jeremy tuber, verbal kung fu for freelancers