Top 15 Books that Teach You How to Make Money Freelancing

Looking for books that teach you how to make money freelancing? You’re in luck! Plenty of authors have documented their freelance journey to inspire others. You can glean so much from reading their words.

Reading is a great way to learn almost anything. As you go through the pages of the books listed below, you’ll come across stories of success, practical tips, and actionable steps to help you grow as a freelancer.

15 Freelancing Books that Teach You How to Make Money

These 15 books teach you how to make money on your own terms. Keep reading for more details about each title in the list.

And if you’re looking for gift ideas for the freelancer in your life, consider one of these! A good book is hard to beat…

Please note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are affiliate links in this post.

15 Books That Teach You How to Make Money Freelancing
Title of Book + Link on AmazonAuthor’s Name
The Free MamaLauren Golden
The Recession-Proof FreelancerCarol Tice
Survival Skills for FreelancersSarah Townsend
The Freelance ManifestoJoey Korenman
The Freelance IntrovertTom Albrighton
The Six-Figure Freelancer: Your Roadmap to Success
in the Gig Economy
Laura Briggs
How to Make a Living with Your WritingJoanna Penn
Be a Free Range HumanMarianne Cantwell
365 Days of Freelance WritingCarter Kilmann
The 50 Laws of FreelancingStefan Palios
The Storyboard ArtistGiuseppe Cristiano
Freelance Your Way to FreedomAlexandra Fasulo
Make Money as a Freelance WriterGina Horkey & Sally Miller
The Freelance Content Marketing WriterJennifer Goforth Gregory
Freelance NewbieRealTough Candy
FreelancingBasics.com

Note – these books are not in a specific order or ranked in the below sections. They’re all just books I thought did an excellent job teaching you how to make money freelancing.

1) The Free Mama: How to Work from Home, Control Your Schedule, and Make More Money by Lauren Golden

If you’re struggling to find work-life balance as a busy, freelancing mom, this book is for you!

Overview of the Book

This book shows you how to become a freelancer and make money while still taking care of your family. You’ll learn how to use your skills to generate a predictable income, set up systems to manage your time intentionally and implement boundaries so your business doesn’t take over your life.

This 220-page book was surprisingly a quick read. It feels like you’re having a conversation, and Lauren’s passion throughout is contagious.

Money Making Lessons

You’ll find some important lessons about freelancing and making money intertwined with Lauren’s personal stories as you read.

Other key tips include:

  • Overcoming fears that are holding you back
  • Identifying mindset shifts that can help you move forward
  • Managing your time well so you can have more time with your family
  • Picking the most important tasks to tackle each day

2) The Recession-Proof Freelancer: A 12-Point Plan for Thriving in Hard Times (from a freelance writer who’s been there) by Carol Tice

Worried about keeping your business going while the economy isn’t doing great? Experienced writer Carol Tice offers encouragement and practical advice to make money as a freelancer, even in hard times.

Overview of the Book

I’ve followed Carol’s blog for years (and even wrote a post about being a productive freelancer with kids for her site!) so you could say I’m a fan! She knows what she’s talking about and offers wisdom about freelancing through a recession (or other hard times) in her simple, no-nonsense style.

And while the content of this book is golden, the real treasure is found at the end. In a super helpful appendix, Carol offers three practical worksheets that you can use to take your business to the next level. Her pitch templates are a tremendous help!

Money Making Lessons

Think you can’t be a freelancer right now because the economy stinks? Think again! In this book, you’ll learn that you can make money regardless of the economic state.

Other key tips include:

  • Finding industries that are doing well in the recession
  • Getting referrals from clients who love your work
  • Holding yourself accountable with the help of a friend
  • Using social platforms to find work

PS: Though the link above takes you to Amazon, but if you head over to Carol’s site Make a Living Writing, you can snag it for free! It’s a short and quick eBook, but full of great tips.

3) Survival Skills for Freelancers: Tried and Tested Tips to Help You Ace Self-Employment Without Burnout by Sarah Townsend

When you work for yourself, burnout is a real possibility. That’s why it’s crucial to be prepared for it and to know how to avoid it. This book can help you do just that!

Overview of the Book

You’ll get advice from over 100 freelancers in the pages of Sarah’s book. It’s full of practical tips and wisdom to help you thrive while freelancing. The best part (in my opinion?) She discusses the importance of not pretending to be a big company – it’s OK to be a one-person show, so don’t feel like you’re not enough.

As you read this book, you’ll be able to leverage the author’s experience and not have to do everything “the hard way.” This can help save you time and effort (and heartache!) as you work on growing your freelance business.

Money Making Lessons

Bust some common freelance myths in this book that teaches you how to make money. It’ll also help you overcome challenges that you might will face.

Other key tips include:

  • Making time for your mental health
  • Understanding your worth
  • Taking your business seriously
  • Overcoming fear and insecurities

4) The Freelance Manifesto: A Field Guide for the Modern Motion Design by Joey Korenman

Are you an artist looking to break into freelancing? This book is for you! But, even if you aren’t an artist, you’ll likely find some great tips in this easy-to-read book. The tips Joey shares are great for all sorts of creatives.

Overview of the Book

This book has a bit of language (I personally don’t appreciate that in a book), but it’s got good content, so I overlooked that part. And honestly, it’s written in such a conversational, humorous manner that it made up for the words I skipped over.

Joey shows you how ditching the 9-5 and operating as a freelancer can help you reduce your stress and increase your income.

Money Making Lessons

You’ll find many practical lessons about making money and building a successful business woven into this book.

Other key tips include:

  • Making contact with potential clients
  • Closing the deal and landing clients
  • Deciding what tools are most important for your journey
  • Following up with old clients to see if you can get more work

5) The Freelance Introvert: Work the way you want without changing who you are by Tom Albrighton

If you’re an introvert (like me), some of the standard freelancer advice may not sit well with you. You could probably think of a million things you’d rather do than network, make phone calls, or handle anything else involving other people. If that’s you, this book may be right up your alley!

Book Overview

This book starts with a few pages about how to tell whether you’re an introvert. Then it dives into why traditional jobs are a struggle for many introverts and why freelancing may be a better path forward.

However, the book quickly clarifies that you don’t do freelancing alone. You’ll still need to network and make connections.

The rest of the book then jumps into building a successful freelance business and has some ideas for pushing past your comfort zone and learning how to make your introversion work for you instead of against you.

Money Making Lessons

As you read, you’ll glean some tips to help you launch and grow your business.

Other key tips include:

  • Deciding what type of services you want to provide
  • Balancing your time so you can take care of yourself as well as your business
  • Building a marketing strategy that works for you
  • Surviving a networking event when you’d rather be anywhere else

6) The Six-Figure Freelancer: Your Roadmap to Success in the Gig Economy by Laura Briggs

If you dream of scaling your freelance business, consider reading this book. Laura shares her journey from realizing she’d inadvertently self-branded as cheap to changing course and building a successful business generating a great income.

Book Overview

Laura and 19 other freelancers share practical tips for scaling your business in this book. Much of it is based on relationship building, a crucial part of connecting with clients.

Another critical component is outsourcing work to a Virtual Assistant of your own. While spending money on a VA might seem frivolous at times, it can free you up to focus on more income-generating tasks and allow you to grow.

While some time management tips might not be practical if you’re working from home while your kids are around, I still found plenty of ideas to consider.

The book is written in a very conversational tone, making it easy to read. There are nuggets inside for freelancers of all experience levels and industries. So though Laura is a freelance writer, people who aren’t writers can still benefit from these pages.

Money Making Lessons

Changing your mindset is an integral part of financial success and freedom, and there are plenty of ideas about that here.

Other key tips include:

  • Saving time by making templates
  • Filling your pipeline with quality clients
  • Raising your rates without losing work in the process
  • Overcoming common challenges in the freelance world

7) How to Make a Living with Your Writing: Turn Your Words into Multiple Streams of Income by Joanna Penn

If you’re a writer at heart, you’ll appreciate how this book dives deeper into several ways to make money with words.

Book Overview

This is the 3rd edition of this title, which tells me the author is dedicated to ensuring her book stays relevant. It’s full of ideas for making money through writing – from being an Indie author to creating courses. If you’re unsure what to do, you may have a better direction in mind by the time you finish this book.

Part 1 focuses on making money with books. Joanna covers your publishing options and how to embrace a growth-focused mindset while marketing. Part 2 doesn’t go as deep, but it looks broadly at other ways to write for money.

However, if you’re already generating income from some of these other methods, this book might not give you much new information.

Money Making Lessons

This well-organized book offers ideas to help you earn more as a writer.

Key tips cover:

  • Creating a writing business plan
  • Handling the transition as you grow your business
  • Writing content that people are eager to read
  • Viewing your work as an intellectual asset

8) Be A Free Range Human: Escape the 9-5, Create a Life You Love and Still Pay the Bills by Marianne Cantwell

I’ll be honest – the title drew me to this book! As a former homesteader who had a few milk cows and free-range chickens, it spoke to me!

And…I’m glad I did. It’s full of tips and stories to encourage you to live life in your own way – without feeling forced to walk the same path others have taken.

Book Overview

Does escaping the “corporate cage” and embracing life on your terms sound good? If yes, pick this book up! It’s got a bit of Joel Salatin vibe in that there’s a ton of common sense wisdom to help you live a better life packaged in a humourous, conversational way.

As you read, you’ll encounter passages that make you say, “Yes!” And you’ll likely end up sharing a few bits with whoever happens to be in the same room. It’s a book that fills you with hope and empowers you to take hold of the steering wheel of your life instead of simply drifting.

Money Making Lessons

You’ll find plenty of inspiring stories inside of people who forged a path toward financial freedom. It’s not so much a formula you can follow but permission to do things your way.

Other key tips include:

  • Discovering skills that transfer well to a gig economy
  • Embracing your imperfections and not letting them hold you back
  • Not overlooking small changes that can have a big impact
  • Deciding what you really want in life

9) 365 Days of Freelance Writing: The Practical Guide to Surviving Your First Year as a Self-Employed Writer

I wish this book had been around during my first year of freelancing. Because most of the resources I read then focused solely on the good parts of this career choice. And while there’s a lot to love, not everything that happens is hunky-dory.

Book Overview

This book offers one of the most honest looks at freelance writing I’ve ever read. It doesn’t sugarcoat reality or look at freelancing through rose-colored glasses. Instead, the author shares a realistic picture of what each day of 2020 looked like as a freelancer.

It’s written in diary form, which isn’t my favorite. There are a lot of random details I found distracting. But if you can overlook those, you’ll find plenty of nuggets about what it’s like to be a freelancer – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Money Making Lessons

Freelancing isn’t easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s sometimes challenging, and you’ll be stretched beyond your comfort zone. But when you get to the other side, you’ll look back over the journey and realize it was worth it. And hopefully, you’re also making more money then too!

Other key tips include:

  • Negotiating with clients
  • Tracking key metrics to evaluate your progress
  • Playing the numbers game – constantly pitching
  • Overcoming self-doubt and rejection

10) The 50 Laws of Freelancing: Insider secrets every freelancer must know by Stefan Palios

You’ll want to read this practical guide if you’re looking for a roadmap to help you take your business up a notch.

Book Overview

Stefan’s writing is actionable and relatable – it’s easy to read but doesn’t feel like fluff. Instead, there are a lot of bite-sized bits to help you grow our freelance business. The book is well-organized, making it simple to use and refer back to. It’s broken into five sections, with ten laws in each.

These laws are simple truths about freelancing that can help you get started, find clients, deliver top-notch work, and scale your business. You can read it straight through, pick an area that matches your struggles, and use it like a guidebook.

Money Making Lessons

You can’t make money freelancing without clients. Thankfully, this book offers insight into finding clients and closing deals to scale your business.

Other key tips include:

  • Building a sustainable business
  • Improving your credibility
  • Creating inbound client funnels
  • Delivering content your clients love

11) The Storyboard Artist: A Guide to Freelancing in Film, TV, and Advertising

While I don’t make money freelancing in film, video, or advertising, it’s a topic several of my kids enjoy, and it looked interesting. The writing isn’t as tight as I’d prefer – there are some definite wordy sections, and the whole thing could use a good edit.

That aside, it contains information on the industry and how to get started, which makes it an excellent fit for some freelancers.

Book Overview

First, a word of warning. This book is horizontally printed. It’s awkward to hold and doesn’t fit nicely on the shelf with the stacks of other books that teach you how to make money. The Kindle version might be easier to deal with!

As you read this book, you’ll learn about freelance opportunities you might have never known existed. You’ll also discover more about the fundamentals of storyboarding and how they’re used in advertising and filmmaking.

Plenty of freelancing tips are woven into the content, including how much to charge for a job and what materials you should use in your business.

Money Making Lessons

As you read this book (and study the awesome images) you’ll discover more about the mindset you need to thrive.

Other key tips include:

  • Understanding the basics of this field
  • Ensuring you know what’s expected of you with each client
  • Organizing your work
  • Improving your skills as an artist

12) Freelance Your Way to Freedom: How to Free Yourself from the Corporate World and Build the Life of Your Dreams by Alexandra Fasulo

Can you tell I’m drawn to books that focus on the freedom that freelancing brings? It’s true – living an unchained life is tremendous, and this book has some tips to help you make it happen.

Book Overview

What does financial freedom look like to you? Is it building an empire that keeps growing, or is it getting out of debt and not worrying about being unable to pay your bills?

No matter how you define the term, Alexandra offers case studies and stories to help you move closer to your financial goals. From her first $5 editing gig on Fiverr, to earning her millionth dollar on the platform (and beyond), she’s had an impressive journey that you can glean actionable steps from.

There’s a big focus on diversifying your income streams and a refreshing perspective on outsourcing and technology. The book also covers personal branding and freelancing basics. Freelancers of all experience levels likely will find at least a few concepts to take away.

Money Making Lessons

As Alexandra takes readers along on her freelance path, she breaks down essential parts in a simple way that’s easy to understand.

Key tips cover:

  • Automating your business as much as possible
  • Understanding the gig economy (there’s a lot in here about Fiverr, but it applies to other platforms as well)
  • Identifying opportunities that are a good fit
  • Scaling your business to earn more

13) Make Money as a Freelance Writer: Seven Simple Steps to Start Your Freelance Writing Business and Earn Your First $1,000 by Gina Horkey and Sally Miller

If you’re looking for a book that teaches you how to make money as a freelance writer, this is it! I know Gina and Sally and have worked with both of them in the past. And I can speak from experience when I say that the framework identified in this book can help you get started on the road to freelancing success!

Gina’s blog led me to freelance in the first place, and her course 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success helped me tremendously.

Book Overview

You can consider this book a how-to-get-started manual. Its no-nonsense approach provides a blueprint to follow, and if you work through each step of the process, you’ll be well on your way to having a successful business.

Each chapter ends with a practical summary and action steps to point you in the right direction. It’s a short book ( only 88 pages), but it’s full of realistic advice and has a step-by-step guide for you to follow. The chapter on fear is one of my favorites – freelancers are often plagued with fear, and you’ll find ideas to punch past the fear and move on anyway.

Money Making Lessons

Just like the subtitle says, this one is all about slowly building your business so that you can earn your first $1,000. It might not happen overnight, but you will get there if you put in the work.

Other key tips include:

  • Gathering writing samples
  • Paying your taxes (and saving for them)
  • Not letting learning get in the way of action
  • Preparing mentally for success

14) The Freelance Content Marketing Writer: Find your perfect clients, Make tons of money and Build a business you love by Jennifer Goforth Gregory

If you want to position yourself as a content marketer, you should read this book. Jennifer shares some strategies that if done with persistence and consistency, can help you scale your business.

Book Overview

I recommend starting this book with the appendix. It contains four different “road maps” that can help you start where you are now and move forward. Then you can keep your path in mind as you read the rest of the book. It’ll also give you some “quick start” activities to begin working on.

The Build Your Business icons throughout the book have action steps to help you put into practice what you just read. Remember, no matter how good the book is, you won’t make progress without action.

Money Making Lessons

A key lesson from this book is that it takes time to grow. Even “overnight successes” often have years of work under their belt before they took off. So don’t get discouraged with slow progress. Just keep showing up.

Other key tips include:

  • Writing a letter of introduction (LOI) that stands out
  • Marketing yourself as a writer
  • Optimizing your website and social profiles
  • Identifying your niche

15) Freelance Newbie: A Beginner’s Guide to Finding Clients, Making Money, and Building Your Web Development Empire by ReadTough Candy

Remember, not all freelancers are writers! You’ll want to read this book if you’re trying to grow a web development business. However, many of the practical tips on these pages can benefit freelancers in different industries.

Book Overview

The book starts with a recounting of a terrible first gig. The red flags were there, but the author ignored them, thrilled to have a paying client. Thankfully, Candy cut ties with this client before too long. Still, the story is relatable, and the author explains the importance of learning from your mistakes and continuing to push on instead of giving up after a bad experience.

It’s a fairly straightforward book with actionable steps to help you build your business. And the appendixes have some valuable information, especially Appendix B, which deals with common client objections. You’ll surely hear a few of those as you look for work, so knowing how to overcome them is helpful.

Money Making Lessons

Not all clients are good clients. That’s an essential lesson for freelancers.

Other key tips include:

  • Setting your rates
  • Providing excellent customer service
  • Writing a contract
  • Setting up your website

Which Book that Teaches You How to Make Money Freelancing Will You Read First?

With so many books that teach you how to make money freelancing available, which one will you read first? Curious minds want to know.

Is there one that didn’t make this list that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments below.

And if you’re looking for help taking advice from the books and putting it into action in your own freelancing journey, get in touch. I love coaching other busy moms who are trying to grow their businesses. Learn more about my coaching services here.

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