“How To Be A Rockstar Freelancer”, by Cyan and Collis Ta’eed, is a book from the creators of FreelanceSwitch and Eden Creative Communities on how to start and become a great freelancer. I was really excited about this one, but this book is receiving one of my lowest scores and is not recommended. In short, it’s better to read the web site FreelanceSwitch instead.

I wrote extensive notes (5 pages worth) while I was reading this book at work. (Who says you can’t do what you want to at a day job?) I am going to categorize this review into sections and if any of these matter to you, read them. If not, read my closing statement. Before I begin, let me stress that I have worked for many different types of companies, institutions, organizations and Universities. I have also worked 7 years as a freelance web designer & developer before being employed at my current company, which I adore. Lastly, I studied many disciplines that involve daily business in freelancing including American law, accounting, economics, marketing, writing and management. I am going to be reviewing some aspects, opinions and points of view in this book and arguing against them, so I just want to make sure that by me writing this review, that my audience understands that I am trying to give you an educated and experienced view point - since this will be a very lengthy and unfortunately, negative review. I do want to say too that writing a book is hard work and despite the review, I respect the authors for pursuing the endeavor. Thank you and let us begin. I am going to mention “their web site” a lot and in every instance, I am referring to FreelanceSwitch.com.

PRICE

Currently, this book is only available as an e-book, which means that you can download the book in full as a .PDF format and read it on your computer. It should be available in a printed version within a month or so using a free publishing platform web site LuLu. The current price tag is $29 which applies currently to the e-book, I assume the printed book will be the same price or higher. Let me mention though, mentioned in detail in the design & editing section here, that the entire book is in black and white with no images and abnormally large font, making the 200 page count more like 150. Most e-books are free or sell for less than $10. This is usually the case because a good majority of people hate reading on the computer and doesn’t have the good qualities of a printed copy. If this book had been priced the same, I probably would not have a single critique to give. Since it had been priced about three to four times the normal amount, I assumed the book would be of the highest quality material. It isn’t. They have a publisher listed but it had not been edited correctly, more in the design & editing section. They did not pay for an ISBN. We aren’t paying for any of those overhead costs. Worst of all, the content their web site provides is included into the book. By using the free printing resource LuLu, they are avoiding all the common costs associated with publishing literature. That means they are taking upwards of 95% profit.

Since that web site also includes different authors and view points, I say that their web site provides better content and perspectives than does the book. You’d be better off not paying up and just reading the web site, which is free to read and produces a profit to them by advertising.

DESIGN & EDITING

The design of the book worries me if they are sending it straight to print as is. Here are some points on that:

1) The font is abnormally large
2) Everything is in black and white
3) Sections, sub sections and sub sub sections are hard to differentiate
4) Page numbers are always located at the top left
5) There isn’t a sufficient amount of margin where the book will be bound
6) The size of the e-book caused me to view it at 88.1% on a 1280×1024 resolution monitor

So I hope they are aware of those points and take note of it before sending it off. In general, I’m disappointed by the design of this book because the design of their web sites are usually good and are of high quality. They also write a lot about design freelancing. I assumed this book would also serve as a design statement. It is just information, which is nice, but because it is just text I am thus disappointed by their handling of type. You will be confused at times what sub section you’re in because of the way it had been done. If you expect anything spectacular from the design, you will be sad, very sad.

About the editing… it wasn’t. Here are some points on that:

1) Most books are never error-free. At most, I’ve been able to count up to 4 on spelling errors or obvious grammatical errors and that was in a 900 page fictional book with very, very small font. Most errors are usually found in large fictional books like that because there’s too much material to cover and since it’s fictional, sometimes the editor misses something by not being as familiar with the story. I never critique style though, as I appreciate different writing styles! I counted above 15 spelling and grammatical errors. With a short book like this, with large font, there should have been zero. (I won’t list them though, I usually get paid to do editing.)
2) The book is written in persuasive speech, any editor would have been more strict on them defending arguments, which they never do. For example, on pages 9-10 they say that “freelancing is infinitely more rewarding than working for someone else” but give no argument against it. Sadly, this is not properly preparing people for freelancing, which causes much more headaches than does a “desk job”. I love freelancing, but be honest about it!
3) The same points are repeated constantly in the same area and within the entire book.
4) The logical structure of sections, chapters and content had not been organized well. For example, they include a short section on project management software after they talked about ergonomics in office equipment and before “an environmentally friendly workplace”. Huh?! Good luck finding that section again. A better example are two chapters entitled “Getting Your First Projects” and “Marketing Yourself” which should been combined into one chapter.
5) Pages exceed 200 count but with editing, should have been around 100, maximum. This doesn’t include any layout changes. With those taken into account, it should have been around 75 pages.

THE ACTUAL CONTENT

The actual content of the book is mainly a reiteration of great material mentioned on their web site. Most of that material on their web site is great because it’s written by many different authors, lending to many different points of view. Since most of the actual content in the book is biased information, being very little on the factual side of things because of the context of freelancing itself, it’s better to receive many points of view in order to write a good book. They even neglected some of their great articles on their web site that contradict information given within the book. By buying this book, you are going to be given viewpoints from the joint voice of the Ta’eeds. It is biased, not all factual, and they give zero arguments against their own advice. That isn’t fair information and usually frowned upon.

The actual content of the book is minimal in comparison to how extensive other books are on similar topics. Some parts of the book, including a section on how to setup your office, includes “common sense” material often learned by just doing it and can vary from person to person. If you really need advice about where to place your keyboard and to be warned about dangers of sitting in front of a computer all day, you probably should be doing something else because you didn’t learn that already. Freelancers need good business sense and a LOT of common sense. I’m sorry, you should have learned that by now on your own, I don’t need to spend $29 to learn it through a book that is meant to teach me about business.

“Selling Graphic & Web Design”, a book I reviewed here at the site, is a much better read with a lot more content and useful information. It will extend to freelancers who pursue other disciplines and is priced much cheaply.

BRANDING

This section is basically to clear up some points made on branding within the book that are highly biased and are wrong. So this will help you freelancers out there and will prove of interest to those interested in the topic of branding. The book references branding a lot and 99% of the information is again, bad. I prefer “Brand Simple” for branding advice, which I also reviewed on this site.

1) Page 28 misinformed content: “A brand is an identity for a product or company that helps you distinguish it from other similar products and companies using things like graphics, advertising and public relations. …At its most basic, it will be a name, a logo, a website and a set of visual materials.” A brand at its most basic, is an idea, thought, memory, lifestyle, or phrase about a company, product or service. Materials such as graphics is considered branding and is the second to last step in branding. A brand is so much more than an image.
2) Page 31 not backed up: “Some consider branding to be no more than a logo and aesthetic style, but it is so much more…” They, in no place, back up this argument. The content directly after the statement only includes “face-value” or “IMAGE” as the argument for this. That is still only backing up the image. Branding is more than an image guys, and they completely missed any information for that.
3) Page 32 misinformed content: “The cornerstone of every brand is the brand name…easy to spell…easy to pronounce…short…” The cornerstone of every brand depends on the company. An example against the “easy to spell”, “easy to pronounce” and “short” argument: Consider Mitsubishi. It isn’t easy to spell, say, short or even memorable or catchy. The company managed to succeed at gaining a large market share internationally because of their product and brand. They did their branding well and covered all aspects of branding, not just face-value image or name. Refer to the Brand Simple book for more fabulous examples of companies who break bounds based on good, extensive branding. The authors of How to be a Rockstar Freelancer miss the boat entirely of what successful branding is.
4) Page 37 misinformed content: “Choose a simple 2-3 colour palette.” Very opinionated. Other brands find much success with complicated palettes. Do you think Toys ‘R’ Us would have been successful using a simple color palette? If trying to convince the market that your brand is colorful, fun or enjoyable, using a lot of colors would be useful and appropriate. Branding, design or marketing firms often (and should) offer their clients an extensive branding material guidebook that covers all colors chosen and when appropriate to use them. Most brands, even the simplest looking ones, have a lot more colors than you know about.
5) Page 37 misinformed content: “Find a stock photograph you feel expresses your core brand value in an abstract way and use that for the back of the card.” Very opinionated. This is largely determined again, by your brand and even by the designer who does your card. Putting a photograph on the back of a business card could quadruple the cost of producing it and, if you need it, use very valuable space for information.

MISINFORMED GENERAL CONTENT

Besides branding, refer to the branding section, there is a lot of misinformed content. Either by the language they use in the writing, which they later correct in the text or change altogether. Here’s the corrections to the ones I caught:

1) Correction to page 19: Expenses do not include savings, expenses are things you pay for within a period, like staples.
2) Correction to page 22: Credit cards would not be considered “cash on hand” or “cash”. It’s considered a credit and it is very different.
3) Correction to page 61 that suggestions to turn off your computer at the end of the day: Turning off your computer, monitor, and other electronic equipment at the end of the day or more often will shorten the life of the equipment and increase expense over time. These pieces of equipment were made to be left on. Instead of turning them off often, set your computer’s power savings mode. This will effectively have the same benefit of saving electricity without having to destroy your equipment.
4) Correction to pages 201-202, tip#4: The subject being discussed tells of a situation where a subcontractor of yours can steal one of your clients and offers to let your subcontractor act as a member of your business to prevent this. This is HORRIBLE advice and should be avoided at all costs. I am speaking of American law when I talk about this, but most countries generally follow the same rules in business. This is a legal issue. 1. By letting a subcontractor act as a member of your business, you are automatically entitling them to the status of “agent” by you, the “principal”, and not a contractor. That means that the court would consider them an employee of yours. That would mean a lot of things like you have to pay them salary, pay multiple insurance if you have 4 or more in some states, make you accountable for taxes, etc. That is the worst thing you can do in this instance and you might find yourself in legal trouble. 2. Letting the subcontractor deal directly with the client gives them more reason to deal directly together in the future and cutting you out. 3. Have the subcontractor sign a noncompete clause written by a lawyer, and if they work with your client on their own in the future, you can sue for damages. 4. If the subcontractor and the client deal on a project together and break your contract, you can sue both for damages automatically because they broke your contract. 5. Make sure to have the client sign some kind of contract before signing on a subcontractor and have the subcontractor sign that noncompete - you will never have a problem. 6. Any of the following would give the subcontractor ability to be considered an agent by a judge: letting them deal directly with clients, involving them in meetings even in e-mail with clients, letting them work in your office often, or letting them deal directly with any other employees.

RETURNING

Most book stores offer returns. All major book chains like Barnes & Nobles and Borders offer full return up to 30 days, which I’ve done before (and you should too if you aren’t happy with the material). I am going to ask for a refund in full for this book, I am disappointed and did not receive anything that A. their web site does not already provide and B. is not included in any other book on the same topic. Though, I am having trouble locating an e-mail address to mail them. Good thing to note about anything e-commerce, since they have this for sale at their web site, that in most countries’ laws about e-commerce is that a Return Policy should be mentioned at the point of sale on the site. Funny, because I can’t find one. Worst, I can’t find an e-mail to contact them. I will be using any contact method I can find and will edit this review of my status of being able to return the e-book in this section. To be continued…

EDIT JAN 10 2008: I e-mailed Collis Ta’eed directly via the Eden Communities web site. I could not find a single way of contact through freelanceswitch.com. Well, they referred me to join their ticketing system. (Which is odd, to say the least. They use a ticketing system to handle consumers? Not the best in way of customer support.) 6 days later after requesting a refund and submitting a ticket there, I have finally received a refund the company sees as being “a good gesture”. I had to go through an Australian law debate with the representative who clearly knows very little in way of law, respect or customer service. I eventually won against the argument given to me that was that “I simply changed my mind” by saying that their product by A. the price compared to similar products in the market and B. their advertising it as expert advice didn’t live up to warranty and even by law, should be given a full refund. Their representative brought on the debate too, which is funny, customers don’t need to know law - just try to make them happy! I have the return, and I still am going to visit the site and say good things, but the representative seriously lacks manners in the way of customer service. I can only imagine how they treat their clients, contractors or customers and worry about their practices. My first encounter with them in the way of law was months ago when I posted a reply to a post at their web site and warned them about the dangers of breaking a “price fixing” law. At any rate, my encounter spawned them to include a link all the way at the bottom of the purchase page in case any of you have problems or would like to return as well: it’s a link to their ticketing system, of course.

POSITIVES ABOUT THE BOOK

In general, the book got much better in the second half around page 90. I mean better as in, the content is meaningful and less biased. Their advice on graphics in general is pretty on point! Also, their advice on web sites and other business ventures is pretty darn nice. Something great to note too is that the language used in the book is very casual and understandable by many people. It isn’t like reading a textbook.

CLOSING STATEMENT

I would buy this book only if it cost $5 for the electronic version and $15 for the printed version. Otherwise, I recommend other reading material. I will be returning this book myself and am very sad that this wasn’t better reading material. This will not be a book you reference a lot but instead, collect dust on a shelf somewhere. “Selling Graphic & Web Design”, a book I reviewed here at the site, is a much better read with a lot more content and useful information. It will extend to freelancers who pursue other disciplines and is priced much cheaply. I don’t recommend “How To Be A Rockstar Freelancer” but I do wholeheartedly recommend visiting their web site often, which is of great production value.

EDIT JAN 10 2008: I’ve been noticing a lot of web sites publicizing the book. Important thing to note is that 99% of them are using the advertising campaign that brings them 20% of the sale. Buyer beware, if it’s a good review, trust it because they aren’t using the review to gain money.

Thanks for reading.