I just finished reading a great book written by Joy Mo called "Say Goodbye to Feast-or-Famine". Here's how it looks:
You can read a lot of posts about the advantages of being a freelancer. But are there any disadvantages? Sure! To many freelancers, those disadvantages concern money matters. And the feast-and-famine cycle is one of them. One month you are working like crazy and don't have time even to take a shower (speaking figuratively here ;)), and another month you are sitting at home all day long staring at your inbox and nothing comes in... I've been there. Thankfully, I am moving forward and haven't had any famine periods for the past year or so. But that's only because of marketing, and because I realized that my knowledge and experience can be used not only in translating, but in other spheres. And Joy is one of my top influencers. I've been following Joy's ezine for quite a while and I know she's not just a translator, but a real entrepreneur. She has a lot of useful tips ready for her fellow translators and she willingly shares her experience!
What do I like about this book most of all? - It's very practical. Joy doesn't just offer a vague piece of advice about something most translators are already doing anyway. She suggests specific steps and she's extremely practical offering her best knowledge and best tips, even including links to useful resources that can help translators grow their businesses.
So, is it possible to break this cycle of feast and famine? YES, it is! How? There are 2 main ways:
1) marketing
2) diversifying
That information is by no means new. But you will find a lot of specific tips about how to do both things. And you know that it's not all theory, but that everything in the book is the result of the author's life, her choices and lessons learned.
I do recommend this book to all freelance translators who want to break free from the feast-or-famine cycle and to become real entrepreneurs! There's a lot to think about for new translators, and as for more experienced colleagues, there are still quite a few practical tips that you can apply to your business and watch it thrive even more :)
About the author of the book: Joy Mo (@joymo91) is an expert translator and court interpreter residing in Vancouver, Canada. She is the owner of the http://www.translators-biz-secret.com/ website helping translators attract quality jobs and high paying clients.
Disclaimer: this is not a paid review. I just loved the book and I think it can be useful for many freelance translators ;)
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