Successful Freelancing for Web Designers: Our Brand New eBook
It’s time for something new. Recently, we launched an eBook series. The first eBook was about Professional Web Design. And now our second eBook, brand new, is dedicated to Rules and Guidelines For Successful Freelancing. The book contains 260 pages and articles that have appeared here on Smashing Magazine as well as a couple of exclusive articles.
Being a great Web designer or developer is one thing — running a successful freelance business another. Whether you already have work experience in companies or have just graduated from design school, being self-employed entails a number of tasks that you most likely haven’t had to deal with so far. As a freelance Web designer, you also have to be a project manager, office administrator, accountant, controller and IT expert.
The eBook is, like its predecessor, a summary, a “best of” compilation of articles about professional freelancing that have been published on Smashing Magazine and Noupe in 2009 and 2010. We re-arranged everything, corrected it carefully, added beautiful illustrations and — where necessary — updated the content. Many screenshots and links were removed to make the book easier to read and print.
The eBook, in PDF format, is ideal for archiving, for arm chair or mobile reading and, of course, for printing. In addition to the 21 published articles, the eBook contains 2 exclusive newly written pieces, with 20 exclusive beautiful illustrations by Ricardo Gimenes.
- Download a free PDF sample (.pdf, 1.5 MB),
- Download a free ePUB sample (.zip, 0.4 MB),
- Download a free Mobipocket sample (.zip, 0.8 MB),
- buy Successful Freelancing for Web Designers for only $9.90 (or €).
The book is not protected by DRM and is available exclusively in the Smashing Shop. Please respect our work and the hard efforts of our writers. If you have received this book from a source other than the Smashing Shop, please support us by purchasing your copy in our online store.
The authors are: Robert Bowen, Tim Mercer, Cameron Chapman, Paul Boag, Andrew Follett, Sam Barnes, Graham Smith, Ryan Scherf, Aurimas Adomavicius, Andy Rutledge, Luke Reimer, Rob Smith, Jeff Gardner, Peter Smart, Aaron Griffith, Alyssa Gregory and Thursday Bram.
Table of Contents
In the 260 pages, spread over four chapters, you will read:
- Essential Habits of an Effective Professional Freelancer (Rob Smith)
- Common Questions of Web Designers (Andy Rutledge)
- The Designer Who Delivers (Aurimas Adomavicius)
- Critical Mistakes Freelancers Make (Robert Bowen)
- The Importance of Customer Service (Robert Bowen)
- Creatively Handling the Admin Side of Freelancing (Robert Bowen)
- Pitching Like a Pro (Cameron Chapman)
- The Finances of Freelancing (Luke Reimer)
- How to Identify and Deal With Different Types of Clients (Robert Bowen)
- How to Improve Designer-Client Relationships (Aaron Griffith)
- How to Communicate with Developers Effectively (Ryan Scherf)
- How to Educate Your Clients on Web Development (Aurimas Adomavicius)
- How to Explain to Clients That They Are Wrong (Sam Barnes)
- How to Respond Effectively to Design Criticism (Andrew Follett)
- How to Persuade Your Users, Boss or Clients (Paul Boag)
- How to Create the Perfect Client Questionnaire (Cameron Chapman)
- Getting Clients: Approaching the Company (Peter Smart)
- Converting Prospects into Clients (Alyssa Gregory)
- Marketing Rules and Principles for Freelancers (Jeff Gardner)
- How Many Ideas Do You Show Your Clients? (Graham Smith)
- Freelance Contracts: Do’s And Don’ts (Robert Bowen)
- What’s in a Price: Guidelines for Pricing Web Designs (Thursday Bram)
- Quality-Price Ratio in Web Design (Jeff Gardner)
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extra moose
June 9th, 2010 5:18 amAnother ebook? You guys are outstanding..!
dini
June 9th, 2010 5:29 amExcellent…
What i was waiting for…..Thank you
asim
June 9th, 2010 5:35 amWhat about a printed book to ship ? Do you have any plan to have it in Hard copy ? and Ship on little bit higher price who don’t want e-book but a proper printed book
AnggaRifandi
June 9th, 2010 5:37 amI really love to have it, waiting the book
Pete
June 9th, 2010 5:39 amI love you SM audience. You complain when they release a printed book that loses them money, then complain when they release much cheaper e-book; because it isn’t printed.
Jace
June 10th, 2010 3:44 pmI love you too Pete
Luis Craik
June 9th, 2010 5:48 amNice! I’ll buy it! Just give me some minutes. By the way, great you didn’t title this post “Smashing Magazine Needs Your Help Today” becuase it could be crazy again! Lol
Brian Jones
June 9th, 2010 5:55 amGreat job SM – you guys are amazing and a true inspiration to us all. Looking forward to getting the book. Is it available for immediate download? I know there were some issues on the SM Book – getting them released to the states. Anywho – keep up the great work!
Steve Jones
June 9th, 2010 6:12 amAfter the insane debacle of the previous Smashing book, I’m not surprised this one is in PDF format.
However, online books just don’t work for me, and printing them out is never the same. So, I’ll pass on this one, even though I’m interested in the subject.
A bit of advice: Believe that your books are worth real money and charge real prices for them, so that you can afford to get the fulfilment right. The previous book was way too cheap and I’d have preferred to have paid twice as much and had good service.
Joel Spolsky sold a lot of books that were just his blog articles. He charged proper prices and you can too.
Jonny Miles
June 9th, 2010 6:30 amI just bought the book (whilst cursing the euro -> pounds exchange rate) and skimmed through – it looks fantastic so far. I’m happy to be able to contribute something for all the great content you’ve put out.
I hope you sort out a relatively pain-free way of getting print versions out there eventually though, I’m not a big fan of reading pdfs on my laptop. Maybe I should just get an iPad, think of all the *cough* productivity benefits!
Smashing Editorial
June 9th, 2010 9:53 amThank you for your support, Jonny. We really appreciate it and we will see what we can do!
lioninho
June 9th, 2010 6:35 amis it a phisical book or just an ebook(pdf) not print ?
Smashing Editorial
June 9th, 2010 9:52 amIt is only a PDF.
koko
June 9th, 2010 6:35 am9.90$ = 9.90€?
why when the $ is cheaper than the € the conversion is 1=1 but when it is the other way around the “correct” exchange rate is applied?
You do not have to deliver anything, no extra costs.
I do not get it? sorry.
Smashing Editorial
June 9th, 2010 7:05 amDear koko, ever heard of taxes for books? Sad but true for us; they are a fact in the EU.
Antti
June 9th, 2010 11:53 amDifferent countries have different taxes, if any. Taxes or not, this is the first time I’ve seen 1=1 price for $=€, eBook or not. When went there – why those two? Why not pound sterling or Australian dollar?
But seriously, one price (in dollars), let customer pay with preferred currency (not all US customers pay in dollars and not all Europeans pay in euros). Add taxes, if any, on the shopping cart. Standard e-business.
balljunge
June 11th, 2010 4:53 am$9.9 + tax != €9.9
and so i won’t purchase any of your ebooks, until they have a fair pricing!
Peter Paullson
June 9th, 2010 2:03 pmYeah, didn’t know Euro is sooooo low :) Strange exchange rate you got there guys…
Robbie
June 9th, 2010 6:57 amThanks for the great book! I downloaded the entire book a few minutes ago. Thanks again!
Sythe
June 9th, 2010 6:59 amToo bad it’s a PDF book. I bought the smashing book just because it’s a book. Ten euros for a PDF is a waste of money.
Robbie
June 9th, 2010 7:02 amI think the book is a good investment even if it is a pdf.
Sythe
June 9th, 2010 8:11 amThe articles in the PDF are just a collection of posts. I read most of them, and I can still search for them and read them on my computerscreen.
A book has the advantage that you don’t have to read on your computer screen, but just in your lovely reading chair in the sun or something!
That’s why I DO want to pay for a book, and i DON’T want to pay for a PDF.
Squirrel
June 9th, 2010 8:38 amOr you could print it, or bring your laptop out in the sun. :)
Pete
June 9th, 2010 7:02 amSM, is there any way you can use an on-demand printing service for people who really, really can’t get past the fact that this isn’t a printed book? It looks like you may be missing out on a few sales. Just a thought.
Looks great though.
John
June 9th, 2010 10:35 amI agree, SM could do something like Lulu.com or similar. Adjust price to still make a profit, I would consider buying a print version.
sbuster
June 9th, 2010 8:36 amOhh fabuloso!
Yuri
June 9th, 2010 10:13 amNo thank you.
I really don’t like pdf’s as a learning book format and the Smashing Book was in my opinion a failure. The crappy build really took the reading fun.
Something with good reputation takes years, destroying it seconds…
Yuri
June 9th, 2010 10:44 amAdvisable format; 175 x 254 mm
Janne
June 9th, 2010 10:19 amI would have bought the book (and I was on the conversion tube already), but for some weird reason you want me to register to actually buy the book. No thanks. I didn’t remember my password, nor I will have the patience to find out did I have it stored somewhere. Maybe next time.
Ram Singh
June 9th, 2010 11:30 amGonna wait for the torrents to show up.
Simon
June 9th, 2010 2:58 pmEssential! Really looking forward to reading this. Definitely struggle with some of the day-to-day taks of running a successful freelance business…
Christopher Healey
June 9th, 2010 5:34 pmI’ve purchased every product Smashing has put out thus far. Keep em coming, my wallet loves to empty on your stuff haha.
Seriously though, always putting out amazing products that are very useful, thanks for always providing quality that is actually useful. You roxx0r!
alantakashi
June 9th, 2010 5:35 pmawesome! I won the 1st printed copy from FreelanceFolder, definitely will buy this one too.
Vaibhav
June 9th, 2010 9:00 pmNice Work SM…It really gonna be a great book for the free lancers
Lucian E.
June 9th, 2010 10:55 pmIt should have been free to download. And when is the SM logo going to be changed??
randomjames
June 10th, 2010 12:24 amUh, what and what?! Why should it be free and why the fuck should the logo be changed? You’re drunk.
Nastya Manno
June 10th, 2010 12:50 amThanks SM! This is a very useful product. You are the best! :)
Rob
June 10th, 2010 1:36 amShame it’s a PDF, I hate reading books on a computer screen.
Cathal Mc Carthy
June 10th, 2010 2:36 amI like the design and user experience of your checkout – what shopping cart did you use for Smashing Shop?
Matt
June 10th, 2010 4:04 amAs a juggler, I must say I find the cover artwork quite offensive! That is certainly not how seven balls are juggled!
Andrea Austoni
June 13th, 2010 7:48 amMatt,
I’m the author of the cover.
Although I know that seven balls are not juggled in a circle I made the choice to simplify the design to keep the illustration as simple and powerful as possible. Please don’t be offended by what is purely an illustrative device.
Thanks.
jan
June 10th, 2010 4:38 amSome of you commenters are so whiny.
patvillaruz
June 10th, 2010 5:52 amthis ebook will be available in the philippines? i want to buy it but i dont have any paypal account.. :(
Andrew Banks
June 10th, 2010 6:04 amWould love to buy this but would prefer a print copy so I’ll give it a miss for now.
Why not publish through Lulu.com?
Victor Tisnado
June 10th, 2010 8:37 amI just saw the table of contents and.. I’ll buy it right now!
Felix
June 10th, 2010 9:33 amhmm looks good, but I would only buy it if it’s a hard copy.. Not used to reading long paragraphs on the computer!! ☺
Marcos Xotoko
June 10th, 2010 10:04 amI buy books mostly for having a profound content. I belive there’s a difference into web reading and book reading. That’s why i believe paper books will never die ;)
sincejan
June 10th, 2010 1:12 pmI often wonder why people write how to books, one needs not to spend any money on any book especially a PDF on on how to be successful freelancing. It’s simple, network, word of mouth or advertising, since most of us don;t have the big bucks for newspaper or magazine ads, the best way is networking and the very valuable word of mouth. A website showing the sites you create is invaluable. Books, come on, totally not necessary.
Jace
June 10th, 2010 3:50 pmsincejan you’re sitting on a gold mine, clearly you know everything about freelancing, think of the money you could make selling your own knowledge. We like totally need to meet up for coffee so I can pick your brain and stuff. LOL.
erkan
June 10th, 2010 10:54 pmHello Smashingmagazine,
i have ordered it 2 days ago and paid with paypal (order # 700014948, integreyted).
When do you deliver the eBook?
Didn´t get a download-URL yet:-((
Guys – how long did it take at your order?
Thnaks!
Cosmi
June 11th, 2010 3:24 amI would love to read this book on paper :) :(
Niubi
June 11th, 2010 5:25 amFabulous! I’ll be getting this right now! Have you guys thought of selling over DubLi as well?
Ragnar
June 11th, 2010 8:01 amI’d love to buy this and have a read, but my preference is for an ePub rather than PDF. Any chance of us seeing multiple formats appearing in the future for your eBooks?
Lisa
June 11th, 2010 11:20 amHas anyone read the book? No one said they read it and it was worth it. I am more interesting in whether or not the content is good, not whether it is PDF or a hardcover book.
Andre
June 12th, 2010 2:07 amWow, the same buttons in the order-process as amazon. Who stole from who? ;)
And 9.90$ != 9.90€ w/ tax
9.90$ = 8.17€
7% tax in Germany on books
8.17€ + 7% = 9.34€
But great info in this ebook and 9.90€ is ok. SM give us a lot of great content for free.
Sven Lennartz
June 12th, 2010 11:23 pm7% tax in Germany on books, but 19% on ebooks!
so we have to pay 19% for every copy sold to germany and for almost every copy sold to the EU.
Chris
June 12th, 2010 5:33 amI would love to find it in the iBook Store – do u have any plans on making it available there?
asad
June 12th, 2010 7:54 amGreat work Smashing magazine!
erkan
June 12th, 2010 7:57 amhello again,
as in my posting #49 said, who has received the eBook ???
@smashingmagazine: Why don´t you answer my questions?
Stani
June 12th, 2010 12:59 pmReally nice book, but i think not only i would prefer a printed version.
Its really annoying to read long article or book on the monitor of nootebook/pc/etc.
ps. greets from germany ^_^
Santi
June 12th, 2010 11:38 pm9,90 $ = 9,90 € ???
Nada, desde España no lo va a comprar nadie, es una ESTAFA
redlover
June 13th, 2010 11:24 amI really liked the first book and want to buy this new one but only on a hard copy!
When can we order this book in real (not ebook)?
Troy
June 13th, 2010 8:32 pmI’d like to hear someone’s feedback that has purchased the e-book. Anyone? If it’s a valuable tool then I’ll gladly buy it.
erkan
June 13th, 2010 11:34 pmhi,
me too.
i´ve ordered and paid it, but didn´t get any answer:-((
so smashingmagazine: please pay my 9,90 € back!
again: is here somebody who has ordered ang received the PDF?
@ smashingmagazine, where is the imprint of your site?
Jace
June 16th, 2010 4:45 pmDid anyone realize that they could just copy and paste every article mentioned in this book into google and read it free?
Philz
June 18th, 2010 9:54 amIm gonna need to get my hands on this Book. I already own Smashing WordPress, worth every penny!
Scorpiono
June 22nd, 2010 11:34 amThe only reason which keeps me from buying is no hard copy. I loved the previous book, you should print this one too and I’d buy it right away.
Prodac
July 5th, 2010 6:57 amYou should convert this into ePub format. Then I´ll buy it :)
Vlad
July 6th, 2010 5:14 amI would prefer a printed copy :(
Sira
July 26th, 2010 8:37 pmI’d prefer a printed copy too! :) …love smashing book so much. Plz make the second smashing book!