A Book Review: ProBlogger

Happy Monday!

Because I still haven’t figured out a way to make my bookshelf work like I want it to, I’ll just be putting the book reviews in as posts for now. It’ll be all set by the time I transfer over to the new site. I promise. So, here is the first review. Enjoy!

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

Darren Rowse, the man behind the ProBlogger blog, and Chris Garrett, another well-known blogger, teamed up for what may be the best book about blogging. Ever. The book is well organized, and written in a concise, but friendly, manner.

The idea behind ProBlogger is that with a little luck, some hard work, and enough time, it is possible to make money off of your blog. Maybe not the six figures Darren makes, but still a decent amount. This money can be made through selling ad space, using an affiliate program, or through donations. There are also avenues like blogging as a job, and buying and selling blogs.

This book isn’t just for bloggers who want to make money off their blog, though. That section is just one area of the book. Where ProBlogger really shines is in the blog writing chapter. After showing you how to set up a blog (including changing the colors and uploading a personalized header), Darren and Chris share tips on how to write blog posts, and titles, that can build you a loyal audience.

This book is beyond amazing. I wish I had ordered it sooner than I did. There is so much that I can’t wait to start using here. This was a fairly quick read; it only took a few hours, but I know the information I picked up from it will last a long time. My only complaint is that ProBlogger should have been longer. The book was definitely not lacking in any way, but I wanted more, just because it was that good.

Launching the Bookshelf

I launched my Bookshelf yesterday (See Right). The Bookshelf is a list of books pertaining to freelance writing that I’ve added to my collection. Eventually, I hope to have a decent sized list, including ebooks.  I don’t have any reviews up yet, but I will start working on getting those up today. I have a few that will be going up within the next few hours. There’s still a couple books on there that I am still working through, though. Those will be up a bit later.

Books are a great way to learn all you can about the freelancing business. Unfortunately, there’s no “Freelance writing” degree. We can go to school for writing, journalism, or business degrees. Helpful, but they won’t teach us everything we need to know. Which means it’s up to us to learn everything that we can on our own. I know that there are a lot of websites about freelance writing, with almost all the information we could ever need or want. But I think there is something very satisfying about curling up with a book. Besides, its easier to lay in bed reading a book than a laptop.

I am always on the lookout for the best books for freelancers, which was why I was so excited to come across a list of the top 100 books for freelance writers. There’s a lot of great books on there, all sorted by type. The list is available on InkThinker. Wander over there and check it out. Kristen has a great site for freelancers. I’ll be heading over there myself in a little bit.

UPDATE: I can’t get my links to work right for the bookshelf. As soon as I figure out what I’m doing, I’ll post the reviews I promised you.