The Principles of Successful Freelancing. Miles Burke. SitePoint Pty. Ltd., 2008. $34.99. ISBN: 978-0-9804552-4-3

People become freelancers for many reasons.

Sometimes it's involuntary: your position becomes redundant, or your boss decides to revamp the team, so you're out on the street. And sometimes you just decide you want to be your own boss for a while, to work on your own schedule and to profit from your own ideas rather than handing your brainchildren over to a corporate entity.

Whatever the reasons, any established freelancer will tell you that it's not as easy as it sounds.

Yes, you're your own boss all right – and a stern taskmaster you've turned out to be. Yes, you control your own time – and discover there's a ton to do that you hadn't even dreamed of, so those leisurely afternoons in front of the T.V. you'd imagined are replaced by all-nighters pounding the keyboard to meet a deadline.

So how do you cope? Is tearing out your hair the only option?

Fortunately, freelance Web designer and developer Miles Burke rides to the rescue. It took him three attempts to make it as a full-time freelancer, and he now shares the fruits of his experience in The Principles of Successful Freelancing.

It's not a fat book – only 178 pages, plus index – but it's chock full of information about the agony and the ecstasy of freelancing.

Burke starts, quite sensibly, by showing you the pros and cons of the lifestyle, and then exploring what it takes to be a freelancer. You not only need technical skills, he notes, but also business savvy, organizational skills and (gasp) people skills. Yup – although hermits may apply (and could be quite content), you still need to be able to cope with prospects, customers and suppliers in a way that doesn't send them diving for cover when you call, if you hope to succeed.

After we get through the initial questions, Burke introduces two hypothetical would-be freelancers whose adventures he will chronicle as the book progresses. Then we get into the nitty-gritty: how to prepare for the freelancing life.

Do you want to dip a toe in to test the waters by freelancing part-time while you continue the day job? Would you rather leap straight in? What needs to be planned? And, most importantly, what's it going to cost?

Burke doesn't have the numerical answers (that would be virtually impossible), but he does list the items to consider. Then he gets into various possible business structures. That bit may not be directly applicable to North Americans (he's in Australia), but the general principles are sound. It comes down to incorporating vs sole proprietorship, and Burke enumerates advantages and disadvantages of each.

Next up is money: the basics of the accounting you need to do, for starters. Burke sums it all up in three words: "hire a professional".

Why? It'll save you time – billable time. Spending those hours on paying work and letting a pro do the books, probably in half the time it'd take you, not only adds to your coffers, it ensures that the beancounting will be done properly, and (if your accountant or bookkeeper is a good one) will likely save you money on taxes.

You still need to be aware of financial matters, however, and know how to price yourself, how to deal with customer payments (or, sometimes, lack thereof) and how to monitor your cash flow. You'll find hints on how to accomplish all of these tasks.

Next, Burke talks about the basics of office setup (get a good chair! And decent lighting.), and offers hints on such diverse subjects as how to overcome the isolation of working solo, tracking your time, scheduling, and personal productivity strategies. He points out some great online resources, and finishes the chapter with a brief discussion of necessary tools.

Now that you're set up, Burke moves on to drumming up business. He devotes an entire chapter to the sales process, self-promotion, finding, choosing and engaging clients. Then he devotes another chapter to managing those clients and their needs and expectations (scope creep, anyone), finishing up with guidance on how to "fire" a troublesome client. And, yes, sometimes you really do have to fire clients!

Taking care of business segues to taking care of you in the next chapter. Burke discusses work-life balance, disciplining yourself to watch your health, and finally, giving back to the community. He points out that, by assisting a charity, you're not only building your store of good karma, you're making valuable contacts.

The final chapter talks about what to do once your business is a going concern. Do you want to grow it and perhaps take on employees? Have you decided that the freelance life isn't all it was cracked up to be, and want to go back to being an employee (there is, Burke points out, no shame in that – he did it twice, and has no regrets)? If so, how will you take care of your clients?

You've seen a lot of question marks in this review, because there are a lot in this book. It contains a lot of answers, but it also provides those all-important questions that you need to ask of others, and of yourself. Says Burke, "Question everything you do regularly. Look for methods to improve the way you work, or ask yourself what your motivations are – you'll find better ways, new ideas, and lots of answers as a result."

And in The Principles of Successful Freelancing, you'll find some of those answers in a sensible, realistic look at the life of the freelancer that will help you decide if it's the path you want to follow, and will guide you down that path with as little pain as possible.