Thanks to Yolander Prinzel over at Freelance Writerville, I had the privilege of getting an early copy of her new e-book, You’ve Found Your Specialty – Now What? Tips and Tricks for Finding and Scoring Clients and Making a Living Writing What You Know. On the day of it’s official release, I’ve already read through it several times, underlining, starring and highlighting the gems of information Yolander has included. The e-book is targeted toward freelancers writing for the web who have determined their specialty and are ready to start finding clients, but much of the information would be useful to print writers and those who haven’t yet decided on a specialty, as well.

As the subtitle of this e-book suggests, it includes plenty of information to help you find clients and get work writing within your specialty.  Some of the material I found exceptionally useful includes:

• Various tips for finding clients within your specialty, particularly how to build up clips without writing for free when you’re first starting out in a specialty
• A long list of networking opportunities, both online and in-person, that you may or may not have considered before, as well as tips on networking effectively
• Suggestions on how to position yourself to get the client once you’ve made contact, emphasizing that locating and pitching to a client aren’t necessarily enough to get you the job
• Useful resources, including a self-assessment for those considering or beginning a freelance writing business; a checklist for getting started as a specialist; sample questions and suggestions for creating a client questionnaire; and a project proposal template that you can modify to your own needs (*In my opinion, these resources alone make this e-book priceless.)

For someone who is working to increase my business as a freelance print and web writer, I know I’m going to be using this e-book as a resource for months, maybe even years, to come. Which will make it well worth the $7.95 price tag. (Yes, that’s seven dollars and ninety-five cents. Less than a lunch out.)

Whether you are a beginning or experienced freelance writer, if you’re looking to pursue writing in a specialty and want to increase your client base, go get your copy of You’ve Found Your Specialty – Now What? at Freelance Writerville now. You won’t be sorry to have this resource handy.

[Update: Freelance Writerville is no longer a published blog. You can find Yolander and the Freelance Writerville community on Ning.]