#207: Let’s Give You Some Clarity!
Deliberate Freelancer
On today’s show I share two timely new resources: Introducing Deliberate Freelancer Clarity Calls! These are 45-minute Zoom video chats to talk through 1-2 challenges with podcast host Melanie Padgett Powers. Are you feeling stuck in your business and need help reigniting your momentum? Do you have a million ideas but need help zeroing in on the best one for you? Are you overwhelmed with your to-do list and need help cutting through the noise? Are you feeling insecure or uncertain about a proposal, project rate or pricing structure? Schedule a Clarity Call with Melanie...
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#206: How to Stay Afloat During Turbulent Times, with Michelle Rafter
Deliberate Freelancer
Today’s guest is Michelle Rafter, who lives in Portland, Oregon. Michelle is the owner of WordCount Editorial Services. She is a former journalist who is now a ghostwriter of books, research reports and articles for CEOs and management consultants. She’s a former newspaper staff writer, wire service columnist and freelance reporter who covered business, enterprise technology and workplace issues. Michelle has weathered several economic downturns in her longtime journalism and freelance career. She recently updated her blog post “,” so I invited her on the show to go through some...
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#205: Embedding the “A” of DEIA into Your Business, with Sara Kobilka
Deliberate Freelancer
. Today’s guest is Sara Kobilka, who lives in New York state. Sara is the owner of Renaissance Woman Consulting. Sara has an insatiable curiosity that has driven her career in many different directions that she’s been able to connect in her freelance work. She primarily works in the STEM space. Sara is also a career coach, primarily for people looking to change industries or disciplines. She hosts LinkedIn sprints to help freelancers and others increase their presence on LinkedIn. She is passionate about incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, access, accessibility,...
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#204: January and February By the Numbers
Deliberate Freelancer
In today’s episode, I recap what my business looked like in January and February. This includes: Why I got a slow start to 2025. Why I’ve been focusing only on current clients and not marketing. How much I earned in January and February. How much I worked in January and February. The number of clients I did and the types of work. How I’m thinking about so-called “low-paying clients.” How I offered two options in a proposal for a new client. What self-care means to me. How I’m playing around with ChatGPT. What I Learned This Week: Goat therapy is...
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#203: Embracing a Fractional Role + Becoming an In-Demand Freelancer, with Matthew Fenton
Deliberate Freelancer
Today’s guest is Matthew Fenton, who lives in Oregon wine country with his wife and two cats. Matthew is the founder of Three Deuce Branding, a one-man consultancy with a simple mission: “to help good people build great brands.” Since 1997, he has helped hundreds of clients — including Fidelity Investments, Wrigley and Valvoline — to achieve what he calls “brand clarity” by better positioning, strategy, and messaging. Matthew also spent seven years in client-side brand management, including two as a chief marketing officer. During that time, he launched White Mystery Airheads and...
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#202: What a $600 Month Taught Alan Heymann
Deliberate Freelancer
Today’s guest is Alan Heymann. Alan is the owner of Peaceful Direction. He is an executive coach and facilitator and is the author of two books on leadership analogies: “Don’t Just Have the Soup” and “Embrace Your Inner Peaches.” Alan is also a faculty member of the Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership. In this episode, we talk about: How we’re dealing with the uncertainty of the world now. The importance of being transparent and vulnerable about our businesses on social media and elsewhere. Why Alan shared on LinkedIn that in...
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#201: My Fave 2024 Books & Most Anticipated 2025 Books
Deliberate Freelancer
On today’s show I discuss my favorite books I read in 2024 and share my most anticipated books of 2025, plus some popular authors coming out with new books this year. A few statistics first. In 2024: I read 67 books. I did not finish (DNF) 16 books. 67% of my books were fiction, with 33% nonfiction. All but one book was for adults; I read one young adult book. I read 21 debuts, or first-time-published authors, which was about 31% of all my books. All my books were physical books. I don’t use an e-reader or listen to audiobooks. Mystery/thriller was my most read genre. Here are the...
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#200: WTF 2025! (Plus, My 2024 Recap)
Deliberate Freelancer
On today’s show I discuss the rough start to 2025 and share my 2024 end-of-year review, which includes: My gross and net income for 2024 My expenses for 2024 My income goals and whether I hit those each quarter How I landed a new client How many hours I worked The importance of vacations, mental health days, spontaneous days off, and staycations A client mistake I made — you would think I’d know better by now! Clients I lost for 2025 What I Learned This Week: Go to for an easy and meaningful way to contact your U.S. congressional representatives and senators to let...
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#199: Struggling? How to Get Clients Now, with Rosanna Campbell
Deliberate Freelancer
Today’s guest is Rosanna Campbell, a freelance content writer who writes “non-boring content” for B2B SaaS clients like Dock, Lattice, and monday.com. She lives in Madrid, Spain, with her husband, son, and their beagle who eats her furniture. Rosanna’s been freelancing for eight years. In this episode, we chat in-depth about six tips she shared in a recent LinkedIn post that helped her get clients when she found herself in a “total, terrible, terrifying scramble.” Rosanna is also consistent on LinkedIn, which we also talk about at the end of the episode. In fact, she is...
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#198: November By the Numbers
Deliberate Freelancer
In today’s episode, I recap what my business looked like in November. This includes: How much I worked in November. Why I got behind and how I dealt with it. The types of work I did and how I charged. My total monthly earnings. Why I offered to help a new client for “free.” What I Learned This Week: How Poet James A. Pearson (and his friend) look at burnout: “” Poet James A. Pearson on The Bookshelf: “” by Alan Bennett Resources: Support Deliberate Freelancer at Episode #194 of Deliberate Freelancer: Episode #62 of Deliberate Freelancer:
info_outlineAs we wrap up 2023, please consider donating $25 to this podcast. With more than 175 episodes and almost five years of content, I’m sure you’ve received at least one nugget of information or tactic that has helped your business. If so, please consider donating at Buy Me a Coffee. It really helps offset the costs of producing this show.
In today’s episode, I’m counting down my top 10 books of the year — 8 were published in 2023. I’ll start with a few of my reading statistics, share my top 10 and a few superlatives, and give you a heads-up about a few books coming out in 2024. Please enjoy, my fellow bookworms!
And join us in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group, where we’ll be talking about our best and worst books of 2023!
I don’t want to spoil where my top 10 books fell in the list, so the following books are ones I recommended during this episode, plus superlatives and upcoming releases.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Nonfiction:
What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator by Barbara Butcher
The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell
Fiction:
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
Go as a River by Shelley Read
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
Falling by T.J. Newman
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
Superlatives:
Most deserving of the hype: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Least deserving of the hype: Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Hyped books that didn’t work for me and that I DNFed: Wellness by Nathan Hill; Shark Heart by Emily Habeck; Upgrade by Blake Crouch; The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon; and In Memoriam by Alice Winn
Most disappointing books: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and What Have We Done by Alex Finlay
WORST book: Silver Alert by Lee Smith
Most unputdownable and tense book: Drowning by T.J. Newman
Romances that made me like romances: Nora Goes Off Script by Annabelle Monaghan; The Last Love Note by Emma Grey; Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
A 2023 book I still want to read: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
My anticipated 2024 books:
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan, publishes January 2
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall, publishes January 23 (mystery/thriller)
Radiant Heat by Sarah-Jane Collins, publishes January 23 (for Jane Harper fans)
The Women by Kristin Hannah, publishes February 6 (about Vietnam war)
A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian, publishes February 20 (mystery/thriller)
Murder Road by Simone St. James, publishes March 5 (mystery/ghost story)
Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner, publishes March 12 (Book 3 in Frankie Elkin mystery series)
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, publishes April 2 (rom-com with magical realism )
Safe and Sound by Laura McHugh, publishes April 23 (mystery/thriller)
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay, publishes May 28 (mystery/thriller)
Resources:
Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
My admin status is back! Join us in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group
Episode #151 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Best Books of 2022
Episode #122 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Best Books of 2021 (and Anticipated 2022 Releases)
Episode #87 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Most Anticipated 2021 Books (and Fave 2020 Books)
Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn