Tag Archives: CD Baby

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Derek Sivers: The Grand Pursuit

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CD Baby Owner Derek Sivers sold his company this summer for $22 million dollars. Sounds like a massive jackpot for Sivers, doesn’t it? Would it surprise you to learn he didn’t get the payday? He put the $22 million in a charitable trust designed to further music education.

That’s part of something Sivers referenced in his blog post from October 16th. It’s a bit of inspirational writing, but in context of Sivers selling his company–probably worth far more than the $22 million price tag–it speaks on a whole different level.

There’s a lot of talk on FZ, and all over the net, about six-figure freelancing, making money and earning your maximum potential, but when the day is over, the real questions remain. Why am I doing this? Did the 13 hours I put in yesterday put me closer to something meaningful?

I think one of the big traps we freelancers fall into–at least THIS freelancer– is getting on the work-eat-sleep treadmill and forgetting to stop and enjoy life. Sivers seems to have learned how to balance the joy of work, the rewards, and finding time to evaluate the meaning of it all. His website has nothing to with freelance writing, it’s aimed squarely at musicians, but it does speak volumes about the kind of independence and freedom we’re supposed to enjoy as creative types. Call it a reminder to stop and smell the roses, even if it’s just on a coffee break.

advice

Freelance Writing Advice From CD Baby

Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, offers great advice for musicians at his personal site. Most of his topics are aimed squarely at musicians, but I’ve found the benefit of his experience translates quite well into the world of freelance writing.

I’ve got two albums for sale on CD Baby, so I may be a bit biased–but his piece “Never Have a Limit on Your Income” has some great words of wisdom for writers. The major drawback to being a freelancer is that you are only one person and can only take on as much work as you are physically capable of handling in a day, a week, a month.

Seasoned writers know about the power of reprints to bring in what Derek Sivers calls “mailbox money”. Any additional income you don’t have to do additional work to get is an important source of income. New writers are at a serious disadvantage because they don’t have an archive of published clips they can submit as reprints, and the challenge of hanging on to your rights to sell them later can be daunting when you don’t understand the industry well. (We’ll cover THAT topic later).

Are reprints the only way to get mailbox money? Check out what Derek Sivers has to say and you’ll find some fascinating ideas. Not all of them are appropriate for freelance writing, but they can certainly inspire some notions of your own. He certainly has MY wheels turning this morning…