Stand Out!
Stand Out! How to Stop Wasting Your Time on Upwork is the book I wrote myself. As a teenager I had already thought of writing a book someday, but it had never been anything more than an idle thought, and over time I completely forgot about it… Then suddenly the day came when I felt the need to write that book after all!
Exploring title options
Your book title should be clear, create curiosity, expectation, ideally address the pain point and the transformation for your readers. Oh yeah, there’s a lot of pressure to get that book title perfect!
Asking your ideal readers to help you figure out the title can be a good move. And it’s what I did. I posted my three favorite options on LinkedIn and asked people to vote for their favorite or suggest alternatives.
I’m really glad I did ask for other opinions. My favorite title was option A but almost everybody voted for option B or suggested variations of it. So that’s what I went with.
Getting the cover right
We all know the expression “don’t judge a book by its cover”. It’s smart advice but the truth is that a book will be judged by its cover. 😅 And it’s super important to get it right! Multiple ideas for the cover were explored of which you can see a selection below.
The cover on the right seemed perfect to me and I thought I had the final cover! Then I asked some friends for feedback and they didn’t understand what the mice were doing there. They also missed the Upwork logo…
I searched for a way to visualize the element of losing time.
The clock didn’t work out. But I felt the hour glass was really appropriate! Time to fine-tune that idea and let the mice tell a story.
And there it is! Now the little mice are all trapped in the hour glass wasting their time. But one escaped because it stood out!
Now the cover tells a story and it also stands out among its competitors. Here you can see how the cover compares with its competitors.
Custom icons to remind readers to take action
Since this book is about helping freelancers make progress, it’s not enough to simply read it. This is a book that requires action. It’s set up as a conversation, where the reader is invited to think and write down their answers. To guide them in this process, some custom icons were prepared and used throughout the book.
Examples
Plenty of examples, both good and bad to help readers see for themselves why a certain approach works or not.
Reflection
The book encourages readers to pause and reflect. This helps them become aware of what they can do to improve.
Action
It’s all about taking action! The readers will be asked to write down their own solutions and ideas.
A step-by-step approach
This book is set up as a guide with plenty of prompts for the reader. The usage of icons and boxes guides the reader to take action.
Images that support the message
The message of this book is encouraging, optimistic and enthusiastic. It should absolutely not feel boring or overly serious. That is why the content was kept concise and many illustrations were included, featuring the mascot of this story—the grey mouse. This makes the message easy to understand and will encourage readers to read till the end.
More about the book
Landing page on my coaching website with specifics about the book and a link to Amazon.
Amazon page for the book, which is available as ebook, audiobook, paperback and hardcover.
What early readers have said about the book:
“Mixing mindset with practical suggestions, Mariko knows EXACTLY what it takes to succeed on Upwork…and you will too. Highly recommend.”
JAMES NEWELL
Author of Clear Sales Message
“This is the first time ever I’ve read a book in a day, it really was that well written and so much of the content can be applied to many other aspects of business.”
DAVE EDWARD
Business Made Simple
Why did I write this book?
It became clear to me that I have a message that can truly help freelancers be more successful on Upwork. I like teaching and sharing, so obviously it was fun to write this book and I hope it will help many readers.
My other reason for writing this book is that I wanted to experience for myself what it’s like to be an author and everything that is part of it. It’s my wish to help you as an author succeed, so experiencing it all myself seemed like the best way for me to learn what you need.
I know now that even after writing and editing everything, there are many more steps to be taken. I know you’ll get tired in the end and it will seem to take forever to get it all done. I know you’ll need someone by your side to help you push through. That’s who I want to be for you. 😊🙌
