Fan to Pro: Unlocking Career Insights With Your Hobbies (Review)
I’ve been writing book reviews for a few years now, and my experience is that self-published work is something to run away from as fast as possible. However, now and again, I find a gem among the garbage, and this is one such book.
Steven Savage (full disclosure: I’ve been a subscriber to his blog for some time now) aims this book, as the title suggests, at job seekers who are very involved in their hobbies. Fan To Pro: Unlocking Career Insights With Your Hobbies asks a question most of us don’t even dare think about: How do I turn what I love doing into a money-producing career?
He proceeds to tackle the question with combined optimism and realism:
“First, quitting does nothing–action succeeds. If you can’t do something, build up until you can . . . . Keep trying. Secondly, as long as you don’t quit, that means that others are quitting and giving up while you go on . . . . your novel will make it out because you endure, whereas [someone else] gives up.”
The answers and exercises provided in this book will suit a surprisingly wide swath of fans, from people who create elaborate costumes for fantasy/science-fiction conventions to more mundane types who drool over sports cards and memorabilia. I’ve seen similar exercises in other self-help books, but Steven does a very nice job of tweaking it all to the target audience, with lots of specific examples along the way. For instance:
“if your favorite skill is Sewing (from Cosplay), your Area of Interest is Japanese History, and your Value is Teaching people you could: move your clothing skills to do historical reconstructions for museums (involved in Japanese history) . . . [or] . . . start a business selling handmade Japanese clothing, created in the authentic techniques of the period.”
Towards the end the focus moves to the bugaboos of Networking and References, explaining them in a way that will likely give the most nervous recluse courage to stand up and inch out into those scary arenas. Steven also looks at Relocation, noting that it “is a fact of life . . . if you’re career-minded, there’s a good chance you’ll have to relocate, even if temporarily, at least once in your life.” His suggestions in this chapter make perfect sense to me, and I’m liable to reach for this book next time I have to move, in order to make the process less painful (and I *like* moving every few years). The appendices contain summarized “To do” and “NOT to do” checklists (nice touch, that), advice on brainstorming, a handful of good reading to go on with, and a list of useful web sites.
As for the formatting, I’ll have to perch on the fence–which a reviewer isn’t really supposed to do; we’re supposed to have Opinions. (Too bad, sez me.)
The cover isn’t great; but it’s not bad, either. It’s well-balanced if a little uninteresting–I’ve seen much worse on supposedly professionally published books. The ragged-right justification doesn’t thrill me–but that’s my personal peeve. There are a handful of technical (spelling and such) errors throughout the text–but there again, I’ve seen much worse from professionally published work.
It’s all easily fixable for future editions. Overall, it’s a “clean” read, with very little to distract from the valuable information being offered. I can see this becoming a recurring “What Color Is Your Parachute” type of resource for gamers, geeks and fans, with a new edition coming out every couple of years. It’s well worth picking up for yourself or as a gift; I already have a few people in mind myself.
The author himself boasts an impressive track record of walking away from What I Should Do and jumping feet-first into What I WANT To Do; he runs multiple web sites, notably the popular Seventh Sanctum (“a site of random tools for creativity and more”) and the aforementioned Fan To Pro blog. He regularly speaks at conventions, such as HyperCon and Anime Saint George (both coming up in September), and is available for one on one coaching. His “day job” is Project Manager in Video Game Middleware (full confession: I have no idea what that means), which he says “provides fascinating opportunities you’d rarely get in other Project Manager positions.”
I am very glad I met Steven online, and I am even happier that he was kind enough to send me a copy of his book to review. (Please note: I NEVER, ever, promise a good review. I say what I see, and Steven ran a real risk of my trashing the book unmercifully. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go there!) Fan To Pro: Unlocking Career Insights With Your Hobbies is a great addition to my resource shelf, and I predict I’ll be thumbing through it often, and rarely if ever loaning it out.
The book may be purchased through Lulu here. Or through Steven Savage’s Lulu Store, here. Or even through Amazon, here.
A list of Steve’s web sites:
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