The Art of Gig is a three-volume book series about the modern gig economy and the independent consulting life. The first two volumes collect revised and carefully sequenced nonfiction essays from the original newsletter (available in print and Kindle). The stand-alone third volume, The Yakverse Chronicles, which can be read online below, contains the 13-part story cycle of absurdist consulting fiction originally published alongside the nonfiction essays.
Volume 1, Foundations, brings together thirty-two essays on the basics of surviving and thriving as an independent: getting oriented, bootstrapping a practice, managing perceptions, building mental fitness, and sparring with executives.
Volume 2, Superstructures, contains thirty-four essays that look beyond the basics to the wider landscape of free agency: the history and future of the gig economy, creative frames for approaching client work, and ways to manage the consulting psyche over the long haul.
The Yakverse Chronicles is a story cycle of 13 consulting tales that explore the ideas of the first two volumes through absurdist fiction, following a cast of yaks, fellow gigsters, and capricious clients through increasingly surreal engagements. Fun fact: the Yak Collective, which I helped start, takes its name from these stories.
