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Friday, May 20, 2011

Know your value

Writing stars, I'm almost done reading a new book by Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe. It's titled Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What You're Worth

This is a great book for women who don't know how to play the money game very well. Mika has been criticized for a lot of things, but I love this book because she's talking about something that women don't like to admit: many of us don't know how to play the game of getting paid. 

Mika comes from a corporate perspective (wish I had this book when I was working 9to5), but it's also great for self-employed writers who must negotiate contracts, book deals, etc. She talks about negotiation strategies, knowing your monetary value, networking, sponsors, and mentors. 

Now, I'm not naive enough to think this is the entire story of getting paid. Still, I think Mika has disclosed a lot in Knowing Your Value. Her book has been an eye opener.

A bonus is that she interviews well-known, powerful, wealthy women who also admit they didn't know the game of getting paid either. Both men and women should read this book and share with their daughters and other young women.

Donna Marie