With St. Patty’s Day around the corner, today’s Live By the Book is inspired by The Good Luck Book by Stefan Bechtel and Laurence Stains. From head to toe, from suspenders to bow tie, and from here to the end of the rainbow — it’s oh-so-easy being green! Or, of course, you could just Leprechaun Yourself.

What’s your good luck charm? A four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, a horseshoe, a penny? Tell us in the comments, and you will be entered to win a copy of The Good Luck Book!

Last week, reporter Nate Thayer posted an e-mail chain between an editor at The Atlantic and himself, in which The Atlantic asked if he would be willing to adapt a story he’d written for another outlet for their website, for free, and Thayer declined. The argument behind writing, or doing any kind of freelance work for free, is that it offers good exposure. But as Thayer pointed out, exposure doesn’t pay the bills. For more debate about freelance writing and payment, check out this Branch discussion, this GigaOM response, one writer’s explanation of why she writes for free, Alexis Madrigal’s editor’s view on the whole matter, and a whole lot more ruminations on the subject.  And what does Sara Horowitz, founder of the Freelancers Union and author of The Freelancer’s Bible have to say about working for free?  The answer is “it depends.”

Working for Free: Should You?

When I use a computer to make music, it’s as if I have a partner—one that acts in a very logical way and appears to function like a human brain. The interaction causes a strange relationship. The computer gives me answers quickly and makes no mistakes. If I give it data that doesn’t fit into what it can do, I say: “It doesn’t like that.” Or when it pauses, I tell myself: “It’s thinking.” There is definitely an intellectual challenge to make the computer do what I want. I have to communicate with it in a very specific way.

I use a Fairlight computer to create sounds I can’t get any other way. I can digitize sounds from actual instruments and then modify their waveforms on the screen with a light pen. This doesn’t mean I intend to turn my back on traditional acoustic instruments. I’ll continue to play acoustic as well as electronic keyboards, because every instrument has its own touch, texture and nuance. It’s just that synthesizers and computers are tools for making instruments the likes of which have never been heard before.

Some keyboard players are great performers on a synthesizer, but they don’t know much about programming it. Others are good players and programmers. Thinking in musical terms can help develop your technique for programming computers. A musician thinks in terms of measures and themes; in programming you have to consider lines of code and routines. Of course, having manual dexterity also helps, since a prerequisite for using today’s computers is the ability to key in commands. Someday, though, you’ll be able simply to talk to computers with voice recognition.

In the future I’d like to be able to create music on-line with anyone anywhere in the world. Recently I saw a concert in Vancouver where the musician on stage was playing with two other people in Sydney and Tokyo. The only limitation was the speed of the electrons on-line-the speed of light. There was a slight delay in the audio, and the musicians had to take risks with their playing to stay in sync. But here they were, playing together on three continents! It made me look forward to the day when the electronic cottage will become an electronic bandstand.

—Herbie Hancock on “The Musician/Machine Connection,” from the amazing book Digital Deli, published by Workman in 1984 and now available in full here

Congrats to @jessicahagy, whose new book How to Be Interesting hits stores on March 19th!

If you’re at SXSW today, head on over to the Convention Center to hear Jessica read and get your early signed copy at 5:00.

We’re finally heading into spring and out of cold and flu season. Have you survived the winter without getting sick? If so, hooray! If not, you might want to learn a secret or two from Gene Stone, author of The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick.

As someone who is constantly sick throughout winter, spring, summer, and fall, I’m probably the last person who should be sharing their secret. But believe it or not, I do have a secret to not getting (as) sick: hand sanitizer.

Wait! My secret isn’t to use hand sanitizer, it’s to not use it. The idea was planted in my brain when I first moved to New York City. My friend would compulsively squeeze a drop of Purell into her hands before, during, and after every subway ride we took. At first, I held out my hand every time I saw her reach into her bag, but I quickly stopped using hand sanitizer when we both came down with swine flu in early October.

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Guys! Guys! Hey, you guys! It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for some Wednesday Cute!!!

My Modern Met has assembled a collection of animals and their mini-mes! That’s right: There are animals that are adorable in their own right, accompanied by their adorable, smaller doppelgangers! Folks, we’ve got proof positive of Cute Overload’s Rule of Cuteness #7: A thing, accompanied by a smaller version of that thing, is always cute.

• And a bonus item: From the Huffington Post come these adorable kids’ letters to the Tooth Fairy, in which they express their hopes, their fears—and their desire for more cash. Dream big, kids!

—Avery, who thinks the ultimate pairing would be a tiny turtle with its even tinier turtle twin. 2 cute 2 handle!!!

Are you tempted to stay inside this weekend? To curl up with a good book? Well, you’re in luck, because, after a particularly dreary week, we thought it would be a good time to round up some hibernation fare for you. Oh, my little lambs, hunker down and get these books read, for soon we will be roaring into Spring!

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From a recent Wall Street Journal article:

Create a special account. Don’t delay the inevitable. Create a separate account for the money you will be using to pay your taxes throughout the year. Choose a percentage of your revenue to set aside, and steadily make deposits in the account whenever money arrives.

Simple advice, but very true, and otherwise expressible as: “Do not resort to denial.” For a full breakdown on the tax issue and a sizeable dose of general freelance savvy, check out The Freelancer’s Bible, by Freelancers Union founder Sara Horowitz (“She’s like the history professor who lit a fire in our chests and made us think the world was ours to change.”).

Gah, it’s Valentine’s Day! You have failed to weave a heart-shaped basket. You have failed to plan a four-star dinner. You have failed to jar up some homemade jam and wrap it up with a beautiful bow. You have failed.

We’re not judging. (Note: This box-topper can also be multiplied and arranged into an artful bouquet.)

But all is not lost. There is still time.

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A visual demonstration of what happens when you accept Workman Publishing as your nonexclusive, no-strings-attached Valentine.

Things may get racy.

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