Sometimes you have to shout into the darkness. Last week, after I tweeted a semi-joke about newly minted work-from-home telecommuters needing to find a freelance buddy for advice, I realized that I could something useful with myself during this period of anxiety and isolation.

So with the support of my publisher, Take Control Books (Joe and Morgen), and the input of tips all the way through chapter drafts from Take Control authors, TidBITS writers, and social media friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, I wrote a 66-page book that we’re giving away. You can read an excerpt on work-life boundaries and the inevitably of a toddler dancing into view of a videoconference at Fast Company.

(It’s totally free. We’re using the Take Control site to distribute it so people can choose to get updates if we revise the book, or never hear from us again after downloading.)

Take Control of Working from Home Temporarily attempts to give people who have never had to work consistently from home or set aside a place to work advice on getting started. How to set up and equip a space (both with stuff you have and things you could choose to purchase); setting boundaries with family and roommates; what collaborative, security, and videoconferencing software to use; giving yourself a break in the midst of chaos and a new working method; and, if you have kids, juggling the needs of children now at home for weeks or months with your work requirements.

I’m so grateful to Joe and Morgen for providing the editing, productive, and distribution resources, and the couple dozen people who gave their thoughts, which are incorporated in various ways throughout the book.

It’s a rough time, and the only skill I have that can help is writing words. So I wrote a bunch and I hope it will be helpful to everyone who downloads a copy.