Do not be put off working for your self by fears of not being paid. I have worked as an independent nurse contractor for the past 6 years and I have had no problems with payments, I also work often with other contractors and they have no problems. Just put in your contract how often you are to be paid. I mostly do every other week with a 10 to 20% charge for late payments . as for the books to guide you, Do not waste your money. Get an accountant to keep track of your business, this is not expensive. It is up to you what type of business you do LLC or other, I would suggest getting started by going to legalzoom.com and begin there. Ian