I am dropping my hourly rate, you should too

Yep, I'm dropping my hourly rate and I suggest you other freelancers do the same.

I have been considering for a long time whether I should continue to post an hourly fee on my website. To be honest, I'd freak if I saw someone charging $15-$20/hour to edit my stuff. I would quickly think about how many hours I'd have to work at my part-time job in order to pay for that edit....

And, as you know, I'm always trying to maintain a customer focus without undervaluing my services. I mean, honestly, I have THOUSANDS of dollars invested in the knowledge I've acquired. I've spent years studying techniques, reading books, attending writer's conferences and learning how to market.

So I've decided I'm going to drop my hourly rates and simply charge by the package. Look at this from a customer perspective for a minute and see how you react differently to these two statements:

I charge $20 per hour
I charge $25 to do 16 pgs or 4,000 words, whichever is longer.

Obviously it is easier for a person to say "Okay, I'd like you to edit the first chapter of my book, it is 30 pages long so that will be about $50 [actually it would be $40, but you wouldn't know that]." If they go to my website and see $20/hour...AHHHH sticker shock. How many pages does she read an hour. How much will it cost me.

Taking it, again, from the customer's POV it also allows for budgeting. Despite what people may think, I'm not made of money. :-) I have a strict budget and when I need edits I only have a certain amount I can spend. I've had to tell people "Only edit up to $xx"

This applies beyond editing! Consider the power of words and perception. How will it impact your readers? It will depend on where they're coming from.

Now consider your craft, how will characters see things differently based on their position in your book. If you have someone in your book who honestly has NO money, NO credit, NO job, NO NOTHING trying to come up with $25 for a bus trip home might as well be a billion dollars. On the other hand a person living paycheck to paycheck may simply wait for payday. Finally, someone who has savings could go get the money [but maybe they don't want to. Maybe they resent dipping in to savings]

Think about how each person in your book will respond differently to the same scenario. Think of the emotional implications of this. Consider how you can use this understanding of human nature to effectively market.

And if you just got home from conference and an editor or agent wants to see your first chapters, you now know that you can get your first 30-35 pgs edited by me for $40. Just contact me through my website. I can have it done for you by next week.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

Published Authors Invited to Mansfield Conference. Mansfield News Journal

This article appeared in the Mansfield News Journal August 12. 2008

Published Authors Invited to Mansfield Conference

MANSFIELD -- A first-of-its-kind book conference for the mid-Ohio area will take place 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Baku Grotto Hall, 747 S. Main St.

Published authors are invited to attend the day-long conference, said Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter, president of the Mid-Ohio Writers Association of Mansfield, a group organized to encourage writing and give area published authors a forum to discuss their work.

"Local published authors may sell copies of any and all their books. Publishing style doesn't matter: self-published, small press, e-books, POD or national publisher," she said.

Organizers welcome a variety of subject matter and genres in fiction and nonfiction (but no pornography). Authors should order books now in time to participate in the conference.

Keynote speakers at the conference will be Stacy Dittrich, a Richland County sheriff's deputy who is writing her fifth book; and Tiffany Colter, an award-winning author and personal writing career coach from the Toledo area.

Book signings will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

For information, or to participate in the conference as an author, visit www.sandywick.com or call Wickersham-McWhorter at 419-631-7592.

What writers need to think about

Happy Monday!

Well, today is the holiday week so I wanted to make you aware of the Writing Career Coach holiday schedule. I will post today, Tuesday [both here and at Writer's Rest] and Wednesday. I know many of you have vacations planned and time off so if you'd like to be sure you don't miss an issue sign up to receive the blog directly in your mailbox by clicking the sign up link here.

Now, this week I'm going to talk about different ways to be a full-time writer. That will begin on Tuesday with part 1 here, part 2 tuesday at Writer's Rest and Part 3 here on Wednesday.

Today, however, I want to talk about something very important to aspiring writers. That is agents [real and fake]. I thought about this after reading Chip MacGregor's blog yesterday where he talked about the website "Predators and Editors".

I urge you to go to Chip's blog [I have linked to it here] but also keep these tips in mind when you are trying to get your work in front of Editors and agents.

1. Don't pay an editor a reading fee. This is almost always a scam. An agent makes their money by taking a percentage [most agents around 15%] of royalties and advances. Any agent who wants to charge you to read you work either ISN'T an agent or is such a bad one that they can't make a living selling projects.

2. Find out the submission guidelines to publishing houses [and agents] before you send something in. THEN FOLLOW THE RULES!! You don't get points for creativity here. Agents and editors are extremely busy [many are highly overworked] and if your proposal takes them a great deal of extra time then you're already starting off at a disadvantage.

3. Make sure a second set of knowledgeable eyes look things over before you send it in. You want the best possible representation of your work so take the time to let someone else see it first.

4. Accept rejection with professionalism. Some agents may have become cynical after seeing THOUSANDS of bad proposals but I've never met an agent who didn't sincerely desire to help writers. They simply don't have time to work with each aspiring writer. To do so would take needed time away from the clients they represent. You also never know when one person will lead you to the right person. Keep a good attitude, be thankful when an agent is honest with you about the level of your work [getting one rejection from an agent is far better than getting dozens of nasty pieces of "fan mail"]

So take a few moments to check out these sites I mentioned and I'll see you tomorrow.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

Meeting Editors and Agents

Hello!!

Today we're going to talk about meeting editors and agents at a conference. For those of you who are in ACFW you know that this has been a huge topic over the last two weeks. Everyone is talking about who they want to meet, are afraid to meet or have already met.

I take a unique spin on the whole "Editor/Agent" meeting thing. I believe in establishing relationships within the industry. See, becoming a writer isn't all about us. It is about becoming better. I have learned a great deal about writing from simply chatting with agents during conferences.

But there will come the time where you're sitting at a table holding your one sheet in your hand...so nervous that you're about to run out of the room screaming or pass out. So what do you do then.

For me it is no different. I am there to build relationships in the industry. My life and future are not determined by one conversation that lasts less than 5 minutes. Since 15 minutes is not enough time to really sell a project fully I think editor and agents appointments are a great time to learn about the industry.

I suggest that you ask questions, take notes and ask for input. I usually try to have 2-3 projects in the works. Then I ask which that particular editor/agent would most like to see [if either]. Then I ask them what THEY see happening in the industry. Tell them what you've accomplished and ask them how you can make yourself more marketable. Then ask if they'd like to see any of your projects.

If they say no, then you can ask them what would help you better prepare for the next meeting. If they don't represent/publish the genre you write in, ask them if they know others who might like to see something of yours.

Either way, I encourage you to thank them for their time and remain professional. If you didn't get the results you wanted [or hoped for] then take some time in your room to cry, but DON'T make it personal: for you or them. This is a tight knit industry and word travels fast. You badmouth someone and it WILL get back to them.

Remember, editors and agents thrive on finding new and successful authors. They WANT to help you succeed. They are not evil monsters out to "get their cut". Taking the time to learn from them, find out about the industry and what THEY'D like to see can open the opportunity for you at a future conference to get that request.

I hope this week has helped all of you. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask by posting a comment or emailing me through my website.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

Proposals: marketing to editors/agents

Hello again

I hope the post on writing queries was helpful. It is an important skill that will help you move that first step down the path to publication.

So, let's say that you now have received a request for a proposal. After you quit jumping up and down you'll need to figure out what to put in it. This is going to be the piece of information that will not only help you get a requested full but will also be used by an editor if they take your project to the publishing board.

For this reason you want to make a strong showing. Terry Whalin has a GREAT book called "Book Proposals that Sell" and I'd encourage you to get a copy. You can purchase it from his website directly or get a printed copy from the bookstore.

You book proposal will vary based on whether it is fiction or non-fiction but there are some things every good proposal will have:

1. Back cover copy-Okay, true not every book proposal has this but think about it, what makes you buy a book when you go in a bookstore? Do you read the book jacket to find out what it's about? By offering this "enticement" at the beginning of your proposal you hopefully have the attention of the decision maker. Take some time to read the backs of books to get a feel for the style of writing based on your genre.

2. Summary-For a fiction book this will be about 2-3 typed pages [single spaced]. For a non-fiction book this will be a table of contents. The bottom line is, tell what is in this book. And just so you know, this is NOT where you want to say "And if you want to know the rest you'll have to get the book." Editors/agents do not find this cute and they won't ask for it. Tell them the whole story. I'd even suggest giving a brief [few sentences] character sketch of the 2-3 main characters.

3. Market research-Find out what other books are out there. How is yours similar? What sets yours apart? What unique take did you have in this book?

4. Marketing plan-How are you going to sell this book? The bulk of marketing will rest on your shoulders so how are you going to get word out? Give this some thought [and read the archives of this blog for some tips].

5. Sample chapters-You will need to give a sample of your writing. Usually expect 30-40 pages.

So that is the skeleton of proposal. Remember that what is most important is that you do what the publisher/editor asks of you so use this only as a suggestion or a starting point. Then build your own proposal.

Be professional, tailor the proposal to your unique voice [and the tone of the book] and take time doing it. This is your pitch, make it count.

Next time we'll talk about meeting editors and agents at conference. Hope to see you there.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

Queries: Marketing to the agent/editor

Hello everyone,

So how productive were you this past week???

I have to say my week started great. I got up 90 minutes early, I got right to work after my morning cup of coffee and reading. I was well in to my writing before the first child popped out of bed...then one of my little ones got a stomach bug and the rest of the week didn't go so well.

This week I wanted to take a step back and start to look at the basics of marketing-that is to say how to market to an editor/agent. So this week we're going to look at queries, proposals and editor/agent meetings at conference. These are all necessary tools in the writer's toolbox and I hope they will help you as you continue to pursue your dream of publication.

Okay, today we will talk about Queries.

A query letter [or email] is simply a one page letter to get the attention of an editor or agent. This is their first impression of you [possibly their ONLY impression] so make sure you take time to write it well.

Queries are used by both periodical editors and book publishers so taking the time to really get this skill sharpened will be time well spent. The upshot is that once you have your first strong query letter written you can use it as a template for future letters.

You can buy entire books on how to write an effective query letter but I'm going to give you a rough outline here. Then you can customize yours based on what you learn from your own research or the needs of the publishing house.

Introduce what you're going to talk about. This is the first thing you want to do in your query. One trap writers fall in to is making this sound like a business letter. You want your first paragraph to reflect the tone of the magazine/publishing house you're hoping to work with so be interesting.

Next, give a bit more information on the article and then transition in to your bio. You want to keep these paragraphs short and clean so be ready to break the actual article pitch in to two paragraphs if you need to. Make sure you tell them why you're pitching this story to them [is it the theme for that months magazine? Did you just learn they're releasing a new line of sci-fi romances?]

Finally, what qualifies you to write this article or book. This is where you'd want to list relevant publishing experience. If you don't have any then list your educational background. If you have neither of these then tell why you're qualified to speak on this [if it's an article on homeschooling then mention that you homeschool 4 kids, even if you aren't a published author it shows knowledge on the topic.]

And make sure and thank them for their time. [And if it is a query you're mailing in send an SASE-Self-addressed Stamped Envelope]

If you have any questions leave them in the comment box or contact me through my website.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter