In no particular order – the 33rd piece reflecting correspondence-advice to potential, and very diverse, book/writing-related clients over the years.
(I have reproduced no clients' emails to?me?– and have removed all identifying factors from my own letters to them; also, some letters are composites.)
"...What a convo we had! Thanks so much for further info on your end. Again, this is a huge story (I've seen a lot of the media coverage), an explosive one, and certainly 'deserves' a book! I'd love to be able to help you. I also feel confident I can quickly absorb a lot of the info and documents.
Part of that ability comes from being a longtime freelance journalist, having to work fast with reams of material on hot - or cool -- stories, and in pre-internet days! We knew how to get the goods and put the story out there.
As for basics, here are some of my comments:
- First, re: my pricing and structure:
- With most clients it's an overall-project fee (as opposed to per page or hourly etc.) When I work with a book client, I do so on the basis of a deposit (1/4 to 1/3 of overall-project fee), and the remainder paid when project is halfway done, then completely done.
- As a new client may be feeling unsure about our working together, I am happy to divide the instalment payment into smaller, more frequent segments, e.g, 10 payments (with an advance) throughout the course of our working together.
- And if either of us feel the arrangement is not working out, we're free to go our separate ways. However, I almost always – if possible – will find another writer, or few, who might be more suitable for the project. I've always been generous about sharing resources and opportunities, and try to help a client even if he/she ends up not working with me!
- We should keep in mind the book manuscript may go through further work – and to an extent, that would be covered in the agreed-upon fee, but if you as the author later decided you wanted a completely different kind of book and approach, we'd go back to square one with payment :).
- Like most professional?ghostwriters, I would not want to enter into any arrangement for "part" of the book (i.e., based on future royalties). It's just not fair, and is way too speculative a way to work – and it also means the?ghostwriter?will be tied up with the author for life, having to check their statements,?publisher, bank accounts etc. (and we'd be tied up even beyond life – as, if I died, any of my future agreed-upon earnings for work done might need to be collected, as debts owed, for my "estate" ;)
- Re: self-publishing design etc. Re: your figure of $______ – just wondered about that. Assuming $_____ of that is for __________ (who quoted that fee), you may not need to spend anywhere near the remainder ($_______) on book design, cover, etc.?
- It could be done for very reasonable rates, for less than that, (and I can direct you to some professionals). There are even services that will provide you with several different professional graphic designers' designs for your cover – and you simply choose the one you like best.
- Re: traditional publishing: it's true that the odds and success rate are very low, overall. However, keep in mind that if a traditional?publisher?is interested in your book property, and feels it is marketable, that?publisher?may issue you an advance against royalties. That advance might be $______ – or $________ – or anything in-between.
- For a new author, the 'advance' odds are not the greatest – but you can help improve them by showing evidence of your marketability and platform by having thousands of social-media followers, or other evidence.
- Now, I don't think you have tons of social-media followers – but you do have one helluva story. And another way to help you score with a?publisher?is to put together an exciting, detailed book- proposal package. That would include a few sample chapters + outline/table of contents etc.' – but also author bio and internet presence; media articles and segments; market and marketability report, and promo/publicity plans.?
- E.g., these last two segments could have items like lists of _________ associations (that might be interested in purchasing the book) – also ________ forums and blogs), indication of media to approach for coverage, etc., etc. – all intended to help sell the book and make money for the?publisher?too!
- A book-proposal package can be quite extensive – or fairly simple. I can do either approach. Just want to reiterate – the strength of a good book-proposal package can help convince a?publisher?you and your book are worth their investing in.?
- And obviously, they will know right away how much press coverage your book's subject matter has already had, and that you are well-known because of it. So, it will be different from their considering how to bring an "unknown" author to the public.
- BTW, a good book-proposal package is exactly how I sold a book to a specialty book?publisher?many years ago – I was issued a contract and advance before I had actually begun to write the book itself!?
- I can give you details later (though unfortunately that book?publisher?ultimately went out of business, and he passed away a few years ago. Also, his website domain was taken over by another business. Still, I have a success story to tell in selling a specialized book project to a?publisher?– for an advance, and before I wrote any of the book!
- (Also, though the book?publisher?was a one-man operation, his company's books were distributed and publicized by Firefly Books, a major Canadian?publisher?and distributor).
- BTW, approaching a traditional?publisher?also involves really looking at what they do, book-wise, and why they'd be the right/appropriate?publisher?for you. I can even do some quick initial research for you to determine which might be a good one to approach (if you'd like to tell me the two?publishers who already were interested, I can focus on others).
- And yes, it can take months to hear back from them (and another year or more for the publication pipeline if they do accept the manuscript) – but just keep in mind that there's the possibility of that possibly-significant advance against royalties.
- What will also help is the "social media following" or similar evidence – i.e., if you are able to increase subscribers to your YouTube channel or other "platforms." However,?in your case, most?publishers also will be aware of the wide exposure you've already had (from this very controversial subject and event), and that will certainly help them feel the book would at least be quickly?recognized and known.
- One thing I'd suggest is an ongoing blog, something I could do for you/help you with. (I do that for a few clients.)
- I like your idea of doing a mini-book/quickie version –I actually had one client who did that with her self-published book – she created a preliminary book, the equivalent of two chapters, and called it a "sneak peak." It (and the resulting larger book) was quite nicely designed for a reasonable cost.
- It's possible that if your initial mini-book sells well, a traditional?publisher?might well take notice and want to issue you a good contract with good advance. I can certainly help you in the overall promotion/publicity aspects (of your mini-book or any book) – esp. as I'm both a journalist and a publicist, so have the perspective of both, and many related skills.
- A "sneak peak" little book could be done relatively quickly (for a few/several thousand $$) – while a full-length book generally takes several months to a year or more to write It's another reason professional?ghostwriters and editors may charge what seem like high fees – it's many months work for them...and they usually are not allowed to professionally promote what they've done, i.e., if it has to be confidential).
- However, re: time length: having said that – I did do one quite specialized corporate/govt book in just a few months, for a client who wanted it in time for an important industry conference. I was also able to arrange interior book design for under $1000 (and the cover was arranged by my client).
- We then took the print-ready InDesign file of book interior, and book-cover file, to a specialty instant book-publishing service – which can create a beautiful, professionally-bound book in just minutes. And hey presto, my client very soon had 10 great-looking books to display at his conference.
- There are similar services that can do that, as well as make the book instantly available online, which of course is key here.
- Re: ___________. I can certainly understand why things are so difficult for him (and for you). It would be wonderful if a published book with its royalties could help make life easier for him and his family. Perhaps there's also the possibility of a crowdfunding campaign – I believe it has become more popular and workable for asylum seekers ____ here's one example (Australia), though I personally don't know anything about it:
- https://chuffed.org/academy/articles/detail/against-the-odds-how-libby-and-caroline-crowdfunded-91400-for-people-seeking-asylum
- And here's a list of crowdfunding platforms (some of the ones at the bottom of the page are esp. oriented to charity/good causes:
- https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/which-crowdfunding-platform-is-best-for-your-nonprofit
Well, lots more I could say in this email, but just wanted to add: yes, sure thing, I can write a 3-page sample book prologue for you, based on some of the research I've been doing re: the ________crash, the "whistleblowing," coverup/corruption, your and ________ stories, the wider industry ramifications, etc. I'll work on that this week.
BTW, if you're on LinkedIn (and I believe _____ is) you can see a lot of my writing background and experience there, including to do with books (though some, like the corporate/govt one I'd mentioned, were done under NDA, so can't be shown).
"Hope my email has addressed some of the issues and options for this very important – and I'll say it again – explosive project of yours, and I look forward to hearing from you!"
