Should You Work as a Co-Writer and Take a Percentage?

by Gus | Dec 1, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films

Sometimes professional writers are offered the opportunity to work as a co-writer. Should you do it, and if so, what the best way to protect yourself should problems develop.

Co-writing can be an ideal arrangement, when you have long been friends or business associates and you both share a passion for the project. Then, you can bounce your creativity off each other and create a great project together.

But what happens when you are approached by someone who thinks they have a great idea, and now they need a writer to make that happen. In many scenarios, this can turn into a paid project where the writer works as a ghostwriter and is paid on a work-for-hire basis, or possibly this can turn into a co-writing agreement when both parties work well together. A

I believe starting with a work-for-hire agreement this is an ideal arrangement when you are approached by someone you don’t know, because you don’t know how well you will work together or if you will share similar ideas for the book or a film project as it develops. This way, if the person with the project has the budget for it, he or she can maintain control of the project, while you write what the person wants. Then, if the relationship works out and you both want this, you can turn the book or film into a shared royalty agreement. One common scenario is for the writer to finish the project at a lower fee, such as less 25-35%, in return for a percentage of the royalty (commonly 50-50) after anything paid up front is deducted.

Often the situation of a shared royalty arrangement from the get-go comes up when the person with the idea, notes, or a rough draft has a limited budget. This shared agreement can work well, if you soon come to share the writer’s vision of what the final project should be and you feel comfortable sharing in the project. Also, you feel the project has a good likelihood of getting sold, so you aren’t giving up the regular income you depend on as a writer in return for something that’s a risky bet.

However, there are a number of cautions to watch out for in co-author arrangements, when you respond to an ad for a writer to be a collaborator or co-writer. One problem is that you may start off thinking this is a shared project, but then the original author becomes controlling and you start to feel like a hired hand, as happened to one writer who was enticed into doing some chapters for a book by a psychologist. She claimed she wanted someone to be a true collaborator and share the authorship and royalties. But then the psychologist turned into a tyrant, who was very critical of what the writer wrote, because she wanted everything expressed a certain way. Eventually, the writer was able to escape the nightmare with a signed work-for-hire agreement and get paid in full for what he had discounted to be a collaborator.

Another problem when you agree to be a co-writer is that the original author has less and less time to contribute to the project or loses interest, because he or she has other commitments. So there isn’t enough information to complete and sell the project, and the writer is stuck with getting less or nothing, because of agreeing to a collaboration. For example, one writer faced this situation after writing situation when the client writing his memoir suddenly decided that he shouldn’t do this book now, because his psychiatrist thought it wasn’t a good idea. Besides, if he did pursue the book at all, he now wanted to have full control of both the book and the possible film based on it. Fortunately in this case, the writer was also able to turn the collaboration into a work-for-hire situation for the work already done and get paid accordingly. But in many cases, a project simply dies at this point, and the writer doesn’t get paid.

The other big problem with a collaboration is that when the project is completed, it may not sell or may only bring in a very small advance which is less than the author would get paid for simply writing the book, proposal, or script as a ghostwriter. Then, if there is a very low or no advance, any future work on the project has to be done essentially on spec.

Thus, given all these potential problems, my usual approach is to start off as a ghostwriter for at least the beginning stages of the project. Then, if the project is in a field I normally write about and we both feel a co-writing arrangement is desirable, we sign a co-writing agreement, and I reduce the total costs on the project by 25% in return for sharing in the proceeds should it sell, and thereafter, the original author is paid back in full for anything paid to me before we share in the royalties 50-50. This kind of deduction before sharing royalties is a typical arrangement, and I have found this kind of approach works best for me.

What’s best for you? I suggest treating each co-writing arrangement on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the topic, how much you like both the project and the author, and the potential for selling the book or film and how much a sale is likely to bring, versus what you would make as a ghostwriter, since normally the most you will earn on most books and films is what you are paid as an advance. Then, too, consider your own income needs and whether you can afford to take a chance on getting less up-front as a co-writer, and whether being a co-writer from the get-go is the only option, because that’s all the original writer can afford.
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GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar/workshop leader, who has published over 50 books on diverse subjects, including business and work relationships, professional and personal development, and social trends. She also writes books, proposals, scripts, articles, blogs, website copy, press releases, and marketing materials for clients as the founder and director of Changemakers Publishing and Writing and as a writer and consultant for The Publishing Connection (www.thepublishingconnection.com). She has been a featured expert guest on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including Good Morning America, Oprah, and CNN, talking about the topics in her books.

Editing & Polishing your Letter, Proposal or Manuscript

by Gus | Oct 30, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films

Whatever you send to an editor or agent, should be perfectly edited and polished – whether it’s an initial query letter, synopsis, proposal, sample chapters, or the complete manuscript, since you will be judged on how you write as well as on your content. And both editors and agents tend to be sticklers for good writing. So if your letter or other material is peppered with errors, you might not get past first base on your way to a writing home run.

If you don’t have the time, interest, or ability to do this fine editing and polishing, hire an editor or ghostwriter. However, don’t explain in your query letter that you hired a professional ghostwriter or had your manuscript professionally edited. This mea culpa sounds like the sign of an amateur, since an underlying assumption of making a submission is that whatever you are submitting has been edited – and it doesn’t matter by who. So don’t call attention to your lack of expertise. It a different situation if the outside writer or editor is a named co-writer or “with” writer. Then, do mention the collaboration, but don’t refer to the editing of the manuscript.

The only time to mention what has or hasn’t been edited is when you are including some edited chapters in the proposal but have additional chapters that haven’t yet been edited. Then, it’s fine to explain this and point out that these unedited chapters will be polished up when you prepare the book for publication — this way you prepare the editor or agent for the drop-off in the quality of the manuscript in the additional chapters compared to those in the proposal. Or you can mention the unedited manuscript when you submit a proposal that doesn’t have any sample chapters and the editor agents requests some chapters or the whole manuscript. There may be a few other exceptions where the editor or agent knows the manuscript isn’t yet fully edited but asks for it anyway, and you send it out unedited in the interests of time. But normally, expect to have your manuscript fully edited and polished when you send it in.

Here are some basic guidelines for doing an effective edit and then correcting the manuscript accordingly.

– Check for spelling and grammar errors and correct them. While Spellcheck or the grammar corrector in your Word program can help point up likely errors, just like a GPS in a car, it isn’t infallible and can steer you wrong. For example, Spellcheck will not identify those cases where you have spelled something correctly, but it’s the wrong word, and Spellcheck will incorrectly claim some proper names or new expressions are wrong because they aren’t in its dictionary. Likewise, the grammar checker can sometimes wrongly suggest there should or shouldn’t be punctuation and may miss many popular shortcuts in modern writing. So, yes, do use Spellcheck and your grammar program if you have these when you edit, but also check the document yourself.

– Unless you have a time deadline or want to edit something as quickly as possible, edit off the computer initially and then enter your corrections. This way, you’ll see the manuscript in a more global, comprehensive way, like an ordinary reader rather viewing it as a linear series of pages on a computer. Doing this off the computer review also enables you to more easily compare pages, such as if you are checking for previously written material that is similar in concept though not written the same way, since a “find” command on a computer won’t pick this up. Then, too, when you can look at the pages off the computer, you can easily move things around if you want to make changes. Later, you can enter all of these edits into the document on the computer.
– Besides looking for the obvious spelling errors, typos, and grammatical mistakes, look for overlong sentences you can break into two or three sentences and any writing that is unclear. As necessary, change any pronouns, whether subjects or objects of sentences, such as he, she, it, and they into the name of a person, company, or character, so it is clear who or what the pronoun refers to. Also, be careful to use the same tense, so you don’t switch suddenly from present to past or vice versa, and check that the singular and plural forms of the subject and verb agree.
– Streamline the manuscript by cutting out any unnecessarily repetition, such as reiterating the same idea in several different ways or duplicating the description of something after the initial introduction.
– Where possible, change any passive constructions to active constructions (such as saying “he did something” rather than saying “something was done to him by,” or saying “a great upheaval occurred” rather than “there was a great upheaval.”
– If you are working with another author or co-writer who is reviewing your manuscript, a good idea is to submit your initial draft for feedback, and explain that you have not edited the material yet. Then, you can incorporate any changes based on this feedback when you do your final edit and polish. This way you don’t edit and polish the manuscript a first time only to have to make changes again after you get this feedback when you do a second edit and polish.
– Finally, recognize the difference between a line or copy editor and a developmental editor or writer doing a rewrite. In the first kind of edit, you are largely looking for the most obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes, plus breaking up overlong sentences and clarifying thoughts. In developmental editing or rewriting, you are not only doing a line edit but revisions and reorganizations, too.

So now happy editing – or if you don’t want to do it yourself, find an editor, and choose the right kind of editor for the amount of editing you need. If you only want line or copy editing, choose an editor who only does that, since your cost will generally be less.

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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, writes frequently about social trends and everyday life. She is the author of over 50 books with major publishers and has published 30 books through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She writes books and proposals for clients and has written and produced over 50 short videos through Changemakers Productions. Her latest books include: TRANSFORMATION: HOW NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY ARE CHANGING YOUR LIFE and THE BATTLE AGAINST INTERNET BOOK PIRACY

Increasing your Creativity To Improve Your Writing

by Gus | Oct 30, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films

People have often asked me, how have you been able to write so much, citing the more than 50 books and over 20 feature scripts I have written? The answer lies in cultivating your creativity, so you can more quickly come up with ideas, select among them to choose the best ones, and then develop and polish them into the final article, book, or script.

To this end, I have used a variety of techniques for increasing creativity, which anyone can learn and practice until they become second nature. It is important to make these techniques a regular practice, so you don’t have to think about them and simply apply them as needed. When this occurs, the techniques essentially become an intuitive part of you – an automatic response whereby you can generate a lot of new ideas and sense which is right to follow up on, through a kind of inner wisdom or knowing.

For me, the process of developing my intuitive inner creativity began when I took a workshop on tapping into one’s intuition or knowing in the late 1960s after I first came to California. In the workshop, we did a visualization in which we imagined a swirl of energy bubbling up from the ground into our bodies and then imagined another code of energy pouring in through our head. Then, we were told to imagine the two energy streams from the earth, which provided grounding, and from the air, which provided expansion, meeting in the middle of our bodies and streaming out into whatever project we were working on to infuse it with this energy. In my case, I imagined the energy pouring out of my hands as I rushed to the typewriter – yes, we once used typewriters in the pre-computer days – and began to write. So initially, that was the image I brought to my typewriter each day as I worked on writing something, and after a while, I didn’t need to see the image anymore. I would just go to the typewriter and write – an approach I continued to use no matter what technology I used for writing – from typing and handwriting to writing on a computer keyboard.

Another thing I learned early on is the secret of separating the creative process from the editing process. In other words, you just write whatever you are thinking about your subject initially, so you get whatever you want to say down and don’t interrupt the flow of ideas. Then, you go back and review your writing as an editor and do a final edit and polish. Importantly, you don’t try to mix the two processes, or you will slow yourself down. If you are writing for someone else, it is important to explain this process, if you are showing them your first draft to get their input. This way, they understand that there may be numerous typos and grammatical errors because of this initial creative process, but you will correct any errors when you do the final polish.

Initially, when I started writing anything, I used an outline, which I either prepared or an editor or client gave to me. But after a while, I found I generally didn’t need a written outline, since it would automatically be there in my mind, and that increased the speed of the creative process even more. Likewise, as you work with these techniques, you will find that many things you doing rationally at first will become part of the intuitive you, so you can come up with ideas and write even more quickly.

Still another technique I learned early on is the power of visualization. That first workshop on visualization laid the groundwork. But then I continued to go to a series of workshops, most of them at Esalen near Big Sur, which was a big center in the 1960s and 1970s for all kinds of personal growth programs. There I learned about altered states of consciousness, shaman journeying, hypnosis, automatic writing, biofeedback, meditation, and other consciousness techniques. I experienced just about any altered consciousness state as a form of visualization, though the imagery which was used to guide these experiences might differ. For example, on a shaman journey, the workshop leader might lead us on a journey through a forest to gain insight from a wise man at a tree; in hypnosis, the guide might lead us down a tunnel, escalator, or count down of numbers; in meditation, the leader might instruct us to focus on a word, chant a mantra, or clear our minds of all thoughts until we experienced a state of exaltation or inner knowing. But for me the feeling or state of consciousness was much the same, as I tried out different types of imagery, after I started with a question or goal for the session, such as what should I write about in a chapter or script. At times, I also worked with a guide who led me to a place where I saw the answer to my question or a story unfold.

Then, applying these techniques, I looked for insights from whatever I was experiencing or learning about to turn it into a book, article, blog, or script. For example, if something negative happened, I would think about what I could learn from that or how I could turn it into an interesting story. If something in the news caught my attention, I would think about how I might incorporate that into something I was already working on or transform it into a new project.

In sum, I used many techniques to become more creative – techniques which anyone can use. These include increasing your powers of visualization, separating the creative/intuitive and the editorial/ analytical process, transforming a formal outline into an organic one which you can see in your mind, and looking to the experiences and events in your life for ideas on what to write about next.

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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, writes frequently about social trends and everyday life. She is the author of over 50 books with major publishers and has published 30 books through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She writes books and proposals for clients and has written and produced over 50 short videos through Changemakers Productions. Her latest books include: TRANSFORMATION: HOW NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY ARE CHANGING YOUR LIFE and THE BATTLE AGAINST INTERNET BOOK PIRACY

What to Say In Your Query Letter for a Novel or Script

by Gus | Oct 30, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films

Besides keeping your query letter short and to the point, having a good subject line, and highlighting our background, PR, and how you plan to support the book, there are certain things to say or not say in your letter. Here are some keys of what to do or not do.

– Describe in brief what the book is about followed by the highlights of the story combined in two or at most three paragraphs with up to 4 or 5 sentences each.
– While you commonly want to leave the reader hanging in the sales copy for a book or poster for a film, you are writing this letter for editors, agents, or producers, who usually want to know what happens. So don’t leave the ending a mystery.
– Include in the subject line a very short statement of what the book or script is about and include its genre or type, such as: “Action/adventure novel (script) about a sea captain who faces down pirates on the high seas.” Avoid using the title itself, especially if a very short title, in the subject line, since the title by itself generally doesn’t indicate what the story is about, such as a book or script called “Montana” or “House in the Trees.”
– Include the title in the first sentence of the body copy, along with the genre and short statement of what the book or script is about, though use different wording from the subject line, such as “MONTANA is an action/suspense thriller about a postmaster who goes missing after the last post office in a small town shuts down, leading to a discovery of hidden secrets and a chase for his killer.” Keep this initial introduction to 1 sentence.
– If relevant, describe how your book or script might have the appeal of other books or films in this genre.
– Instead of starting with “Query…etc.”, start off with the book or scripts genre and/or key selling point, such as another book or script from the author of a previous top seller.
– Keep your description of the story short, highlighting the main characters and plot points. While a more detailed synopsis is commonly about 1 to 1 ½ pages single space (about 400-700 words), this should be at most 2 or 3 paragraphs totaling about 150-200 words. Avoid trying to detail the many twists and turns and characters in the plot. The reader is likely to get lost. If anything important gets left out in condensing the story into 2 to 3 paragraphs, you can later clarify or correct anything when you send in the more detailed synopsis or full manuscript.
– Keep your bio to one paragraph of 5 to 6 sentences, and highlight what is most directly relevant to your book or script, such as previously published novels or books, previously produced scripts, and work that inspired the story. Highlight any publicity you have gotten in the past, any major speaking engagements, and any extensive following in the social media (such as 10,000 or more fans on Facebook and 50,000 or more followers on Twitter. While it might be helpful to include if you are a Ph.D., especially from a prestigious school, don’t list all of your academic credentials, such as getting an M.A. or B.A., and don’t list technical scholarly publications or journals or specialty literary magazines, since this can be a turn-off for editors and agents thinking about a mass market.
– Avoid long explanations about how you how you decided to write this book, how this is your first novel or script, how you have worked with a coach, mentor, or teacher in a class on writing, since this marks you as an amateur.
– Avoid ending with a “thank you for your time in considering this,” since this sounds like begging, rather than submitting a work that may prove very valuable for the editor, agent, or producer.

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GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar/workshop leader, who has published over 50 books on diverse subjects, including business and work relationships, professional and personal development, and social trends. She also writes books, proposals, scripts, articles, blogs, website copy, press releases, and marketing materials for clients as the founder and director of Changemakers Publishing and Writing and as a writer and consultant for The Publishing Connection (www.thepublishingconnection.com). She has been a featured expert guest on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including Good Morning America, Oprah, and CNN, talking about the topics in her books.

How and Why Publishers, Agents, and Films Works

by Gus | Oct 21, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films

Many writers ask why and how Publishers, Agents and Films works, and how they can know if it will work for them.

Publishers, Agents and Films works very well – and has worked well for nearly 12 years, originally as Publishing and Agents – because it helps to directly connect writers to publishers, literary agents, film producers, production companies, film agents and managers, and others in the publishing and film industries. In effect, the service streamlines the process of making this connection by using special software, so the letter comes from each writer’s own email and is sent directly to the particular contact by name. Plus the service helps writers write a good pitch letter, which ironically, many writers can’t do, because this is a marketing letter, and they are doing a different type of writing.

Sometimes writers ask, why can’t I do this myself? Well, if you want to take the time and effort, you can. But it might take you 20 to 40 hours to obtain the industry information to create the database Publishers, Agents and Films has put together from industry sources and doing mailings to test whether the emails are still viable and if the publishing and film professionals are open to contacts from writers. In addition, unless you have purchased your own software or subscription, you have to do these mailings individually to each contact in your mailing, which can take hours. Plus, you have to purchase the directories and industry sources Publishers, Agents and Films obtains to create its databases – which can cost you several hundred dollars. But Publishing, Agents and Films already has created these databases with thousands of contacts, and it has special software so it appears that the email comes directly from each writer. At the same time, each contact is addressed personally, rather than the query appearing like a generic pitch.

Another thing Publishers, Agents and Films does that makes the service successful is that an editor reviews every letter that goes out to make sure it is effective – or the service arranges for a skilled writer to write the letter. Often writers think they can write their own letter; after all, they are a writer. But they commonly make many mistakes – from errors to formatting to not writing a clear, persuasive letter. For example, they don’t include a subject line or their subject line is too vague, general, or filled with sales hype. They provide too much detail about their book, script, or themselves, rather than making their letter short and to the point. Or they don’t provide enough detail, so their description of their book or script is too vague and general, like their subject line. And on and on. So a Publishers, Agents and Films editor reviews every letter, makes some minor editing fixes or tells the writer what to do to create an effective letter. Or they write a good letter for the client.

The effectiveness of this approach is shown by the company’s long history as a business and by the many testimonials it has gotten from writers and others. Even agents have used the company for their clients, and its clients have included a famous director, the grandson of a famous novelist, and many writers who have published multiples books before and are now looking for a new publisher or agent.

As a business, the company’s history goes back to December 2003, when it was first founded, and the first test of the database led to the founder’s own sale of a book to Random House: DO YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR DOG?, which led to numerous reviews and guest appearances, including on Good Morning America. The company was also featured in articles in The Wall Street Journal and The Contra Costa Times, soon after its founding, and it has sent out letters for over 1000 clients, and it has featured over 260 testimonials to the effectiveness of the service on its website. For a time, the founder worked as a consultant and writer when the company was taken over for five years by new owners, and now Publishers, Agents and Films is a successor to this business with the founder as a partner. Under this new ownership, since January 2014, about half of the clients have found agents or publishing deals, and about a dozen of these recent testimonials are featured on the site.

Thus, Publishers, Agents and Films has a proven track record of success.

Another question frequently asked by writers is whether an equerry by the service will work for them; are there any guarantees? That is a question that can’t be answered until the writer sends out a query, because the writer’s success will ultimately depend on the manuscript or script, and not everyone will be successful in the very competitive fields of publishing and film production. So there can’t be any guarantees, because there is no way to know what the result will be in a particular case. On average, though, writers get about 10-30 requests for more information on their book or script, and then about a third of these writers do find agents or publishing deals. In some cases, writers can build up their ability to interest a publisher in their current or next book by self-publishing to build a platform for sales, speaking, and media interest. And Publishers, Agents and Films can help a writer with self-publishing and PR, too.

In sum, Publishers, Agents and Films has a proven ability to help connect writers with publishers, agents, and the film industry, and these connections have led to many success stories, including a few six figure deals for some writers. Given the competitiveness nature of the business, an equery can’t work for every writer. But most writers do get a request from the recipients of their mailings to learn more, and about a third ultimately find agents or get publishing deals – which is a much higher rate of success than for the industry as a whole, since agents, publishers, producers, and production companies get thousands of submissions for the few books or scripts they accept. At the very least, the Publishing Connection streamlines the connection process, so writers can more quickly and efficiently send out their queries and get responses from several hundred or a few thousand contacts in the publishing and film industries.

For more information, you can contact Publishers, Agents, and Films at www.publishersagentsandfilms.com . You can email publishersagents2@yahoo.com, or call (925) 385-0608.
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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, is the author of over 50 books with major publishers, including two on the film industry: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING, PRODUCING, AND DIRECTING A LOW-BUDGET SHORT FILM and FINDING FUNDS FOR YOUR FILM OR TV PROJECT, both published by Hal Leonard. She has written and produced over 50 short films, has written 15 scripts for features, has three other films in preproduction, and has one feature film she wrote and executive produced in post-production for release in November 2014. She also writes scripts for clients, and has several film industry Meetup groups which have meetings to discuss members’ films. She is the Creative Director of Publishers, Agents and Films.