by Gini Graham-Scott | Jun 16, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books
One of the great things about being a freelancer, is that you can freely choose what projects you work on, what clients you agree to work for, and what your terms and prices will be. You can also freely adjust your writing and payment arrangements to changes in the marketplace and your own ebbs and flows of business.
But at times this freedom can create some problems when prospective clients ask you to make changes in how you usually work with clients or in your usual prices for the different services you provide.
Generally, set your terms based on the market for what you are doing, taking into consideration the going range of prices and your level of experience. If you are new or relatively new to freelance writing, to be more competitive, set your price below the common standard, say 50-90% what others charge. Then, as you get more experience and have testimonials from clients, you can gradually raise your rates. If you have more experience than most other writers in your field, you generally can charge more than the going rate, and you might test out different rates to figure out the best rate to charge. If you repeatedly lose out on jobs because your charges are too much, consider lowering them by about 10-20% or offer a special discount to new clients or during a certain time period when things are slow.
This occasional special is a time-tested strategy that is often used by retail or online marketers pitching a new program. They tell prospective clients: If you act now or within a few hours or days of getting the offer, you can save money. Another variation on this promotional approach is to provide a series of offers with varying terms, such as setting the lowest price for an advance sale or early bird rate, a slightly higher rate for the next time period, an even higher rate after that, and finally a late bird or at the door rate. Some common graduated steps are from free to $5 to $10 to $15 to $20 for events, such as if you are putting on a workshop. Or you might offer an hourly rate of $75, $85, $100, or $125, depending on how much advance notice clients give you to work on their project.
However, be careful in how often you offer a discount off your regular price, since offering too many discounts will undermine your current regular price, and it will seem like the discounted price is your new one. But assuming you are careful in offering a reduced price, a good time to offer this is when things are slow or you are new to an area or organization. For example, if the economy slows down so there are fewer customers or if this is a slow season for your writing business, which often occurs in August and November to December, a reduction in price might help to bring in some clients. Even if they aren’t ready to follow-through with the material for you to work on at the time, give them the reduction if they pay now for a future service.
Another consideration is whether to charge an front retainer, use a pay-as-you-go system with a credit card or PayPal account, or bill after the work is done. Ideally, when you start a project, especially with a new client, get a percentage down. If it’s a small amount and you are writing something as a work for hire, which is common for writing articles, blogs, website copy, marketing materials, and like, get a down-payment upfront or get the whole thing in advance. This way you know the prospective client is serious, and you won’t get stiffed for a small amount that is almost impossible to collect if the client doesn’t pay. Then, it’s ideal to contain with an advance payment you work against or a pay-as-you-go arrangement, where you have a client’s credit card and charge after you complete each segment of the work.
This retainer arrangement is also ideal if you have a longer project, where a contract is common, and then the payments are typically spread out with 10-25% down, a 20-33% payment after you complete the next segment of the work; get paid another amount to reach 67-75% at the next payment point; and you get a further payment to reach 90% to 100% for sending the client the final project, with the final 10% reserved for acceptance. When you sell a book to a publisher, a two payment arrangement is common, such as getting 50% on signing the contract, and the remainder on acceptance (which is better) or publication, although sometimes, there will be a payment when you are half-way through the manuscript.
While larger companies typically send checks in payment, individual clients commonly use credit cards or PayPal. In this case, either a retainer or pay-as-you-go arrangement works well, so you get paid before or immediately after completing the work.
The billing after completing the work arrangement is best when you are working with a larger established company that only pays this way after receiving an invoice, or with an individual client or small organization, where you have already started working together. Otherwise, with individual clients you don’t know, it can be risky to start with a bill and pay arrangement, since you can bill, but the client can easily not pay. If possible, persuade the client to work on a retainer or pay as you go arrangement. If the client is insistent on a bill and pay arrangement or will walk away, assess if you feel this person or company can be trusted. Then, if you feel this is the case, do only a small part of a larger project to make sure the individual or company likes what you are doing and pays you, before you go on. This way you cut down on your losses in case the client decides not to pay – sometimes due to the client’s own business problems because of a slowdown of customers.
In short, you can be flexible in what you charge and how you expect clients to pay you.
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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.
by Gini Graham-Scott | Jun 8, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films
Today, if you are seeking to pitch a book, script, or yourself to get published by a mainstream publisher, sell film rights for a book or a script, find an agent or manager, or get paid speaking engagements, it’s all about platform.
That means you need a solid track record in your field, expert credentials in what you write or speak about, a high-profile in the print and broadcast media, and a large social media following. In short, in today’s media and celebrity driven world, you need to do something to stand out. That typically means doing your own publicity and social media campaign to create a brand for yourself, whether you write books, scripts, or films, or conduct workshops on some topics.
This platform has become especially important to sell both nonfiction and fiction books to mainstream publishers, though these guidelines are equally applicable to any field where you are creating creative content. At one time, publishers would build campaigns around new authors to establish them in the media firmament. But now, with rare exceptions, that is no more. New authors have to bring to the table their own marketing and publicity campaign, and already have key elements of this campaign in place, such as 50,000 or more Twitter followers.
Occasionally, once unknown people break through the media clutter, when they are discovered through a human interest story that goes viral. Then, agents come knocking on their doors to represent them, and they get offers of publishing and films deals based on their life story, as well as requests to speak at big events. They may even get merchandising offers to feature them in a line of products based on their story. But mostly, the already famous, such as Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Angela Jolie, Kim Kardashian, and other household names are the ones who get the deals.
Thus, to stand out yourself, you need to create a powerful platform to get a deal. As Carole Jelen and Michael McAllister write in their book: Build Your Author Platform: The New Rules: A Literary Agent’s Guide to Growing Your Audience in 14 Steps, “An author’s platform is the most powerful key to success in today’s saturated market, and increasingly publishers are demanding that new authors come to them with an existing audience of interested followers. Authors who are self-publishing have an even bigger need to build an engaged audience.” The same might be said for authors who want to sell scripts or film rights to a book, or for speakers seeking to get booked on the paying speaker circuit.
So what are these elements that make a platform today? They include the following:
1) a personal website which features you and your books or other creative endeavors; and today your website should be optimized to be viewed on mobile platforms;
2) a blog to build a community with your readers;
3) a Twitter account and following, which you should build up to the many thousands; preferably 50,000 or more;
4) a presence on Facebook with both a personal page for your personal brand and a page for your book, film, or speaking topics;
5) an author’s profile and following on LinkedIn;
6) speaking engagements, featuring your live personal appearances at organizations and events;
7) articles published through various publications and websites, including on article aggregator sites, such as Huffington Post;
8) radio podcasts and guest appearances;
9) book or script trailers and video blogs on YouTube;
10) a website for each of your books or creative endeavors;
11) an author page on Amazon;
12) book reviews of your books;
13) a celebration launch of your book, film, workshop, or other creative projects.
You should also send out or post regular press releases, such as through one of the PR services, like PRBuzz, PRWeb, PRWire, BusinessWire, Cision, or ExpertClick. Additionally, make yourself available to promote what you have written or created, and let the media know you are an expert in certain areas, so you get called to comment on recent developments in your field. For example, when I wrote a series of books about crime, I was frequently asked to comment on the latest criminal cases in the news; when I wrote several books about relationships in the workplace, I was often called to comment on work issues, such as complaints about bad bosses and office shootings.
If you write a book proposal, feature what you have accomplished in the areas related to your topic and indicate where you already have a following. For example, in my proposals, I note that I am the organizer and assistant organizer of 10 Meetup Groups in L.A. and San Francisco dealing with writing and films that have nearly 10,000 members. Note any business groups you belong to such as a local Chamber of Commerce. Indicate if you have a speaker’s video and provide a link. As relevant, point up your academic credentials, such as if you are writing or speaking about mental illness and have a PhD in psychology or have worked with hundreds of clients. Highlight the most influential media attention you have already gotten from newspapers, magazines, the Internet media, and radio and TV guest appearances and interviews. Also, consider self-publishing a book in your field to help you gain additional credibility and speaker’s engagements.
In short, think of yourself as a celebrity in the making as you create your author’s brand and platform. If you need assistance with any phase of this process, from writing your book or script to getting published, produced, or promoting yourself, Changemakers Publishing and Writing (www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com) and Publishers Agents and Films (www.publishersagentsandfilms.com) can help.
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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, is the author of over 50 books with major publishers, including two on writing and publishing books: FIND PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS AND GET PUBLISHED and SELL YOUR BOOK, SCRIPT, OR COLUMN. She has written and produced over 50 short films, has written 15 scripts for features, and one feature SUICIDE PARTY: SAVE DAVE, which she wrote and executive produced, is scheduled for release in February 2015. She also writes scripts for clients, is Creative Director for Publishers Agents & Films (www.publishersagentsandfilms.com), and has several book and film industry Meetup groups which have meetings to discuss members’ books and films and help them get published or produced.
by Gini Graham-Scott | Jun 2, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books, Marketing Tips - Films
One issue that frequently comes up in workshops or online forums is whether you need a copyright for your film or book. Occasionally people ask if they can use what is sometimes called the “poor man’s copyright,” where you send yourself your material in a sealed envelope, so you can later prove that you wrote it when you did.
First, the “poor man’s copyright” is perfectly useless. It is a myth that makes the rounds from time to time, usually because someone has just heard about it from someone else and wants to find out if it is true. Well, it isn’t. At best it might establish a date of mailing. But there are so many loopholes in that mailing to make a proof of anything problematic. A big problem is that one can easily steam open an envelope or mail an unsealed or empty envelope to oneself, and then put the document in the envelope and seal it up after the unsealed or empty envelope comes back in the mail.
Another misconception is that you need to formally register a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to have a copyright. You actually have a copyright from the date of creation once you write your book, script, article, proposal, or anything else. You are similarly covered by a copyright when you draw something, compose music, record a song, or other creative work and record it in written, visual, or aural form, though you can’t copyright an idea or title. A title might be covered by trademark, if you are using it or intend to use it; but that’s a more complex subject, since you can choose from several dozen categories in which to register a trademark, and you can run into complications when you use a trademark in one geographic area and another person creates the same or similar mark in a different geographic area, depending on what categories you each are claiming. But for all practical purposes, if you write a book, book proposal, script or other written materials, you are dealing with copyright law and the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
So essentially the question you are really asking is: “Should you ‘register’ a copyright?” with the U.S. copyright office. If you are writing a script, there is also a possibility of registering it with the WGA (Writers Guild of America), either in Los Angeles or New York, though most register it in Los Angeles, and some producers and agents/managers may ask you to do this. However, that’s not the same as registering a copyright with the government; a WGA registration is more like just putting it on a list that establishes your date of conception, and then you have to renew the WGA registration every 5 years if you register it in L.A., every 10 years if you register in New York.
By contrast, registering a work with the Copyright Office gives you a registered copyright as of the day of registration. The most efficient and economical way to do this is to register online, which is currently only $35 for an individual copyright, meaning just one item is being copyrighted by one author. If there are more authors or this is a combined registration of different properties, it is $55 to register online. It costs more to go the old fashioned postal mail route — $85 — and it will take 2 months or more to get your registration. Ideally, go through the online system, where you are walked through a step by step process to answer each question about the name of the author, date of registration, and other data. Next, you are directed to pay and upload a file with your material (although you can mail it in instead). Then, your answers are entered into the copyright form which is sent to you in a few months.
The costs can mount up if you have multiple items you want to register, so you might consider whether a copyright is really necessary. Take into consideration the fact that a copyright gives you the right to pursue your rights online or in court, but you have to take actions to enforce your copyright, which can be time consuming and expensive. For example, the most cost effective way of using a registered copyright is to prevent someone else using your material online, such as by sending this information to the offending website owner or to a web hosting company which is hosting a website with your copyrighted material. You just send a take-down notice with evidence of your copyright, and normally the hosting company will take it down if the website owner doesn’t.
However, it is very expensive to take any legal action in court to enforce a copyright, so a registration won’t be of much use if you are seeking compensation from someone who has improperly posted your material online and doesn’t have any money. But if you wait, maybe they will have money or they may arrange for someone else with money to use your material – at which time, you can inform them that you own the copyright and you aren’t giving your permission without a just compensation, whereupon you can negotiate the terms with them if they willing to do anything. Otherwise, you have the basis for taking them to court and claiming statutory damages, which may lead them to drop your material or seek an agreement from you.
In general, given the expense and limitations of a copyright, it is not necessary to register the copyright for a proposal or manuscript. The situation is different if you self-publish a book or if a traditional publisher publishes it and, as is usual, assigns the copyright to you. In this case, the publisher will generally file for the copyright in your name. If not, it is a good idea to file for copyright yourself, especially if you feel the book has a good commercial value for a general audience, since there is more risk of someone using your material or even filing a registration on a copy of your work.
Otherwise, if your work is unpublished, it may not be worth the time and expense, since publishers and agents are unlikely to use your material without you, since publishers generally want you as the author to be front and center to promote your book. And normally there isn’t the kind of money in a published book as there is in a produced film or recorded song. So with a book, unless it just makes you uncomfortable to not register a copyright, I feel it isn’t necessary – especially if you have written many books, because of the high cost involved. Even if you self-publish a book, it may not be necessary to register a copyright, especially if you have published multiple books, so the registration costs are high, since most self-published books average about 150 copies in sales.
So if someone pirates your book, it probably doesn’t matter whether your book’s copyright is registered or not, since it is unlikely you can do much more than send a take-down notice to the multiple sites offering free copies of your book and hope they take it down. If they don’t, it’s not normally cost-effective to try to pursue matters any further.
Likewise, if you write articles it is not necessary to copyright each one, especially when you are making the articles available for free. Just use them for promotional value, though if you combine the articles together into a book and self-publish it, you might get the copyright then.
By contrast, if you complete a script, treatment, or TV series or show proposal, it is a good idea to register a copyright, whether or not you get a WGA listing. Many producers for their own protection will want you to have a registered copyright, and often any NDA document they ask you to sign will have some language about your having only the protection in what you have copyrighted and not in any similar ideas they might have developed in house or obtained from another writer or other party.
Another reason for registering a copyright in the film world is because it is so competitive, and sometimes, if a script reader sees the potential in your idea, it could be shared with others, though it might undergo some further changes in the script. Then you could be out of the loop, although a registered copyright will make it more likely for you to be involved in the project going forward. Or it could lead to a payoff to get your copyrighted material signed over from you.
In sum, in the case of books and articles, it is generally not necessary to get a copyright unless you have high hopes for a large commercial sale or are willing to pursue take-down notices or a court case against someone who copies and sells your book and has the money to collect if you win. But if you write a script, TV show proposal, or treatment, get your material registered, since you will often need it to even get your script considered by producers, agents, managers, or others in the film industry.
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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, is the author of over 50 books with major publishers, including two on writing and publishing books: FIND PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS AND GET PUBLISHED and SELL YOUR BOOK, SCRIPT, OR COLUMN. She has written and produced over 50 short films, has written 15 scripts for features, and has one feature film SUICIDE PARTY: SAVE DAVE, which she wrote and executive produced, scheduled for release in February 2015. She also writes scripts for clients, is Creative Director for Publishers Agents & Films (www.publishersagentsandfilms.com), and has several book and film industry Meetup groups which have meetings to discuss members’ books and films and help them get published or produced.
by Gini Graham-Scott | May 21, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books
A recent trend among some major publishers is creating special imprints where writers pay to get published or asking for a pre-purchase commitment of a minimum number of books. These offers are coming from established companies with a tradition of paying writers an advance as well a royalty, even if it’s a low advance, or in some cases a no-advance offer. But whatever the specifics of the deal, the writer has not had to pay anything or make a purchase commitment.
However, now this pay to play offer has come about because publishing has become much more difficult for what has been traditionally called the “mid-list” book by a relatively unknown author. As a result, so sales have gone down, as have advances. What publishers increasingly want and are willing to pay for with big advances are books by well-known and celebrity authors with a high-profile platform.For example, authors like Hillary Clinton may make millions in advances, plus millions more in sales, while advances for mid-list book authors have commonly shrunk to about a third to a half of what they were. So instead of getting $15,000 to $20,000 for an advance, you may get offered $5000 to $10,000, or even less.
Paying lower and no advances are a matter of market economics and reflect the growing inequality/rich and poor divide throughout society generally. In publishing, too, the very successful high profile authors are getting more – often much more — in today’s celebrity and media driven culture, while other authors are getting less.
At least in low or no-advance scenarios, the writer is simply getting less. But in many instances, publishers are asking writers to be like self-publishers who are paying for their publication by committing to buy a minimum number of books. However, when this publishing is by an imprint of a major house, the publisher still is in control, though the copyright as it has traditionally, remains with the author. The main advantage of this arrangement compared to self-publishing with a company which just prints your book and leaves the marketing up to you is that the imprint is affiliated with the major publisher. So the book is normally distributed through that publisher’s channels, rather than being a print-on-demand or e-book available on your imprint or the imprint of the self-publishing company. Thus, with a pay to play deal with a traditional publisher, you may be more likely to get reviewed and distributed, though you are still paying a hefty amount up front, rather than the publisher paying you – or at least not making you pay for publication.
Commonly, these payment commitments range from about $10,000-50,000, which is a substantial amount – and unless your book sells very well, you are unlikely to make all of that money back or turn a profit. For example, one author was offered a deal from Wiley requiring a commitment for 10,000 books, which would cost at least $50,000 to $100,000 depending on the wholesale purchase price to the author. Three co-authors were initially offered a deal based on buying 3000 books, later negotiated down to 2000 books, at $15 each – a total of $30,000, so even if thought Wiley offered an advance of possibly as much as $5000, the authors would still have to pay $25,000 up front for the books. No wonder they turned down the deal.
A publisher’s rationale for this requirement to pay up front for books is that the publisher expects the author to do programs where they can sell high numbers of books, which will be a win-win for the publisher and writer. But if the writer doesn’t have such a platform, the writer will end up with huge piles of unsold books to be stored away somewhere like a basement or garage. Or maybe the books might make a nice charitable give-away.
Perhaps the main advantage of a pay for books arrangement is getting the credentials and bragging rights of having a book with a major publisher, which might open other doors down the road. But if the book doesn’t sell very well because you aren’t able to do much to support these book sales, this credential might not matter very much in pitching future books to other publishers. In fact, the low sales of a previous book might be a disadvantage in pitching the next book, since major publishers usually do little to promote these mid-list books; they depend on the authors to do much or most of the publicity and promotion, so low sales in the past can be a problem.
At least the publishers with these pay to publish arrangements are commonly still somewhat selective in what they publish, since they want to maintain the quality of their reputation. So they don’t offer these deals to everyone, as do the self-publishing companies who are essentially printers. So there is some selectivity. But you still have to pay.
Thus, be cautious when you are offered such a deal. Ideally, it’s best to get a publisher who will pay you to publish your book or at least offers a no advance arrangement. But if you aren’t able to get such a deal, under some circumstances it might be an advantage to go with a pay to play publisher for the prestige of publishing with a traditional publisher, as long as you understand you may get little or none of your payment back, though there is always the chance of getting more.
On the other hand, if a pay to play deal from a traditional publisher is the only option available to you, it might be worth considering self-publishing under your own or a self-publishing company imprint. These prices can range from nothing if you do it yourself under CreateSpace or Kindle or similar platforms to a few hundred dollars for help using these platforms or to a few thousand dollars from many self-publishing companies who charge more. Just be aware that you will still commonly need to do your own promotion and publicity to call attention to your book if you set up distribution through a self-publishing platform or company. But now with most publishers today, even those who pay, you still need to cover most or all of the publicity and promotion. Unless you are already a very well-known personality or celebrity, that’s the way of the publishing world today.
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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, is the author of over 50 books with major publishers, including two on the writing and publishing books: FIND PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS AND GET PUBLISHED and SELL YOUR BOOK, SCRIPT, OR COLUMN. She has written and produced over 50 short films, has written 15 scripts for features, and has one feature film she wrote and executive produced scheduled for release in February 2015. She also writes scripts for clients, and has several book and film industry Meetup groups which have meetings to discuss members’ books and films. She is the Creative Director for Publishers Agents and Films.
by Gini Graham-Scott | May 12, 2015 | 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 by a client, or this can turn into a co-writing agreement when both parties work well together.
I believe starting with a work-for-hire agreement 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 a similar vision for the book or a film project as it develops. This way, if the person with the project has the budget, 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 start 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 the final project and you feel comfortable sharing in the project. Also, it can work well if the project is in your own field of expertise, and you feel the project has a good likelihood of getting sold, so you aren’t giving up the regular income you depend on in return for something that’s a risky bet.
However, there are a number of cautions to watch out for in co-author arrangements with someone you don’t know well, such as when you respond to an ad for a writer to be a collaborator or co-writer. One problem is that you may start off agreeing that 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. The psychologist 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 got paid in full for what he had discounted to be a collaborator.
Another problem in a co-writer project occurs when the original author has less and less time to contribute to the project or loses interest, because of 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, now if he did pursue the book, he wanted full control of both the book and the possible film based on it. Fortunately in this case, the writer was 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 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 written largely or solely 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. Thereafter, the original author is paid back in full for anything paid to me, before we share in the royalties 50-50. Such a deduction before sharing royalties is a typical arrangement, and I have found this 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, the potential for selling the book or film, and how much a sale is likely to bring. Then, compare that to 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. Additionally, 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 starting this project as a co-writer 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.
