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.
by Gus | Nov 30, 2014 | Press Releases
Dear ********:
Publishers, Agents & Films www.publishersagentsandfilms.com has now launched new programs to help writers and filmmakers find publishers, agents, and film industry connection to get books publishers and films produced and distributed. The Meetup Group featuring workshops and seminars is launching in the San Francisco Bay Area and then plans to go national with coordinators in other major U.S. cities. The Facebook group is designed to provide tips and techniques for writers and filmmakers, along with a forum to share tips and leads.
Publishers, Agents & Films, which is sponsoring the group, is devoted to helping writers find publishers, agents, film producers, and distributors, or successfully self-publish their books. It helps with making connections with the media too with the help of an L.A. PR firm. The company, which has over 260 testimonials from clients on its website, has a unique way to make connections by sending out emails through the writer’s own email, using a special software to send out a personalized query to editors, agents, and producers interested in that type of project.
Now, 11 years old, the company started in 2004 as Publishers and Agents by multi-published author, Gini Graham Scott, and it got its big break when it was featured in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, CONTRA COSTA TIMES, and other publications for its unique method of helping writers make connections by email. Since it’s relaunch in 2014, half of its 30 new clients have found agents or inked publishing deal. It has even gotten clients from as far away as Australia and Indonesia.
To celebrate its relaunch, the company is offering a 10% discount to new clients through December.
For more details, please visit the website at www.publishersagentsandfilms.com, and you can call (925) 385-0608.
Nancy Parker
Changemakers Publishing and Writing
Publishers Agents and Films
Lafayette, California
(925) 385-0608
changemakerspublishing@gmail.com
by Gus | Nov 25, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books
A big issue for many writers is what to do after you get a publishing or job offer. What if the publisher or employer has a tight deadline, and to make the deadline you have to start writing before you get a payment or get a signed contract? Should you get started and risk not getting paid or not getting the contract? Or should you wait, which could mean losing the job or the contract?
The answer is, as they say in the law, it depends. What to do depends on such factors as how much money is at stake, how much work you have to put in before the promised payment or contract arrives, and how solid and trustworthy the individual or a company is that you will work for. Then, too, there is consideration that the person hiring you could change his or her mind or the possibility that the client is a subcontractor for a client, so if the ultimate client doesn’t pay or changes his or her mind, you could be unpaid for any work you do before you receive any payment on the project.
I began thinking about this issue after I was hired by a client who was putting together a book and website for another client. Initially, this subcontractor just wanted a book and wanted a proposed fee for doing the whole project. But after I bid and got the job, the subcontractor said he wanted a website included, too. But not wanting to lose the job, I didn’t say anything about the change, figuring the website write-up would only take a few hours. Then, since he had a short deadline on the website copy and his staff couldn’t send the contract and check until the following Monday, I agreed to start on Friday. In making this decision, I even turned down an offer for a credit card payment, since Master Card would take 4%. But after I edited a Frequently Asked Questions section and got the go-ahead to do more, I found the instructions about the website copy unclear, and after I turned in a few pages for feedback, the subcontractor called to cancel the contract for both the book and the website, saying he didn’t have time to do any more reviews and no longer wanted me to do the book, so he wouldn’t be sending the contract or advance check. But I had already spent about 5 hours unpaid on the project. At first, he tried to get out of paying me, though ultimately he agreed to pay, saying my offer to accept $500 for the work I had done “sounded good,” though later he sent me a check marked “In protest.” After it went through, I decided it best not to respond to explain anything. “He’s just messing with you,” another writer told me. But the incident got me thinking about payments and contracts generally.
I’ve worked with dozens of publishers where it can take several weeks or even a month or two to get a finalized contract, and then the payment often doesn’t arrive until 30 to 45 days after that. But the deadline for submitting the copy means I need to start writing it before the contract arrives. But whenever this has happened, my experience has been that the contract does arrive and so does the payment. In some cases, where the publisher has a no-advance contract, which means no payment until several months after the book is successfully published and generates sales, the book has almost always been published and eventually I have gotten royalties. So with established publishers, working before the contract or payment arrives has usually been fine.
I and other writers have also generally had success in getting paid after doing some work or completing a project with larger, established companies. Commonly, they hire a number of writers, as well as other employees and contractors, and have a policy in which writers do the work and submit a bill to get paid – generally within 10 to 30 days. Usually there is an agreement describing what is to be written, sometimes called the “deliverable,” and the writing usually begins after getting the contract, with the payment following within a short time after delivering the work.
However, when it comes to writing for individual clients or small companies, that’s when problems arise, and there can be little recourse if the individual or company doesn’t pay, especially when they are located in another state, or worse, another country. It takes time and effort to go to small claims court, and you can’t use small claims court for an out-of state or out-of country client, plus you can encounter many difficulties in trying to collect even with a judgment from a debtor who doesn’t want to pay.
Thus, I have come to realize that in working with private individuals or small companies, it is best to either get a retainer or set up a pay-as-you-go arrangement using a credit card. Then, whether or not you are getting a contract too, don’t do any work until you are paid in advance. Clients may express a concern about paying you and then not getting the work, but they have an easy way to complain and get a refund if this is the case, by appealing to their credit card company or to PayPal. But if you aren’t paid, you don’t have the option. You have to depend on the client’s willingness to pay.
It may be fine to arrange for a payment by check, credit card, or PayPal after you do the work once you have established an ongoing trusting relationship with a client. But until then, initially, it is better to get paid before or at the time you do the work, however the client wants to pay (check, credit card, PayPal, or even cash). As one writer associate put it, “I don’t put pen to paper until I am paid up-front and receive any signed contract that’s required for the project. And if the client has a tight deadline making it difficult to get me the payment or contract, then that’s the client’s problem. He or she should do better planning. I simply won’t write anything until I have at least a partial deposit or retainer up front.”
So that’s my recommendation. Use a “pay to play” approach in dealing with individuals and small companies, and try to get this arrangement with larger companies if you can, but if not, take the chance they will be good for the money, if they pay after you do some or all of the writing. You may lose out on some writing assignments from individuals and small companies as a result. But you will save yourself a lot of problems from clients who don’t pay after you have done the work.
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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 Gus | Nov 9, 2014 | Press Releases
Though it’s harder than ever to get published today, Publishers, Agents & Films www.publishersagentsandfilms.com has scored over 260 testimonials from clients who have been looking for a way in. The company has developed a unique formula for making the connections by using the writer’s own email and special software to send out a personalized query to editors, agents, and producers interested in that type of project. The company also helps authors write book proposals, film scripts, write and publish their own books, and promote their books to the media.
The service has an 11 year history to when it started in 2004 as Publishers and Agents by multi-published author, Gini Graham Scott, and it got its big boost when it was featured in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, CONTRA COSTA TIMES, and other publications as a unique way for writers to make these connections by email.
After selling the company in 2008, Scott has recently acquired the rights to run the company again, after the new owners decided to go out of business a year ago. So now the company has a brand new website which features several dozen book covers that clients sold, along with over 260 testimonials. Since it’s relaunch, about half of its 30 new clients have found agents or inked deals with publishers.
Most recently Scott used a mailing to sell 10 books of her own and for two clients. Since this service has recently been relaunched, there’s a 10% discount to new clients; or a 10% referral fee plus 5% to the person referred.
For more details, please visit the website at www.publishersagentsandfilms.com, and you can call (925) 385-0608.
Gini Graham Scott
Changemakers Publishing and Writing
Publishers Agents and Films
Lafayette, California
(925) 385-0608
changemakerspublishing@gmail.com
by Gus | Oct 30, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips - Books
When you are searching for a publisher for your book, it is important to not only target publishers who are interested in your type of book but the specific editors who handle that subject. The way to do this is by using keywords, such as “historical,” “relationships,” “ self-help,” and so forth, although this is not a perfect science, since these searches will pull up some editors who still don’t handle that particular type of book within the category selected. But at least, this kind of search for publishers will help to narrow the field.
When you do this search, there are a number of sources you can use, such as the Writers Market directories that come out annually, the Literary Marketplace, which has an online database of publishers, the Publishers Marketplace, or some companies that sell data. However, using such sources of information can be expensive and time consuming – and some data can be out of date.
For example, the Writers Market directors for publishers, agents, and children’s publishers and agents which come out in September for the following year are about $25 each, but because of the delay in publishing and distribution, some of the contact information may have already changed or some companies may be out of business. There is an online directory you can access after buying a book, but you have to do individual searches, and some of the information may not have been updated.
In the case of Literary Marketplace, you need a paid subscription to get more than a physical address, and the cost is $25 for a week, $399 for a year; and Publishers Marketplace has a subscription fee of $25 a year. The other companies that sell data have other fees, and typically they only sell you a portion of their total database or allow you to send queries to a limited number of publishers who you have selected from their database.
But even if you have a direct access to the data, you have to then select the publishers to contact individually and create a mailing list or database from that, and then you have to do individual mailings unless you create your own database for multiple mailings.
By contrast, a company like The Publishing Connection has already bought the books and subscriptions has created a database with keyword codes to indicate what a publisher is interested in, do their own mailings every 4 to 6 weeks, to update their database of publishers with the latest information, and can do targeted mailings for you within a day of getting your final letter. Plus the company uses special software to personalize an email to the selected contacts and use anyone’s email for the “send” and “reply” addresses, so any interested editors and publishers think you have written personally to them and reply directly to you. So the big advantage is that you don’t have the time and expense of creating the contact list in the first place and then you can quickly send out your personalized query letter to several hundred editors within minutes – not the usual days it might take you if you send out individual queries.
Also, consider the letter you send out. It has to be written well and have a compelling and specific subject line to get recipients to open the letter, and often writers who might be great in writing their books don’t know how to write a good query letter. Some common errors are that it’s too detailed or too vague, uses sales or PR hype so it sounds too promotion, or otherwise does quickly convey what the book is about and offer to send more information (such as a synopsis, proposal with sample chapters, or the complete manuscript). Then, too, some writers put in information that is a deal breaker, such as describing a self-published book, which most publishers won’t consider, unless it has had strong sales of thousands of books. Thus, it can be extremely effective to work with a company with experienced writers who can review your letter and make any suggestions for rewriting if necessary or can write your letter for you.
Finally, think about the stats for sending out your letters. How many letters are actually delivered? How many are opened? The Publishing Connection has started keeping such stats after sending out about 5000 queries, and has found that for book publishers, about 90-95% of the queries are delivered, and about 75% are opened, with no unsubscribes or spam reports, and a very small .20% bounce rate, because of the regular updates.
For more information on selecting publishers, along with writing an effective query letter, you can contact The Publishing Connection at www.thepublishingconnection.com. You can email hipshire@thepublishingconnection.com, or call (415) 358-1601.
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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 a writer and consultant for The Publishing Connection.
