#36 in "Letters from Winnie" Series

In no particular order – the 36th 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.)

2012 Letter from Winnie

"Hi ________,

"Thanks for responding to my post. Your story sounds like an exciting one, and I can understand why you want to bring it to the world. Happy to help you if I can!

As I have skills as an author, editor, ghostwriter, publishing consultant, media-promo-publicity pro, journalist, storyteller, tutor/coach and overall consultant, I really can help you with just about everything to do with a book.

Re: publishing – there are different approaches to that, primarily self-publishing, paying a publishing-services company, or traditional publishing (with a publisher who covers all costs, issues an advance, and handles distribution). ' Trad' acceptance is difficult to achieve, though a strong pitch package can help.

With self-publishing, you might end up paying a few or several thousand $$ for services including editing, book design and formatting. You also may be able to find very affordable designers to help get your book "publish-ready" – and then simply upload it to Amazon, which will then take a major cut of every book sold.

But in either case, one thing that's really important (i.e., to get readers and sales!) is that you already have a strong online presence (with other published work, speeches, media coverage, lots of followers on Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn etc) – and/or that you are willing to do lots of promo to help sell your book.

Your potential book sounds very exciting in and of itself; still, it's competing in a saturated marketplace, and against many authors who are doing crack promo – creative, comprehensive, targeted, diverse and ongoing.

In general, most first-time authors do not make much money from their books (even exciting ones!) – though it's always possible to change that – again, with good promo, with social media, traditional media, influential bloggers, finding opps to speak about your book, etc., etc. Other authors see a book primarily as a tool, to help them in business, etc.

I certainly can help you with all of this – as well as, of course, the actual writing and editing of the book. Most books take six months to a year or more to complete, and might go through a few full drafts – with, usually, lots of research too.

How I actually charge for my services varies. If you want a writer to write your book for you (with your input, of course), that's the most expensive, and usually runs in the thousands of dollars (many professional ghostwriters charge $50,000-$100,000; others, like myself, can do it for somewhat less, but still a healthy fee).

I've done books for around $______ (which also included some publishing help) – and on the low end, I've edited a very short book manuscript for $______. In that case, the author had done his/her own writing and needed some professional help to refine the book. In another instance, I was paid $______ to edit a very long book manuscript (basically 2-3 books in one).

With other jobs, I might be charging an hourly rate (around $____ – though can take that down to $_____ or so if there are lots of hours).

Overall, with a professional, you're looking to spend a few to several thousand $$ for services re: the book you'd like to do. And generally, book ghostwriters and editors are paid in a few or several instalments, with a significant deposit. A friendly, detailed contract/letter of agreement is a good idea, too, and I can prepare one specifically for us.

BTW, it might be a good idea to begin a blog on your book's subject (and if it's published, you should also have a website devoted to it).With a blog, you can begin making your presence and purpose known, build up excitement about the coming book, and connect with potential readers and buyers. And it's so important to begin to envision your book's "place" in a very crowded arena. This is something I can help you with, too.

Overall, I'm quite flexible on working methods and fees (though obviously I want to be paid as a professional :) But I sometimes simply say to clients, "What is your budget, what is your goal, when would you like to have a book out?" etc. (if you do want it out sometime in the foreseeable future, self-publishing is the way to go).

Once I know what the client has to work with, I can then tell him or her what I feel I can do for the budget stated. Sometimes I work as a ghostwriter, sometimes an editor, sometimes a publishing/promo consultant, sometimes a tutor/coach – and often a bit of all of the above!

I do genuinely enjoy every book project I take on, and do my utmost to make it the best possible – and something that will actually have an impact out there!

If you can, let me know whether you think you're looking for help as you write your own story – or are looking for a ghostwriter to write it for you (with your help :)

The second option would involve lots of my "interviewing" you – getting hours and hours of conversation recorded, then using that to begin writing the book. Again, this approach can add up big-time in fees, but is an important part of the process!

"Well, __________, that's a bit about the overall possible book process for you. Standing by to answer questions! Hope all of this interests you, and I look forward to hearing from you..."

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