FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Writing a single article or series of articles is pretty straight forward, usually paid by an hourly rate or word count. When it comes to populating a website with content or writing eBooks, pricing becomes more complicated. If an eBook is more about structure and presentation, hourly rates and/or word counts apply. However, if the eBook requires a grasp of the subject matter, problem solving, finding creative solutions, and/or is meant to persuade, this requires the ability to conceptualize. Such an eBook requires vision. Experience, creativity and vision become criteria in the negotiation of fees. Also, an eBook will most likely require research. I'm a big fan of citing sources and many clients don't realize the time and skill involved in finding the right sources and then drilling down into those sources to find what helps give the eBook credibility. With a website, it takes tremendous creative talent to come up with a single phrase or slogan, which can have far greater impact than a string of eBooks. Slogans can brand a site, product or service. It takes wit and cleverness to come up with catch-phrases, and those words must fit the site, product or service like a tight glove. Slogans, taglines, catch-phrases, logos and titles require creativity and time, with an emphasis on creativity. Such writing can be accomplished in minutes or days. Some ideas are born spontaneously while others need to bake in the oven longer, so to speak. Still, some ideas are like seeds and take considerably longer to grow, develop and reach fruition (screenplays, novels, textbooks, etc.). With websites is also not just the words but understanding information architecture. Having designed my own website proves invaluable in knowing not just what words to use but where to use them and how to use them (keywords, SEO, eye-candy). Websites contain real estate and real estate is precious. A box here or a block quote there takes up space with impact based on what page or post contains the writing and/or web object. So, for both eBooks and websites, the work is not just stringing together words but also being able to conceptualize; being able to see the bigger picture. It takes vision and creativity as well as skill. I may charge a higher fee but the ROI is worth it not just in the here and now but into the future. All of the above can be put in terms of hourly rates, word count, or fee per task and/or challenge. What works best for the client is the most preferred method of payment.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Absolutely. Writing is learning while doing. Writing is not a static skill but an constantly evolving one. Quite simply, the more you write the better you get at it. The Internet opened up an entirely new distribution channel and new means of expression with a whole new set of rules. Those rules revolve around a more global audience and always writing with SEO and social media in mind. There are far many more writers online than there were in the terrestrial realm, and many of these writers are taking insight and vision to new heights. In addition to learning through writing, I'm also pursuing a 2nd Masters, Music for New Media, Academy of Art, San Francisco (an online program). I currently have a Masters in Liberal Studies and a self-designed BS in Songwriting, both degrees from the University of Minnesota. I'm a returning adult student.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
My first foray into writing was through my journal. Journals are powerful ways to develop style, explore new ideas and methods, and especially critical in learning the difference between what to write and what not to write based on a given audience. A journal stretches the imagination. And of course, it's also a way to manage practical matters of writing, like documenting facts, figures and dates and especially capturing those great ideas that are so easy to forget. The next area of writing was songwriting. Songwriting took me into an entirely new world of expression. Form and structure and how words matched melodies involve strict guidelines. while journals are open-ended, songwriting involves creating content within a set structure and with a defined purpose. Songwriting is far more than just putting words to music or learning how to find clever rhymes. Songwriting is storytelling. And oddly enough, based on the the number one rule in writing--be concise--songwriting teaches you how to be concise. Writing for a newspaper was the next experiment in writing and is also based on structure, word count and intent. Newspaper, magazine and writing online gave me the opportunity to say things in narrative form, where logic and reason play an important role in what you say and how you say it. Fiction and non-fiction are two sides of the same coin: A quest for truth, understanding, communicating and sharing a vision.