Why I Won't Be Consulted
There are a lot of programs and people out there to tell people what to do in order to be successfully published or to self-publish, how to be a best-selling writer or a fantastic wordsmith. There are plenty of people out there who - for an hourly fee or during one pricey webinar - will tell you what to do to accomplish your dreams. I won't be one of them.
A few months ago I did a little speech at my writer's group about Amazon and self-publishing. It wasn't anything fancy. I won't lie, most of my knowledge came from relentlessly combing the internet for publishing news as a form of procrastination. What can I say? The topic interests me. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that after the talk, several people told me they would pay me to give them the same advice I was handing out for free - and that I should take the money.
I'm not an editor or an agent or a publisher; I've only self-published one measely short story and started a serial novel. I've never been traditionally published. As a consultant, the only advice I could offer would be abstract at best. I'd make suggestions and offer guidance, but nothing I could offer would have measurable, tangible value. For me, there's something predatoryabout asking for money for services that could be likened to well-researched palm reading.
Most people have a story they want to tell and stars in their eyes about what it will be like when they finally catch their big break after telling it. They think of how much better the world will be with their book, of how much money they'll make, of how much respect they could garner, of how good it will feel to finally have the story out of them.
Writing a book is hard enough; publishing it can seem like an insurpassable obstacle to a writer's dreams. Can you blame them for reaching their hands out for help? For paying for said help? I don't, but I wouldn't feel right offering one hand in the guise of assistance, only to be pick-pocketing them with the other - all without being able to push anyone over the publishing obstacle (myself included).
Most writers don't make a living off of their writing, or any money. That means that most consulting work is paid for out of pocket, not out of earnings. Could I justify taking money that might have been better spent on editing or formatting? Could I accept the hours of someone else's hard labor spent just to ask me to help guide them - when I have no real publishing experience?
The answer is a complete and resounding: NO.
I couldn't and I won't. My ethics are clear on this. I could charge, but I could charge for a lot of things of questionable value. That doesn't mean I should.
A few months ago I did a little speech at my writer's group about Amazon and self-publishing. It wasn't anything fancy. I won't lie, most of my knowledge came from relentlessly combing the internet for publishing news as a form of procrastination. What can I say? The topic interests me. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that after the talk, several people told me they would pay me to give them the same advice I was handing out for free - and that I should take the money.
I'm not an editor or an agent or a publisher; I've only self-published one measely short story and started a serial novel. I've never been traditionally published. As a consultant, the only advice I could offer would be abstract at best. I'd make suggestions and offer guidance, but nothing I could offer would have measurable, tangible value. For me, there's something predatoryabout asking for money for services that could be likened to well-researched palm reading.
Most people have a story they want to tell and stars in their eyes about what it will be like when they finally catch their big break after telling it. They think of how much better the world will be with their book, of how much money they'll make, of how much respect they could garner, of how good it will feel to finally have the story out of them.
Writing a book is hard enough; publishing it can seem like an insurpassable obstacle to a writer's dreams. Can you blame them for reaching their hands out for help? For paying for said help? I don't, but I wouldn't feel right offering one hand in the guise of assistance, only to be pick-pocketing them with the other - all without being able to push anyone over the publishing obstacle (myself included).
Most writers don't make a living off of their writing, or any money. That means that most consulting work is paid for out of pocket, not out of earnings. Could I justify taking money that might have been better spent on editing or formatting? Could I accept the hours of someone else's hard labor spent just to ask me to help guide them - when I have no real publishing experience?
The answer is a complete and resounding: NO.
I couldn't and I won't. My ethics are clear on this. I could charge, but I could charge for a lot of things of questionable value. That doesn't mean I should.
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