Acting as a book coach

Greenwolf103 · Jan 2, 2009

I have been approached to help someone who wants to author a book. She asked me because of my background in writing about her book's topic. Essentially, I'll be helping her turn her idea into a book, structure it, edit/revise material, research, interview sources and help her land a contract with a publisher. (This will include helping her with the book proposal.)

This will be the first time EVER I have done this kind of thing and I'm definitely raring to go at it. I'm excited about this subject and eager to be attached to this book in this way.

My question is, what kind of a contract should we have between us? Can I get a sample contract somewhere, or does it need to be put together by a literary attorney?

Also, what sort of fee should I charge? Because I will be devoting at least 6 months to this project, without writing up other books, I definitely feel I should receive compensation. Especially since there are extras involved. Yet, because it's my first time, I don't want to charge too high of a fee. What is the minimum amount charged for this kind of work?

Any advice, suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

MarkEsq · Jan 2, 2009

You will need a collaboration agreement. I had two agents offer me representation for my book, and the first thing they both wanted to know was whether I had one in place with my subject (it's a bio). The agreement is something my agent's lawyer is preparing but it sounds like you are going to do a lot of work up front and so I strongly recommend you have one in place asap. Any decent literary attorney can knock you one up, and if you PM me I can put you in touch with someone. He's in Texas but he's a colleague and he'll be looking over mine when I get it.

I think it's so crucial because it deals with those expectations up front and clears the path for you to concentrate on writing the book. As far as what you charge, you can do it any way you want, either a fee or a portion of the advance/royalties. Obviously, the latter depends on it being published so only you can gauge the likelihood of that at this point.

PM me if you have questions!

Mark

escritora · Jan 2, 2009

I researched this the other day and came across a sample agreement: http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/writers_resources/contracts/collaboration.pdf

It obviously has to be modified to meet your needs, but you may find it helpful.

scope · Jan 2, 2009

Are you going to be involved in the actual writing of the first draft? You say that the person with the idea wants to be the author? Has he or she ever written a book or article before, and if so, was it published? Sounds like you have a very large job on your hands.

Greenwolf103 · Jan 3, 2009

scope said:
Are you going to be involved in the actual writing of the first draft? You say that the person with the idea wants to be the author? Has he or she ever written a book or article before, and if so, was it published? Sounds like you have a very large job on your hands.

Yes, it is a large job. I'll basically be taking any and all material she writes up, editing and organizing everything and turning it into a book. I'll be involved with it from first draft to contract. I'll be helping her with her proposal as well as finding publishers for it. The whole nine yards and she will be the author. It will be her book, but I'll be helping her to turn her ideas into the book. Which is why I feel I should be compensated financially, especially since I'll be attached to it for a minimum of 6 months. I know time flies but there's a lot of work involved. I just want to be fair.

Mark, you are awesome for offering to give me info about the literary attorney. Thank you.

I will definitely PM you for more info.

scope · Jan 3, 2009

It sounds as if this project will completely consume you for at least six months, probably more. Also, while she has the idea, I get the notion that she doesn't know how to write a book and that EVERYTHING will fall on your shoulders. I don't know why I feel that way, I just do. If I'm right you must ask yourself if this is something you really and truly want to do (it sounds like you do). That is, "here's an idea, write a book about it and do everything and anything required to see that it gets published."

Talking it over with a literary attorney is a good idea, but in the end you have to put a dollar value on ALL you need to do for six months (at a minimum) and your apparent lack of time to earn any other money during that period. It seems as if you possess the knowledge and know-how that's required, and objectively that shouldn't be undervalued (unless you have some personal reason to do so.)

Lauri B · Jan 3, 2009

Dawn,
I'm going to be the one to say this: don't do it. Why would you do all the work to get a book published for someone else? You're doing all the work--in fact, you are the author of this book. So why not get credit for it? Whatever you charge this person isn't going to come close to compensating you for your time and effort, and whatever you do charge is going to sound like too much for that person. If that person can't write a book--any part of the book--on her own, why should she be trying to? I never understand this kind of situation. My advice is either to walk away. If you just can't do that, then I would ask for a *lot* of money to do the job. It's going to take a huge amount of work (I've done it) and time, and all that work and time you could spend writing your own books. And there is always the (good) chance that the book won't get picked up by a publisher and you won't see any royalties for all of your work.

Sorry to be a downer, but this kind of arrangement goes sour far more often than not.

Greenwolf103 · Jan 4, 2009

Thank you SO MUCH for all of the input on this. It helped a lot.

Lauri, I agree with what you are saying. When I do a book, I totally throw myself into it and that can be a little draining at times. I was struggling with this, though, because on one hand, I was attached to the book's subject, I have wanted to do a project like this (ghostwriting), but didn't want to look "greedy" in asking for a reasonable fee. (I know it's not about greed, it's the quality of work you receive for that money, but the greed monster still made me feel guilty). On the other hand, I didn't want to do something HUGE for such little pay (again, touching on value here), and I also knew that by committing to it, I'd be missing out on bigger and better things those 6 months or so I can't do them.

However, I got an email from the writer. After discussions with her, she's going to go with me just editing the book and the fee she'll pay for that is the standard rate for my experience. So I'm happy about that. I'll be able to be a part of her book project in some way all the same and be paid the right amount for that work, too.

Acting as a book coach

Greenwolf103

I'm a grrrl dog, yo

MarkEsq

Clever title pending.

escritora

.

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

Greenwolf103

I'm a grrrl dog, yo

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

Greenwolf103

I'm a grrrl dog, yo