Our Next Free Workshop: July 18

At our inaugural workshop for aspiring ghostwriters in May, the most common questions we heard from the audience were about setting fees and getting paid. That came as no surprise -- figuring out what and how to charge is the biggest challenge for professional ghostwriters, speechwriters and other writers for hire. There’s no universal standard or industry guidebook to follow. And many freelancers feel pressure to keep their fees relatively low to keep work coming in. As a result, even many accomplished pros end up questioning their judgment -- and worse, feeling under-compensated.

So we and our partners at ASJA thought it would be helpful to hold a follow-up session for the broader ghostwriting community focusing on these vexing financial issues. Our panel of pros will share the practical and (often) painful lessons they have learned from years of writing and pricing for others, including rules of thumb and traps to avoid. Among the topics we will cover: benchmarking fees for books, speeches and other projects; figuring out the right negotiating strategy; and the relative benefits of charging by the hour, word, and project.

Leading the discussion will be:

Laurie Lewis
Author, What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants

Ellen Neuborne
Ghostwriter of more than a dozen book projects, creator of the online course “The Writer’s Guide to Ghosting,” ASJA member

Linda Konner
Principal of the Linda Konner Literary Agency; nationally-recognized editor, author, and frequent lecturer at publishing conferences; ASJA member

WHEN
Monday, July 18
6-7:30 p.m.

WHERE:
NYU Journalism Institute
20 Cooper Square, 7th Floor