Nobody tells you the things that you need to know when you embark on writing for a living. In many ways, its like attending the school of hard knocks; you take your lumps, keep it moving and hopefully, derive a lesson from the points where you stumble.
Writing is a very ego driven line of work. The average writer looks for validation whenever he or she can obtain it, and when they get it, it's euphoric. When someone tells you that you are good at what you do, you almost go deaf because that's ultimately what you've been longing to hear. When someone within the industry tells you that you're good, you begin seeing things that you've never thought of before; things like book tours and dollar signs. You begin to think that you're one step closer to living your dream.
And then reality crashes in around you. People begin telling you things like "you're good, but for this price, I can provide this service for you". "I can edit your manuscript but my rate is $$$". "You're good, but you need to be promoted; now if you sign with me for $$$, I can guarantee that your sales will double". And you believe it, but it's not because the person making this pitch to you is so great. It's because you believe that your work is good, and you know that you have to invest in yourself, so you figure, "why not", and you move forward. More often than not, some folks just can't deliver on their promises. They give you "something", but more often than not, it's not what was promised. So what do you do? You really only have two choices; you either give up on your dream, or you keep it moving. And sometimes, that may mean setting yourself up for the next person to come along and tell you, "You know, you're good...but for $$$, I can do X, Y, Z"
It can be maddening and oftentimes frustrating. You cling to the dream that you are good...and there's nothing wrong with that. The challenge is in weeding out who can do what for you in this industry. These are lessons that I've learned the hard way.
Sometimes, the answer is as simple as posing two questions to the person that is pitching you visions of pie in the sky, books on every shelf. Can you provide me with your references and can you give me examples of your work? If they are legitimate, they will be able to give you both...immediately. If they can't then you keep it moving. Thank you but no thank you. Many people will "say" that they can edit your work, but have they ever edited before? What have they themselves written? If they have a company, can you find they're presence on the internet and can if so, can you do any additional research to ensure that they can do what they say?
I realize now that I could have saved myself so much money if I had just bothered to ask those two questions and then did my homework instead of "going deaf" because someone paid me and my work a compliment. There are dream-bandits out here; people that see what you need and then suddenly decide that they can do it for a high price. Sometimes, they genuinely think that they can provide the services they lay claim to and other times they promise something that they knowingly can't deliver. In cases like that, instead of fulfilling their promise to you, they give you "something". This way, they can keep your money and go to sleep at night. They don't feel as if they ripped you off because they delivered you "something"...just not the "something" they promised. And we all know that once money changes hands, people find it difficult to give it back because you aren't satisfied with what they've done.
Be careful whom you reveal your need to. If you ask a friend or associate if they know of anyone that can provide a service that you are in need of and they suddenly offer to do it for you, ask them those two important question: Do you have references and can I see examples of your work? Or better yet, if they are a friend or associate, stick with a die-hard rule of never doing business with friends or associates because you don't want to risk compromising the friendship in case something goes wrong. Ultimately, the choice is yours.
The bottom line is this: Research! Research! Research! Continue to "do you", but make sure that before you sign a contract, make sure that the provider of service can give you what you pay for. It will save you dollars and time in the end.
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