Four Fish, the Book

I read Four Fish by Paul Greenberg this week and I learned a lot about sustainability of seafood as well as its costs in money and long term effects. The subtitle is "The Future of the Last Wild Food." He concentrates on salmon, cod, sea bass and tuna but covers others as well, whether raised in the wild or farmed. He tells the pluses and minuses of each. He explains how the international agreements work or don't.

I was surprised at how readable the book was. He writes in an entertaining style full of little stories and anecdotes that make it pleasant to read. He's quite the story teller and I promise you if you read it, you'll never eat another fish without thinking about some of the things he wrote. Don't worry; it's not a scare you type of book. You'll still eat fish but you might choose which ones a little differently. He'll also tell you that that doesn't matter and why it doesn't.

Highly recommended. Thanks, Paul.

A Figment for the Younger Writers

Well, not everyone on there is younger but most are, ranging from middle school to 30 somethings. Lots of people in high school and college show up there to share their writings of all sorts from poetry to novels to get feedback, fans, advice or to just have a creative outlet.

It's a web site called Figment at figment.com. It's free to join. There are quite a few members and it seems to be growing. I recommend checking it out. The reviewers seem to be kind and not abusive but generally say what they think which is what you really need. "Oh, that's nice," doesn't add lots of value. You want to improve your writing.

I may post something there just to see how an old fart's stuff does. I may actually be the oldest member.

Would You Like To Have Your Own Book?

Gulf Shore Writer provides ghost writing services.

One of the hottest items we're seeing now is doing ghost writing for eBooks and print. It's a major credibility builder for you to have your own book. Many people have the knowledge but don't have the time, writing skills or inclination to write their own book. It's a lot of work and takes a lot of time. We can and will do that for you at competitive rates.

How Do We Do Ghost Writing Projects?

The first thing we recommend for a ghost writing project is a meeting to cover what the project is all about, its scope and size, along with significant terms and conditions, including payments and milestones. There is no charge for this meeting. This needs to be face to face if geographically possible, typically in the Atlanta area.

First, we need to determine if the principal and writer feel comfortable working together and how we go about that. If the book is to be of a personal nature, content can be gathered in a number of ways, typically from existing writing or notes, interviews in person or by phone, recordings/transcriptions by the principal, and emails where questions and answers can go back and forth without both parties participating at the same time.

The principal must make a certain amount of time available on a timely basis for interviews and questions if the time frame for the book production is to be maintained. The first discussion is needed for whether to publish as an eBook, as a print on demand or an attempt to find a traditional publisher and/or agent.

What typically happens next is that a scope of work and payment terms gets agreed to and deliverables identified. It proceeds to an outline for the book next, possibly followed by a brief summary of each chapter to be written. Breaking the work into phases like this allows each party to get comfortable with working together and the results being purchased.

These pieces of work are typically paid for by an upfront installment or it may be set up as a monthly retainer in some cases. Also as a possibility, the writer can work strictly by the hour with some monthly guarantee. A typical amount of payment if done by the page is $50 per page for a double spaced manuscript page which would typically contain 250 to 300 words.

If interviews are required, the rate is $50 per hour for that portion. It's highly recommended to use a separate editor for a final draft to submit to a publisher, especially for a traditional agent/publisher. It's never a bad idea to use an editor. Depending upon the specific services rendered, the cost runs around $6-12 per page for this for electronic, hybrid or paper edits.

The fees for the actually publishing itself are not included here as it depends upon a lot of variables including page size, page count, binding type, paper quality, editing costs, cover designs, cover types, if pictures or colors are included on anything but the cover, the quantity to be purchased and the shipping costs of the books, to name the major ones. We can assist with any and all of this if required but it is at an additional cost depending upon the options chosen.

Some eBook types may require additional formatting depending upon the eBook publisher. Not all use the same formats. Once the initial meeting is held, a simple contract will be drawn up specifying payments, deliverables and time frame.

A simple example:

A 250 page book is required with all content stemming from the principal and the writer will take that material and produce the pages.

Ten hours of interviews conducted by the writer at $50/hour = $500.

250 pages of double spaced manuscript pages (approximately 250-300 words/page) at $50/page = $12500.

A final edit is required for print/traditional publishing at $8/page = $2000.

Total cost of manuscript, written, edited and ready for print = $15,000.