From Bunny Slippers to Business Plans
A week ago, I posted here about an invoicing error I had made, mentioning that I was lucky to have covered my ass in the service agreement I had drawn up.
Because I hate to bring up a problem without providing a concrete solution (and because my contract advice probably leaves much to be desired), here is a roundup of sites that offer sample contracts and contract-related advice:
The other week, I agreed to copy edit a manuscript for someone.
When asked for a cost estimate, I used my past experience proofing book manuscripts to figure out how long it would take me to get through a 90-page manuscript. Then, I took that number and multiplied it by my hourly rate.
Three and a half hours into the project, it became clear to me that I had drastically miscalculated. The project could actually cost up to three times more than I had previously projected.
I was mortified.
While I’m always going on and on about this one class I took at New School, there’s another one I took before that — From Pitch to Publish, taught by Cris Beam — at which I learned a very important lesson: You must keep the momentum going.
So as I started receiving my very first rejection letters, I didn’t sulk. Instead, I became a master at not taking it personally, and quickly flipped the pitch.
