[stylist] Writers' division Monthly Telephone Gathering - Sunday, the 29th

Tue Sep 24 03:25:04 UTC 2013

Hey you all:

RE: The topic of our September gathering is- the ways you can be Making
money doing a service relating to  writing, and didn't know these niches are
out there 

Over the years, we have heard from writers of poetry, short stories, memoir,
children's  books, technical writing, and more. But hey, there are other
services which are part of the writing process that some of us are ignorant
about their very existence, and some of us have personally found, and by
employing this specialized skill, it is possible to be making money with it.
Who of us in the membership is making some money with a skill relating to
the writing process? Any editors, any specialized  editors in the
membership? Or, how about someone who is writing content for websites? Or,
has gotten paid for a blog? (Bridgit, others(? 

Thus far for our 29th meeting, we have two people lined up to tell us of
their writing related business.  One guy is Corbb O'Connor, from Virginia,
besides the editor of the Virginia Vigilant, he has his own advertising
business. So think of the writing related skills needed for this service.
And, also think of the service Corbb may be  providing to someone who is
marketing their writing? Or, what in principle does he know about marketing
, that we authors who are wanting to market our stuff should  know?

Our second person is Deb Altman, from Lincoln, Nebraska. Below is a short
write up from Deb about her business. 

Hi Robert,

Here's some info about my business.  

I generally call myself a transcriptionist but I don't actually have a
business title.  Most of what I transcribe are recorded interviews that PhD
level students have conducted for their dissertations, but I have also
transcribed some recordings for a few businesses, as well as some videos and
some radio podcasts and shows.  Virtually everything these days is digital,
but there are still some rare occasions when I might transcribe from a CD,
flash drive, or even a cassette.  The majority of the PhD students conducted
what's called qualitative research and are required to interview individuals
or hold focus groups on whatever subject they have chosen to study/research,
and the topic can be most anything.  Most of my projects have consisted of
an average of 30 interviews, however, some have been as few as 10 or less,
and I had one project in which the individual conducted 300 interviews.
Generally they are looking for verbatim transcription though most prefer
that things like ums and us ore omitted.  Once I complete a transcript and
have spell checked it, I email it directly to the person or place it on a
file sharing site such as www.dropbox.com.  I set my own rates and hours and
bill separately for each project.  I charge by the amount of time I spend
transcribing, and not by the length of a recording.  Probably about 60 to
75% of the money I receive is from grants, with the rest being paid directly
by the individuals who contact me.  I would also say that 90-95% of the
people I deal with have found me through word of mouth, though I do have an
ad on one website, but it only generates about the remaining 5-10% of the
business.  Part of what I can also discuss if you like is the type of
software and hardware I use.

I hope that will give you enough information for what you need ahead of
time.  If you have any questions, just let me know.  

Thanks,

Deb

**And so --- if any other member is making some money providing a writing
related service, come share what you are doing. 

Here are the times and numbers for the call:

The time for the call: 8:30 ET, 7:30 CT, 6:30 MT, 5:30 PT 

Phone number to call (a new one):1-(712) 432-0460  

The access code: 568839Pound (The same old code)

Hope you all can make it!

Robert Leslie Newman

Personal Website-

Adjustment To Blindness And Visual impairment

http//www.thoughtprovoker.info

NFB Writers' Division, president

http://www.nfb-writers-division.net 

Chair of the NFB Communications Committee   