Negotiation for Writers, Feb 22
Hello Newsletter Friends!
If you are a writer, sign up for my upcoming Negotiation for Writers class on February 22, hosted by agent and publishing de-mystifier extraordinaire Jane Friedman. If you’re not a writer, tell your writer friends!
For this class, in addition to talking about approach and preparation, I’m adding a section about how to negotiate contracts. Here’s a preview.
Negotiation tip of the month: Make an issue checklist. An issue checklist is a list of important issues that your negotiation needs to address.
When you’re negotiating a contract, you can create an issue checklist by finding examples of similar contracts — Google is your friend — and skimming each one to figure out what issues it covers. Contracts are typically split into short sections. Each section deals with a different issue. For example: the payment section would identify the amount paid and any logistics. It also might include “what-if” scenarios like late payments or kill fees for freelance pieces.
Narrow down the checklist to key issues for you. For each issue, identify your ideal outcome, acceptable outcome, and unacceptable outcome.
Don’t end the negotiation until you’ve addressed all your key issues.
And finally, non-negotiation tip of the month… it’s been a rocky start to 2023 for me, and I’ve been self-soothing with the Chromatic app. Sort colors into harmonious patterns while soft music plays, no points or time limits.
Goodbye for now, Newsletter Friends, and happy end of January!