On Jacob Cass’s “Just Creative Design” blog there’s a
half-hour video of famous web designer Paul Boag talking about how to get
clients to say yes to your designs, as well as a link to the slides Boag used
to illustrate his talk. I found
that a number of his points apply to free-lance writers as well, notably:
- we treat editors and publishers and producers like royalty and see ourselves as
the servants
- we need to develop a peer to peer mentality
- we are experts and need to get them to see us that way
Boag’s suggestions for achieving this include:
- be positive
- manage feedback—if there’s a problem, get them to be specific
- talk their language
The comparison is not a perfect fit, but I think the key point is that we have to stop approaching editors and publishers and agents (before they’ve signed us) like they’re God. They’re not. They’re people who are going to make money from the products we provide. If we respect ourselves, our talent, and our skills, we will approach them as peers and insist on being treated the same way.
Yes, this sometimes means walking away but in the long run it’s the only way forward. I've had two experiences like this with TV series.
In the first one, I saw it through all the to its final destruction by the director (and the resulting poor ratings and cancellation) because I'd created it and couldn't stand abandoning my baby.
In the second, I left as soon as it was clear that the network boss was totally screwing it up (in that one, it never even got on the air and the producer and network ended up in a big lawsuit). Neither was a happy experience, but it felt better to move on once it was clear that my contribution was not respected. (Just for the record, I have had some great experiences with directors and network people as well!)
(For a view of how to get from idea all the way through to production or publication, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available at the usual online and retail outlets.)
