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Key insights from our @TWC_pod & @studyhallxyz negotiation panel today with @bobbie & @Sarah_Gilman:
1. Editors are humans too. If something matters to you, get on the phone and tell them why you need it.
1. Editors are humans too. If something matters to you, get on the phone and tell them why you need it.
2. Consider the scope of the project, and use that to negotiate. If you think the project is going to take longer than the initial rates suggest, talk to your editor. Ask for more. If they can't do more, limit the project scope.
3. Editors usually need to consider budgets & institutional rules when they respond to your negotiations. Usually they have to take the request to their bosses. Make it easy for them to make a case for you.
4. Cool things to negotiate: Kill fee paid up front; payment upon approval not publication; adjusting contractual language on rights or liability (but make sure you can suggest replacement legalese); rush fees; more money if scope creep occurs; deadlines; # of rounds of revision.
5. Negotiating is about knowing your value. Pick a few things you care about (don't just negotiate for the hell of it) and make those known. Rights? Payment schedule? Make a priority list. Know your walk away rate.
6. If the editor says they can't change certain contract terms, they probably can't. But you have the power to walk away.
7. Choose to work for places that pay well. If you're trying to negotiate with a pub that's known to pay $400 for a story, and you think you can get $1000, you're mistaken. Aim true. Do your research.
8. In the end, this comes back to what @wudanyan and I talk about often on @TWC_pod: this is about relationships, and talking to your editor in human terms, and making sure you know your priorities. Be kind. Be clear. Be confident.
If you want to listen in but you couldn't make it live, you can buy the recording here: https://www.thewriterscooppod.com/resources/webinar-tackling-the-oft-dreaded-negotiation
