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Re: Subject: Re: Finding Places To Speak


 
I, for one, am NOT burned out on speaking - I love it and I'm very good at it.  I have many talks, some illustrated with computer slides and some not, that are finished and require little or no tweeking before the talk...I print out the handout, make copies and go.  If a group wants a talk that I have not yet prepared, or they want something designed just for them, I charge more for the talk. This is one reason that I would not post my fees on my website. But it is my experience that the more you talk the less prep there is - after doing it for 14+ years I could now stand up before a group with no advance warning and give an entertaining, informative talk with no visual aides. 

I have recently spoken to two Master Gardener groups who didn't blink at paying my fee for a keynote for such groups, which is $800.00 plus travel expenses. My fee for local garden clubs is much less - $400. if I'm driving in state, and 500. and up for out-of-state plus milage or plane fare.  Occasionally a group will say that they can't afford it, but usually it's a go.  I do a good deal of speaking to businesses and charge them slightly more than my garden club rate. This is another reason I won't post my fees online - I need to be able to judge "what the market will bear" and then charge accordingly. 

Difficulties?  Oh please....LIFE is full of difficulties.  It took me two hours to install three extra pantry shelves today (can't find screwdriver, dropped screws, missing hardware from package, need to cut through wire shelving etc) and let's not even start about what goes wrong in the garden.  Yes, I've had sound systems crash, projectors die and rude people in the audience.  Once the group had forgotten to reserve their meeting room and there was another group already meeing in the space!  I'm a gardener: I'm used to things not turning out as I'd planed. 

I'd like to do more of what NSA calls "back of the room" business, but I'm still developing that angle of things. To Sheri I would say: Yes! Take books of your poetry. If you are a good speaker than people want to take a piece of you home.  My problem is that I can't do it all myself - I will soon figure out how to have someone with me to do the back of the room sales so that I can schmooze with all of the people who come up to me after a talk.  When I do get it together to sell books I make as much as my speaker's fee and sometimes more.  

I'd say that speaking is like anything else we do in this life - if you don't love it, try not to do much of it.  Or admit that it serves a purpose (winter income, supporting your books, travel to other places) and make it work for you.

An agent is on MY wish-list, along with that back of the room assistant....but before I can make those happen I need to raise my speaker's fees - and how to do that is my winter project.

Happy New Year to all,
C.L.

C.L. Fornari
www.gardenlady.com
"Looking for guidence and inspiration? It's all in your own backyard."

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