Re: Setting fees, Garden Rant and freebies

**"* <j*@gmail.com>**

Let me toss in a few paragraphs for those who have to travel to speak.  
My travel fare can be 1,000 dollars.  Obviously, you don't do anything  
for free if you lose money. Get your publisher to pay or don't go,  
lump together venues or plan on selling enough books so your business  
doesn't look like a hobby to Uncle Sam.

Your best bet is one year in advance, check around and see what shows  
and other venues are within your travel reach. Contact them with an  
inquiry email and attachment or two about your book, a review, a list  
of other speaking venues., A LIST OF TOPICS....HIt the Landscaping  
organizations, garden clubs, garden shows, ANYTHING that you can find  
going on this year, contact for next year....check out a few blogs to  
find events. Google is great. Each state has a few garden related  
things going on, there is always a Master Gardener's College in each  
state, most have State-wide Garden Club meets, many have an annual  
state wide Nursery Association convention.... ah, you know all this.

Once you get an anchor talk, work the edges and share costs of  
transportation...each picks up room and board. Sell books. ELLEN, have  
your publisher send the books so you don't have to schleep them  
around..(if you didn't sell 400 at a shot, like you do, it wouldn't be  
a problem.

As to AV equipment.....I'll never do another slide show again. I've  
had to have 30 people view a presentation on a MacBook screen and it  
wasn't pretty in a peony kind of way, but that paled to what slides,  
slide projectors and anything having to do with slides would do to me.  
Make the venue responsible for the AV equipment....it is up to them to  
suffer the slings and arrows...and any financial embarrassment. Still,  
it helps to know your own equipment....and to have some familiarity  
with theirs.(Go to a Best buy or a rental Place and learn about  
working Digital Projectors...they are all basically the same when it  
comes to screen size, resolution and pixel settings....

It would be great to have publishers that will take the work out of  
becoming a speaker, nonetheless one that is in slight demand and can  
command a decent fee, but that is what dreams are made of. You have to  
work the circuit...including with each other...and make an effort of  
time and energy to get gigs and then to get done with them.

Finally, what is your expectation? I work Teaming With Microbes hard  
and all year round. I sell lots of books and charge a decent fee and  
better when I can. Let me assure you, it is not going to make you rich  
or even good money, but you sure do have fun.

Sorry for the 'rant.'

Jeff Lowenfels

P.S. Freebies?  You mean test materials which will result in an honest  
opinion?

Plant one row in your garden to feed the hungry...to see how go to www.gardenwriters.org/Par/index.html

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