Freelance Business Sense

Did you know that attending the AMWA Annual Conference can generate thousands of dollars in revenue? That’s what happened for Christine Welniak, of the Empire State-New York Chapter, who made a point of meeting an online colleague for coffee at one annual conference. Six months later, the colleague referred her to a new client that generated $32,000 in billables in the first year. This same experience could happen to any of us (but, sadly, probably not all of us). Even if you don’t gain thousands in revenue, attending the AMWA Annual Conference will be your best business decision all year.

“Attending the AMWA annual conference is my most important marketing expense each year,” says Welniak. She adds that planning for revenue-generating expenses eases the pain of cash outlay. “I started putting money aside in my business savings account in July to pay for the hotel at the AMWA conference. That way, it’s just a little each month, and I won’t have to come up with a large sum all at once,” she says.

Welniak and Jeanne McAdara-Berkowitz, PhD, of the Rocky Mountain Chapter, who she met at another AMWA annual conference, will discuss their ecosystem approach to building relationships and generating referrals in their conference seminar “Cultivating Your Ecosystem to Build Your Business and Brand.” In this seminar, you will learn how to build and leverage a thriving ecosystem that markets your business for you.

So You Want to Write A Book (Open Session 1)

By Amy Karon

At AMWA's recent national conference, attendees chuckled and scribbled notes while authors and former journalists Alisa Bowman and Debra Gordon dispelled myths and offered practical tips on breaking into the book business.

The two know the market. Bowman spent several years as an editor at Runner’s World magazine before her husband negotiated her first book contract during a magazine gala at FAO Schwartz.

“I loved my job at Runners World,” said Bowman, who has since ghostwritten* and co-authored seven New York Times bestsellers. “But it was apparent to me that I could make much more money working for myself.”

Gordon’s titles include When Sex Hurts and The Idiot’s Guide to Type 2 Diabetes, and, with her husband, a fellow enthusiast, Wine on Tuesdays. “We managed to do it with our marriage intact,” she grinned.

Read on for Bowman and Gordon’s advice on taking nonfiction health and medical books from inspiration to publication.

Tip: Books published under your own name often pay little. 

In traditional publishing, Gordon said, authors receive only about 15 percent of book sales, and that first goes to repay the publishing company’s advance. “The vast majority of authors never receive royalties,” she added. “Write a book because you want the experience and exposure.”

But self-publishing and e-books have gained popularity as potentially lucrative alternatives. Authors pay a self-publishing company for services they choose, such as copy editing and printing, Bowman said. Because no agent or publisher are involved, the author earns 100 percent of the sale price of every book and can still sell it on Amazon.com.

Another way to make money by writing books is to ghostwrite or co-author with someone else, an accepted practice in the publishing world.

“Most of the bestsellers out there are written by people like Alisa and me,” said Gordon, adding that she just signed a $70,000 contract for a book on mobile health.

To break in, tell clinicians and academics you can help them write books for consumer audiences. If you see a study you think can make a book, contact the authors and pitch the idea.