Mary Martin, Ph.D.

How to Decide Whether to Apply for Funds

When it comes to the business of looking for funds to support your nonprofit--or even your for-profit business--if the funder isn't a good match for you and your cause, you're wasting your time applying for support.

How do you know if you're a good match? Here are some tips:

• The person in charge of allocating funds suggested you apply. In this case, it doesn't matter whether you think you're appropriate--what are you waiting for? Apply immediately!
• You know someone on the board or another person of influence. This isn't cheating. All board members have pet causes, and the entire board is more likely to go with a cause already supported by a member than a cause no one has any connection to. This is the way many grants end up being awarded.
• You don't know anyone related to the organization, yet when you go to their website, the areas they fund are very similar to what you do. In addition, when you look at the list of organizations that were funded recently, they're similar to yours. Now, note that this can also work against you with: Sorry, but we're already funding a similar organization. But if there are more than one funded organizations that are similar to yours, that's probably good news as it tells you the funder is concentrating on your issue. (Note there's still the possibility of: Sorry, but we're already funding two similar organizations.)
• The funds will be allocated largely due to geography. For instance, a foundation that gives to animal welfare causes in New Jersey. If you are in New Jersey, and you deal with animal welfare issues, regardless of whether you know anyone at the foundation, you should apply.
• The same is true of other niches, such as start-up organizations. Some foundations fund only start-ups. If you're a start up, you should apply.
• Ditto for minority or women-run social enterprises.

Because we all have a limited amount of time to pursue funding, it behooves us to apply to organizations we have the best chance with. Think about all of the people related to an organization and its board. If no one you know has any influence with anyone related to a funder, the odds are very much against you as funding is a personal business largely based on relationships.

With that said, if you don't know anyone of influence, yet the funder's interests are very niche-y (including geography, minority-run nonprofits, start ups) and match what you are offering/doing, you should always apply.

On Putting a Dollar Value on Your Hard Work

If you write grants, books, chapters, pamphlets or website material, you have to value your hard work and establish a fair price for it.

I'm a free market kind of person, and I'll charge a combination of what the market will pay and what my expertise is worth. Certain markets pay well as a matter of course, and others don't. Some clients have for-profit businesses and others have non-profit businesses and I factor that into my equation, as well.

In other words, what I charge is by no means uniform from one client to the next, unless of course the clients are similar in important ways.

I've seen intricate formulas for establishing fees based on your overhead, the number of years of experience you have, your earning history, and the fair market value of your services. And at the beginning that's helpful. However, after nearly two decades of writing for other people, I am far less attached to making a huge profit and far more attached to doing work that matters for people I believe in. And if they can't pay me $250 an hour, I don't mind.

Sometimes I work pro bono. For example, if a nonprofit isn't paying the people who run its program a living wage, how can I possible ask them to pay me one?

Though this is by no means a scientific statement, it works for me: Charge a fair price for the work given the context. You can't go wrong with that, and you'll certainly build up some goodwill with people who appreciate the way you do business. And goodwill equals referrals. If you're running your business with integrity, referrals will bring you the bulk of your work and you won't have to advertise as much as most people do. Take it from me: There's nothing better than having people call you because a good friend told them how wonderful you are at what you do and how you do it.

What's a Work for Hire?

Work for hire means that you pay someone a fee to write something for you (or maybe you're the writer). Public recognition of the work for hire is not part of the agreement, and the "author" retains ownership and all rights pertaining to the product. In other words, the person doing the writing isn't named on the cover, and might not even be named in the acknowledgments, and that person can make no claim of ownership of the work.

Ghostwriting, therefore, can be a work for hire if there are no royalties involved and the arrangement consists of a fee only.

Sometimes the "author" of a book will hire several people to write the content of her book, all on a work for hire basis. Their work is done as soon as they submit what they were assigned (and which should have been spelled out in a written contract). The pay may be structured with 50% payable upon signing a contract and the remainder upon submission of the product. Some writers demand full, upfront pay, and others are paid in thirds (with the second third upon submission of a first draft, for example).

Often a managing editor of sorts is hired to make sure that content written by different people flows well and sounds like one person composed it. And that managing editor also falls under the work for hire category, although if many revisions and additional content is involved, this can also fall under the category of developmental editing.

If you are hiring a writer for a straight fee, you always need to shop around and ask for referrals (I get all of my business by referral). Whatever you do, don't use price as your main factor when deciding whom you will hire. You can get graduate students in English to write for practically nothing, as they want the experience. And some of them can probably do amazing work.

"You get what you pay for" isn't always true in the writing world, but more often than not you will pay more for a writer who is more experienced. And experience also has the added bonus of bringing efficiency in work habits, therefore you just might get your product faster from an experienced writer.

Finally, you never know what drives someone to price their services the way they do (unless you ask). For example, I like the work for hire relationship as I'm a project kind of person who likes to do something for a short period, then move on to something else. I'm not all that interested in royalties for a book I wouldn't have written without the "author," and I'm clear about that in my negotiations. I charge less for a work for hire because I can do it all on my own time, therefore my work is as efficient as possible. When I collaborate with someone, that inevitably is far more time consuming and often involves travel. My rates are higher for collaboration because I place a high value my time away from my home.

Today's tip: When in doubt about any part of the process, whichever side of it you're on--rather than making assumptions, ask questions!

On Compensation for Ghostwriting

When people ask me how much I charge for my work on a book, my answer is always: "It depends, as no two projects, thus far, have been identical."

Ordinarily, the ghostwriter gets a fee for the project and 50% of the net royalties (to the author). I'm constantly getting asked if I'll write a book for someone in exchange for no fee but 50% of the royalties, and my answer is always: "Are you high?" Or something more politically correct. Who would spend months of their valuable time in exchange for half of what could very well end up being pennies?

I'll tell you who: Someone writing for an author who is already a best seller, someone writing for a celebrity, or someone writing for an already-successful franchise.

For everyone else, the formula is contingent upon how much material the author is bringing to the table. If there's a first draft that's well-written, what you're looking at is either editing or developmental editing, the latter of which entails more writing than straight editing. If there's a topic, but no written material or even an outline, you're probably looking at $45,000 and up as the book must be written, and researched, from scratch.

And though 50% of net royalties may be customary, this element, as far as I'm concerned, is completely negotiable. Paying annual royalties can be a hassle for some people, and they'd much rather settle for an upfront expense that's a guesstimate of future sales agreed upon by both parties.

Finally, you can pay by the hour, by the month or by the project, and you can get a discount if you pay up front. In other words, when you're looking for a ghostwriter, ask a lot of questions as practically every aspect of the deal could very well be negotiable.