Professionals Get Paid: Rates, Deposits, and Building Your Tribe | The Exceptional Scribble Show, Episode 238

This is the complete interview hour from Richard Lowe’s monthly third-Tuesday appearance on The Exceptional Scribble Show with host Sage the Poet, broadcast live on November 20, 2018, the week of Thanksgiving, lightly edited for readability. The show’s later segments after Richard’s hour are omitted. Historical book counts appear as spoken; current figures are bracketed.

The introduction, and a bio that keeps going stale

Sage the Poet: Welcome to episode 238 of The Exceptional Scribble Show. Every third Tuesday, our feature artist in the spotlight is Richard G. Lowe Jr., best known as The Writing King: owner and senior writer of The Writing King, copywriter, ghostwriter, WordPress implementation, and services for businesses, everyday people, and other writers. And I’ll insert a disclaimer: my bio sheet says 63 books published and 16 ghostwritten, and there are probably more, because he’s working while most of us are sleeping. Welcome, welcome, Richard.

Richard Lowe: Hello, this is Richard Lowe. How are you doing?

Sage the Poet: Wonderful. Now, in reference to ghostwriting: when that bio was written, you had ghostwritten 16 books. Has that number changed?

Richard Lowe: Twenty-three. I’ve ghostwritten 23 books [54+ as of 2026].

Sage the Poet: Close to 30. Is there a set quota you have for ghostwriting?

Richard Lowe: Whatever they want to pay me to do. I write it all.

Sage the Poet: And books published: was it 63?

Richard Lowe: Books published under my own name is around 60, and then I have about a dozen under other names. You need to go back to my page and update it.

How do you turn a writing passion into a day job?

Sage the Poet: So many people have writing as their passion and a day job as the bread and butter, and they don’t understand how to make the passion the day job. Can we start there?

Richard Lowe: You have to treat it as a career, even if it’s a part-time career. You can’t treat it as a hobby. That’s the first thing: change your mindset. It has to be serious. You should still have fun with it, of course, but set aside time on a schedule: eight to ten at night, eight to ten in the morning, a two-, three-, or four-hour block, whatever works. That’s your writing time.

Second: build a space that is yours for writing, and make everybody in the household know that when you’re in that space, unless somebody’s dying or the place is burning down, you’re to be left alone. No social media, no emails, no phone calls, no video games. You’re writing. That’s what I mean by taking it seriously, and you have to enforce it, because people will intrude, especially youngsters and spouses. When I was married, it took a while for my wife to understand that when I was in this little office, which was basically a converted walk-in closet, I was to be left alone, because I was working. She finally figured out it had nothing to do with her.

Make the space comfortable. I like lots of books, so I surround myself with them; I actually use the bookshelves as sound insulation. A couple of ladies have said I have the perfect man cave for writing. Everybody needs a space that’s custom for them. A comfortable chair, because you’ll be sitting a lot; get up and exercise once in a while. And then write. Because if you’re not writing, you’re not a writer. End of story.

It sounds basic, but there are a lot of people who say “I’m a writer,” and you ask what they’ve written: a couple of journals. Have you published them? No. Then you’re not a writer, in the professional sense. Everybody can keep a diary. The purpose of a professional writer is to publish what you write. Get it out there; I don’t care if it’s a greeting card, and by the way, you can freelance Hallmark greeting cards. Get published, get seen, get promoted, get your name out there. Now you’re a writer. If your book is stored on a shelf and you never intend to publish it, you’re a hobbyist, and that’s not going to make a living for you.

Why do readers buy the author instead of the book?

Sage the Poet: Let’s move to our published authors who don’t know the first thing about marketing and are starting at ground zero. They’re ready to create an action plan and launch a campaign. What would you say to them?

Richard Lowe: The first thing: you’re promoting yourself. You’re not promoting your book. People buy a book based on who you are, what you know, and whether they like you, because on every single subject, thousands of books are published every year. In romance, there might be 20,000 romance books published this month. If you want a romance involving vampires and space aliens, you can find one. So if you’ve written one, people need to know, like, and trust you first.

Look at it this way. Stephen King: some people think he’s great, some think he’s okay. But people buy his books because they hear the words “Stephen King.” A new one comes out and he’s sold 100,000 copies the same day, because they know his name. I follow a writer named Mike Resnick, who writes space opera science fiction, and if he publishes something, I buy it sight unseen, because I know I’m going to enjoy it. That’s where you want to be. You want a following; you want to build your tribe, as a friend of mine likes to say, and become somebody worthy of being followed.

The way you do that is you build up yourself, not in a narcissistic way, but in an informative way, an entertaining way, preferably both. Pick the area where you do well. I don’t like being on video, so I don’t do many videos; Facebook and blogging tend to be mine. Post things that inform or entertain. If you’re writing a book, talk about the journey: I’m starting the outline today, what do you all think of this character? Get your audience involved. If it’s nonfiction, ask them questions they can research for you; people love that. Start a group and build a team that works with you.

Because everybody does “buy my book, buy my book, here’s the cover, it’s marked down to 99 cents this week.” Everybody does that. Who cares? You want to stand out, so people say: I want to buy your book because I know Abby Smith, and Abby Smith always does good romance novels, and I like her anyway. You just made a fan, and she’s going to buy every book you ever publish. That’s the author side; the freelance side is a different thing entirely.

Do book signings actually work?

Sage the Poet: Some people think if you don’t do A, B, and C, you won’t have X, Y, and Z. For example: do you do book signing tours?

Richard Lowe: I’ve done a few, and for the kind of books I write, they don’t tend to do well. For fiction, book signings can be awesome, especially if you have a name. I’ve found they don’t work well if you aren’t known: you walk into a library, nobody knows who you are, and it can be pretty darn lonely. You want to do some of them, because you at least meet people and learn who your audience is, and as your name grows, you’ll get more. But one thing about libraries: they almost never promote the events well. They think the author will do that, and most authors don’t know how. So you wind up with the people who happened to see the poster on the wall. Don’t fly across the country for that; maybe drive a little. And if you do a signing tour, promote every single venue yourself, or nobody will be there.

Definitely use your local libraries, all of them; I’m in Clearwater, and there are probably 25 libraries within driving distance. Network them, visit the writing groups and reading groups. But remember: all of those things take time, and that’s time you’re not writing, so balance it. And ask whether it’s your style. Are you the kind of person who likes being out with a group? I’m not. I do very well on webcam, I do very well like this, and I do very well writing, but sitting in a group signing books is not my thing. If it’s your thing, do it by all means.

The key point with all of these: there are ten thousand ways to promote your books. Blog tours, articles on other blogs, your own blog, Facebook, YouTube, podcasts. Experiment a little and find the things that work for you and fit your time, and discard the things that don’t. And remember other people can work for you: on Fiverr you can hire somebody to make you a poster for five or ten bucks. But when you’re not writing, you’re not writing, and a writer needs to write. If you’re on a two-month tour, you’re probably not writing anything. Is that what you want? Well, if you’re on a 50-stop tour, you’ve probably got a publisher behind you, and that’s a whole different ball of wax: agent, proposal, a lot of work even for my client who had connections.

Shiny objects and $10,000 courses

Richard Lowe: One more thing on promotion: stay away from the shiny objects. There are a lot of people selling the newest secret sauce: sell 50,000 books overnight, write a book in three minutes, have a bestseller with one course. It’s not going to work. I mean, I have courses you can buy, and there are courses that work, but they don’t promise you a fortune in a day. Use your own judgment. I went to a webinar where the course cost ten thousand dollars. A writing course for ten thousand dollars is utterly ridiculous. One of mine is twenty-seven; if you’re not happy, you’ve wasted twenty-seven bucks, and there’s usually a return policy anyway.

The Fiverr goldmine, used carefully

Sage the Poet: You mentioned Fiverr: F-I-V-E-R-R?

Richard Lowe: Yes, and it’s a goldmine for authors. You’ll find contractors who do everything from proofreading to book covers. Most are students or from other countries: I use a book cover artist from Latvia and a proofreader in Ukraine. Sometimes it shows, and sometimes you get really good stuff, and you’ll pay a lot less; most writers don’t want to spend a thousand dollars on a cover. But be careful. Make sure they’re using legally acquired images and that you have the rights. Question them. And when you get the work back, they allow revisions, so revise. I had one where the artist had done ten covers for me, all wonderful, and I wrote back: this one is garbage. She wrote back “oof,” fixed it, and it became one of my best covers. You have to communicate. Tell them, and you’ll either get a refund or good work. It’s a great resource.

Print or audio for spoken word artists?

Sage the Poet: For the spoken word artist who composes their own work: would you recommend publishing in print, or audio recordings?

Richard Lowe: It depends on where their creative outlet lies. If audio recordings are what they want to do, they should do that. I have a good friend who does poetry over a keyboard playing in the background, and it’s pretty good stuff. It doesn’t sell super well, but he has fun. You’ve got to go with the flow of the creative energy, because otherwise you’re fighting yourself.

When should a writer work for free?

Sage the Poet: In reference to public readings: say there’s an event and you’re invited to read excerpts. Where do you draw the line on which events you say yes to?

Richard Lowe: I draw the line at: am I getting paid or not? It’s real simple. If they want my time, there has to be something in it for me. On a book signing, I’m getting some publicity. But if they’re having me do a reading, either it’s very heavily promoted with important people from my industry there, or they’re paying me. A book reading with some publishers or agents in the room? I might do that. A book reading for a bunch of people in a bar? I’ll pass; I’ve got better things to do. Or they can pay me.

Writers should get paid. This is very important. Don’t give free speeches, other than practice speeches: go to Toastmasters, the Kiwanis Club, a Rotary Club, your church, and speak to your heart’s content. But when somebody asks you to speak at their convention or writing conference: get paid, and get paid for real, not 50 bucks. You are worth something. If they won’t pay you, they’re insulting you, and you should treat it that way. They’re paying the taxi drivers. They’re paying everybody else. Why aren’t they paying you? Because they don’t value your services.

And here’s the pricing rule: you can negotiate down, but you can’t negotiate up. If you think you’re worth 10 cents a word, charge 15. If you think you’re worth 20 bucks an hour, ask for 40. Think your ghostwriting is worth five thousand a book? Ask for 15. If you ask for five and then realize you could have gotten ten, it’s too late; they already heard five. But if they say the price is too high, you can come down to 7,500. Professionals get paid; amateurs don’t. That sounds really harsh, but it’s the absolute truth. That is the difference between a professional and an amateur.

Sage the Poet: Let me take on the role of sensibility: what about the newbies who aren’t looking to get paid as much as they’re looking for exposure?

Richard Lowe: Exposure is a form of payment, but really: let’s say you want to get established by speaking. Join your local Toastmasters; it costs maybe a hundred bucks a year, and you’ll get up in front of 40 people every week and build the confidence. Go to the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs. Join writing critique groups, or start one, and learn to be with writers. That’s where you get your experience: in courses, clubs, and critique groups. If you’re doing it professionally, you get paid for it. You should never be giving away your services, no matter how inexperienced you are; the inexperience you take care of in the clubs and the training.

The only exception in my mind is charity. If you want to do a reading at a senior home for free, that’s a different animal. If you want to write for your church, feel free; that’s where your free work should go, the things that are passions for you. And everybody should work in a soup kitchen once in a while, just to find out how that part of the world lives. But in a business relationship, you’re a professional, and you get paid. The plumber who comes to fix the toilet isn’t doing it for free because you’re a writing group. The plumber’s getting 85 bucks an hour. Get the same way, and use that line: you’re going to pay the plumber, so why aren’t you paying me?

The rate math and the floor

Sage the Poet: Some writers make exceptions person by person: for you I’ll charge such-and-such, for you I won’t charge. Is that helpful?

Richard Lowe: Do the math first. Say you charge 20 bucks an hour. The government took eight of it; now you’re at 12. You drove there and back on your own time; now you’re at three bucks an hour. Is it worth it? Probably not. So figure your real cost for an hour of your time: taxes, travel, the training you paid for. You’ll find you need a floor: a rate you will not go below.

My rates are structured by service. Proofreading, 25 dollars an hour; I might go to 20 for a larger project. Editing is around 40, because it’s more complicated. Ghostwriting: fifteen thousand a book, minimum minimum. And the only time I come down is if I get something in return: pay me in advance, or agree in writing to a second book. What am I getting for that five thousand I just gave up?

And never, ever do the work before you’re paid. You get paid in advance; don’t be on the other end of that. On a big freelance project, get at least a 50 percent deposit; I get 25 percent up front, and no work happens without payment first, because you will get screwed every time. Even if it’s just that they take 90 days to pay: you just became their bank. Do you get interest for those 90 days? No.

And remember you have value. Dancers tell me this, models tell me this, writers and artists tell me this: people treat creative work like it’s vapor and try to talk you down to nothing. I’m a photographer; I’ve photographed about 1,200 dancers and models, and everybody tries to get them to perform for free. But they paid for their lessons, their equipment, everything that got them to where they are. You want a dancer? That’s 400 bucks an hour, and that’s what they’re worth. You and your skill and your talent have value. If you normally do a job for 100 bucks an hour and you drop to five, you’re degrading yourself. Stop it. Don’t let anybody talk you below your floor, ever, because you’ll hate yourself.

Cutting off what poisons you

Richard Lowe: And getting a little into the coaching area before I have to run: I’ve had friends and even family in my life who were poisonous relationships, and they’re gone. Why? Because I don’t need to put up with it. A person who undermines me, who tells me my writing is awful: I break off communication, and if they’re unhappy about it, what do I care? They were making me miserable. Step out of the bad situations, and you’ll see how bad they really were. When you’re in it, you don’t smell the stink. Once you’re out, you look back and wonder why you put up with it for so long. I’ve gotten smarter as I’ve gotten older. I think. At least I hope.

The Yeadon webinar, announced

Sage the Poet: Everyone tuned in: Richard will be accessible to us in December. I got the news from the Yeadon, PA public library: Richard will be the very first to do a webinar at the Yeadon Public Library. Richard, tell us the details.

Richard Lowe: The webinar is going to be much like we just did, only more detailed and more structured: about writing, how to write, how to promote your work, how to make a name for yourself and market, with question and answer. Probably an hour, plus 30 minutes of Q&A.

Sage the Poet: The date I received was December 5th, a Wednesday, at 6:30.

Richard Lowe: That’s one of the dates I gave her, and that’s fine. It’ll be a webinar, which means you can be at the library or connect in on your browser; I think my connection allows up to 100 people, and the library will be one of those. I’ll record it, and there will be a replay available, so if you miss it, you can pick it up later.

Closing, and a Black Friday special

Richard Lowe: One more thing: I’ve got a Black Friday special. I’ve created a series of courses on writing, and they’re marked down 25 percent this week only. Go to fictionmasterclass.com, scroll down the front page, and you’ll see them all: how to write a mystery book, romance, science fiction, fantasy, how to market your books, how to use video to market your books, about a dozen of them. They’re all intended to be simple, straight to the point, and complete: the mystery course is about 100 pages and goes from the idea all the way through. There’s an optional add-on of writing prompts: 500 ideas each for five different genres. It’s the holidays; I figured it’d make a good gift.

Sage the Poet: Thanks again, Richard. We’re looking forward to the webinar on December 5th and your return after the holidays. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Richard Lowe: Thank you. It’s been fun, and I’m happy to come back. Have a good night.

Find Richard Lowe at thewritingking.com/.

Quotable moments

Frequently Asked Questions

Part of Richard Lowe on Air, his complete run of podcast, radio, and video guest appearances.