Marg McAlister Interviews Hazel Edwards

There are many ways for writers to earn a living. You can write fiction (for adults or children); or non-fiction (books, articles, advertising or promotional material, e-books, website content) or you can use your writing skills to help others (coaching, online courses, offline courses, CVs and resumes, newsletters and more). You can write for the screen, or write plays. You can write serious poetry or doggerel.

So many options!

But one you may not have thought of is being a specialist in writing family or corporate histories. If you enjoy writing about people (and possibly interviewing them) then this may be a career direction worth exploring. If you especially like digging into history, and are a skilled researcher, then it could even be the perfect fit!

One author who has had a great deal of experience in this area is Hazel Edwards. She says:

"Many community organisations and individuals would like family or corporate histories researched and written for specific celebrations. However, often they are naïve about the amount of time and skill involved, panic and then request that the work be contracted out.

A realistic quote depends upon:

• The brief: length, format, due date, whether responsible for actual editing and publishing.
• How much research has already been done
• Copyright issues: (whose name is on cover as the writer? Is it ghosted?)
• Clarification of copyright, permissions on existing photos etc
• Whether the draft writing has to be shown to the committee (this always doubles the work!)
• The advance: I suggest half on signing the contract and half on completion of the manuscript (which is not necessarily the publication date).
• I also suggest checking the Australian Society of Authors, which has guidelines on collaborative writing and also on ghosting.
• Check Society of Editors for possible costings per hour. Always add 10% for contingencies."

But what if you're just starting out? Let's suppose you have no track record in writing family histories. What sort of evidence or promotional material could you make available to potential clients, to showcase your skills and prove that you are capable of doing the job?

I put these questions to Hazel, and also asked her whether a writer who is new to this field should consider completing one or two family histories to start with at a lower fee, to get the experience.

"It's extremely valuable experience to have already completed a history, whether paid or voluntary, before quoting for a commission," Hazel advises. "This is because a family or corporate history is a VERY BIG job. If you've already had articles published which indicate your interest and ability to write about historical topics, then it's a good idea to produce these. Or perhaps volunteer to do a Memoir first. That's a small part of the story of one person, and it can be any length."

Another suggestion from Hazel is that you might like to consider suggesting to the client that you work with a co-author. Choose someone to work with you who has the experience or complementary skills you need. You'll gain a lot from going through the process.

She recommends that you have a simple business card, and also produce a sheet detailing the variety of services you can offer - and the costings; you should have a scale of fees.

Other things you can do to improve your chances of ongoing work in this interesting area of writing:

• Start writing feature articles on historical figures for paying magazines or in-house for trade magazines who may wish to feature their founders etc.
• Offer to write small business-corporate histories which the family run businesses can give away as Christmas/annual gifts.
• Participate in your local genealogy society, and find out who needs paid help.
• Check newspaper "tenders" columns for municipal or cultural organisations who ask for quotes for histories to be written.
• Check significant dates, to see if any organisations are approaching anniversaries - you can suggest commemorative histories.
• Think outside conventional books: consider DVDs, e-books or compiling collages with captions.
• Finally: INITIATE!

RESOURCES:

Hazel has written an excellent book specifically to help anyone - authors or families - to write a "non-boring" family history. In fact... that's exactly the name of the book! You can obtain it directly from Hazel's site, at www.hazeledwards.com, or from the publisher's link.

Writing a Non Boring Family History  by Hazel Edwards
Publisher: http://www.haleiremonger.com/
ISBN: 0-86806 630 3
Available from: Hale & Iremonger Pty Ltd
PO Box 205 Alexandria NSW 2015 Australia
Ph: (61) 2 9560 0470 Fax: (61) 2 9550 0097 E-mail: info@haleiremonger.com
USA distributors:  Pacific Island Books
2802 E. 132nd CircleThornton, CO 80241
303-920-8338 or toll free within the US: 1-866-491-2799
fax: 603-368-6628

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Other Books of Interest

The other titles are available from www.hazeledwards.com or the publisher link.

www.pacificislandbooks.com
 pacificbks@aol.com
Useful for those planning a book length project. Popular basis of genealogy writing workshops.

The Business of Writing for Young People
Author: Hazel Edwards with Goldie Alexander
Publisher: Hale & Iremonger
ISBN: 086806656-7
Available from: directly from . www.hazeledwards.com

(How to write your history in a way that will interest your children and young people in your family. Used in Writing for Grandkids workshops and set text for many Prof Writing courses.)

Non Boring Travel Writing by Hazel Edwards
Publisher: Common Ground Publishing.
ISBN: 1863350381
Available from: Common Ground Publishing. In print and electronic format.
How to feature settings when writing histories etc...for those wishing to write about their travels commercially or for personal satisfaction. Examples, techniques and suggestions. Excellent gift for traveller-historians.
www.booksonwriting.com  
  

 Antarctic Writer on Ice www.booksonwriting. com  
Common Ground Publishers  (autobiographical e-diary format & interview skills on location and how to write in difficult circumstances)

Committee-itis
Co-authored with management consultant Jean Roberts.
Publisher: Choice Books, now available directly from www.hazeledwards.com
ISBN: 1-920705-07-4

Relevant for historians researching organisations. A satirical but strategic handbook for committees infected with the 'Itis' virus, written with management consultant Jean Roberts
Do you have any other general advice to offer writers about writing a family history, or writing generally? (Related to this, how important is it for writers to diversify to earn a good income from writing and writing-related activities/projects?)

Final Advice from Hazel:

It is vital to diversify across fiction and non fiction and to be aware of which rights you hold, in case opportunities arise to go into new media.

Maybe consider writing some of your historical material pitched at a young audience (writing for children) as there is a new readership every six years.

Many grandparents in blended and split families are conscious of the need to record and share their stories in an accessible way, and so 'The Business of Writing for Young People' indicates some of these formats and how to write for young  family readers.

'Success' is judged by personal satisfaction in writing which affects a reader or is an artistic challenge, as well as the numbers sold. Currently I'm co-writing a YA novel story 'f2m' about transgender from female to male and that's a medical -artistic challenge, as coping successfully with being different has always interested me.

'There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake' which is 30 years continuously in print has been translated and crossed media into theatre, TV, audio and Auslan & Braille. 

However, 'Writing a Non Boring Family History' has been one of my best selling adult non fiction titles, because family history is the biggest hobby worldwide. And it's worthwhile crafting the extra-ordinary stories of so- called ordinary people.

Author Hazel Edwards' website (www.hazeledwards.com) has links to the organisations recommended in this interview and to her publishers of books mentioned.

Site useful for family historians:

Australian Society Of Authors www.asauthors.org
PO Box 1566 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Australia
98 Pitt Street Redfern 2016Ph: (61-2) 9318 0877
Fax: (61-2) 9318 0530

This is a national organisation for authors which provides contract advice, the stylefile showcase for illustrators (www.thestylefile.com) and has pamphlets on Self Publishing & Writing Your Family History, co-writing and ghostwriting.