by Kate Tilton (@K8Tilton)
I met Kate during a recent #indiechat Twitter event. It was an amazing experience, and the hour seemed to go by in about 9 minutes—I couldn’t believe it was over. The whole thing was organized for BiblioCrunch by Kate, who also offers services to authors. I asked her… well, let Kate tell you herself.
Recently Joel asked me to write an article on how author assistants can benefit authors. To understand how an author assistant can be of great assistance first we need to know exactly what IS an author assistant.
An author assistant is an individual who provides services for an author or authors exclusively. Author assistants come in a variety, much like the authors they work for. For example, an author assistant may be
- a virtual assistant (working only virtually),
- a personal assistant (working directly by the author in a physical location), or
- a mix of the two.
Unlike a normal virtual or personal assistant, author assistants specialize in working with and for authors.
Author assistants each have different skills they specialize in. I work with my authors on tasks such as admin tasks (sending information about the authors/books to those who request it, updating websites, organizing spreadsheets, mailing out prizes) to marketing tasks (reaching out to reviewers, creating press releases, creating book jacket copy, running street teams, creating newsletters).
One of the most important things when looking for an author assistant is to make sure he or she provides the skills you need.
Author assistants can help you by:
- Saving your valuable time. This is the top reason to hire an author assistant. Just because you CAN do a task does not mean it is cost effective. Most authors simply do not have enough time in the day to complete their writing and the other marketing and admin tasks they need to. By hiring an author assistant the author has more time to focus on what only they can do, write!
- Supporting and encouraging you. We are on your team! Publishing, no matter what route an author takes, can be tough. Having another passionate team member is valuable. An author assistant can be that needed force to help overcome deadlines, bad days, and overwhelming times.
- Motivation and goal setting. Sometimes you just need someone to keep track of things and keep you going towards your dreams. Author assistants rock at that.
Hiring an Author Assistant
Working with an author assistant is a valuable partnership. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the work piling up, it may be time to consider making the connection. When looking for an author assistant there are a few factors to consider.
- Price. Like most service-based occupations the more experience an assistant has the more you are likely to pay, but you can find talented assistants at any experience level. A student may work for as little as $5 an hour (with college credit) while an experienced author assistant may charge $25-$30. Compared to a marketing consultant who may charge $150-$300 an hour an author assistant can offer cost-effective help at any budget level.
- Personality. Working with an author assistant IS a partnership. Your assistant will be there to help with any and everything so make sure you enjoy their company and can communicate well with one another.
- Professionalism. Make sure the assistant is professional, check their website and social media. Are there lots of errors or poor formatting? Look for the assistants who pay attention to details and have clean and professional websites.
- Skills. Most assistants can guide you in the services you may need but no one knows your book and needs better than you, the author. Take a few minutes to research the skills of each assistant and look for those matching your needs.
- Experience. As if you were hiring an employee for your company look for recommendations, current and past work experience, and book acknowledgments.
Tips on Finding an Author Assistant
Now that you have decided to hire an author assistant you need to find the right assistant for you. Here are some tips to finding an author assistant.
- Ask your author friends for recommendations. You will be surprised by how many authors have an assistant (or assistants!).
- Share online that you are looking for an author assistant. You may have an assistant already following your blog or Twitter. One short message about your intention may yield resumes from existing fans. Just be sure you properly vet potential assistants. While having a fan as an assistant can be amazing they will still need to be able to do the job at hand.
- Search the web. This point is last because I believe you will get the best assistant through a recommendation, but if you have had no luck (or are simply curious as to who is out there) do a quick Google search for “Author Assistants”.
- I have created a resource page on my website with author assistants I recommend and sites where you can find other assistants. You can see the list here: Kate Tilton – Resources – Author Assistants.
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on my website katetilton.com/author-services. I am currently open to new clients for projects and long-term partnerships.
Kate Tilton has been in love with books for as long as she can remember. Kate believes books saved her life and strives to repay authors for bringing books into the world by serving as a dependable author assistant. A cat-lover and fan of many geeky things, Kate can likely be found curled up with the latest Doctor Who episode, plotting world takeover, or assisting authors and readers in any way she can. Kate is also a self-proclaimed Twitter addict. You will find her hosting #K8chat, her own creation, every Thursday night on Twitter from 9-10 pm Eastern. You can connect with her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.
Photo: bigstockphoto.com
