dancinghorse: (Pook and Pandora)
[personal profile] dancinghorse
Moving these bits out of the Comments so everyone gets a chance to see them. Thanks to those who asked the questions! I'm happy to resolve any confusion.

1. Option A is Horse Camp for Dummies. No experience or expertise required. Three days of learning about horses from the ground up so you can write about them knowledgeably and sensibly. As time goes on, we can have Intermediate and Advanced versions, but for now, let's assume it's basic. There will be a lot of general knowledge involved, not just Lipizzans and classical riding. Field trips and class sessions will be tailored to the needs of the group. Riding is limited and optional. If we have a group that wants to go for a trail ride, we'll set up a ride out of one of the ranches nearby (cost would be extra, but it's a definite option).

2. At this point, if you're a horse person, Option B is for you. Smaller, focused, all about the Lipizzan, and riding is included if you so desire. No need to be a writer for this one, though if you are a writer and want to have an advanced version of Option A, find a friend or two of the same mind and book the weekend. We'll tailor to fit.

3. Mentoring is a totally different thing. It's email mentoring. You send me your ms. (in a Word file for choice) and I read it and reply and we go back and forth. What exactly you want done is up to you--options range from overall structural stuff to unsticking stuck plots to polishing up book proposals, all the way to line-for-line editing. Work is by the hour, billed two hours a time with two hours paid up front. Right now I'm having a holiday sale: four hours for $100 paid up front. Yes, you can give it as a gift certificate! And yes, you can extend the time at the usual rate of $35 an hour.

4. The weekend seminars will not include ms. critiques. I'll be delighted to review your horse bits through email at the mentoring rate. If there is enough demand for a weekend writers' workshop in a traditional format including writing and critique, we'll set one up, but the options I'm beta-testing are [A] a seminar on horses for people who want to write about them and [B] a short vacation with Lipizzans. :)

There. Any more questions? Feel free to ask and I'll pull them out into further entries.

Date: 2005-12-13 09:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] norilana.livejournal.com
Judy, please e-mail me.

Date: 2005-12-14 12:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aberwyn.livejournal.com
I wonder if we can take up a collection to send Michael Moorcock to your Horse Seminar? Actually, though, you deserve better.

Date: 2005-12-14 02:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] neutronjockey.livejournal.com
Hrmm. IMNSHO (and my opinions are generally not so humble...) I think you're undercharging on the mentoring. Maybe. Stick with your rates and see how it works out. My fear for you is that $35/hr is not a whole lotta money and it'll bring the quality of what it's worth. IMNSHO.
-=Jeff=-

Date: 2005-12-14 08:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raithen.livejournal.com
a thought I also had....

can't find your email address

Date: 2005-12-14 05:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] serendipity9000.livejournal.com
Judy - I would like to email you about mentoring - but I don't see your email address on your lj info page. I am fairly certain that you will be able to see mine though... if not.. reply here and I will post it in bits to confuse the spambots of the world. -- Jeanne

Re: can't find your email address

Date: 2005-12-14 06:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dancinghorse.livejournal.com
You get it by clicking on the name.

It's capriole (at) smoe (dot) org.

8)

Date: 2005-12-14 07:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dancinghorse.livejournal.com
Shnurt. That would be interesting, wouldn't it?

Date: 2005-12-14 07:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dancinghorse.livejournal.com
I've checked around the field and while it's on the low side, it's not egregiously low. As one of my sources noted, it's just on the edge between "I love the idea but can't afford it" and "you're too cheap to be worth anything." If I end up with a huge waiting list and more clients than I can handle, I'll up the rate. Meanwhile, I'll see how it goes as is.

To be honest, those who think I'm too cheap to be worth anything may not be a good match for me anyway. I'm very impatient with cost = quality, especially considering that in the Lipizzan breed, there is usually an inverse relation between price and quality. You don't want the $75,000 horse, but the $7500 horse could be and often is exceptionally good. The rich idiots won't look at him, and that's what we want; we want our horses to go to real horsepeople.

Mind you if someone wants to pay me $100 an hour, I won't turn it down. ;>

Date: 2005-12-27 10:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] klwilliams.livejournal.com
Something that would be useful regarding #3 is to list somewhere roughly how long it takes you to do various things. How long (roughly) would it take you to do a complete critique of a short story? How long to read a novel and give feedback on the plot structure? I realize that the drawback to this is that it sets expectations, and if it took you longer than your rough estimate to do something the customer might howl, but it would give a prospective mentoree at least a ballpark as to how much it would cost.
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