Walt Crawford
Notes on Writing Invitations, Consulting, etc.
I'm open to possibilities. It never hurts to ask.
If you're interested in republishing material from Cites & Insights,
once or on a continuing basis, send me a note.
Writing Baseline
My baseline for professional activities now includes:
- "Crawford at Large" in ONLINE. Six columns a year.
- Cites & Insights: Crawford at Large. Monthly+
free Web-distributed journal of libraries, policy, technology, and media--my primary writing outlet other than
writing done for the Library Leadership Network..
- Speaking and other activities by invitation.
- Books as time, topics and potential sales allow.
Consulting and Other Stuff
Up to now, I haven't done formal consulting as a rule.
I'm not an expert on RFPs, contracts, the overall state of library automation or that sort of thing. I do have
experience in "looking at numbers"--how they work, what goes wrong, finding the valuable ones--and in
areas I've written about.
If you have something in mind that you think would make sense for me, ask.
Other stuff? What did you have in mind? Let me know.
Incidentally, if by "consulting" you mean that you'd like me to look something over and comment on
it informally, answer a question or two, respond to a survey, or whatever, and you're a colleague or friend, just
ask. I'm happy to oblige if it's feasible. I don't regard that as consulting; I regard it as being part of
the library community. I define "colleague" broadly. If you're unsure, assume that you are one.
What I Need to Know
A request can be as informal as a one-paragraph e-mail message or as formal as a letter. E-mail is a great
way to start. If you want to explore possibilities, that's fine. I usually respond to e-mail rapidly (unless
I'm out of town). waltcrawford, domain gmail.com (Substitute @ for domain, but you know that already)
Once I know the basics of an invitation, I'll either rule it out because it's impossible (schedule, general
load, a topic that conflicts with my work or a topic/approach I can't do justice to) or I'll ask more questions.
Sooner or later, I'll need to know:
- Topic, length, deadline, character of what you're looking for.
- Publication or situation: what's going to happen with this?
- Proposed payment-- although I don't get paid for every article I write.
- If it's a series or continuing situation I'll need to know a lot more about what's involved.
That should about cover it. The bottom line is simple enough: