Working with the Creative Café Project

Any of you published by CaféLit are probably familiar with this project. You can read all about it at http://www.creativecafeproject.org/.

Here are a few ways in which the Creative Café Project can help a writer lead a free-lance writing life. Some help the writer to earn money, some help to raise the writer’s profile, some do both and some will raise money eventually.

Advertise all events at the café itself, local libraries, local adult education centres and on your Facebook page. Create your own newsletter - Mailchimp is good for this – and ask people to subscribe. 

Writer’s surgery

Offer a script surgery. Offer a fifteen minute session free of charge. The writer comes with the script, buys a coffee from the café and you discuss their script with them for fifteen minutes. If you offer editorial services, you can give them your price list.

Raises profile, may lead to payment

Creative writing workshop

Offer anything from a couple of hours to a whole day. This works especially well if the café has a function room. Negotiate with the manager / owner to have the function room for free if the delegates buy drinks and lunch from the café. Charge a modest fee. If you can’t have the room for free, you will have to charge a more realistic fee. You may get a reasonable charge if you ask for an all-in package – drinks on arrival and / or mid-morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea.

An alternative model is to arrange a course over a few weeks, with each session being up to a couple of hours. You might charge by the session, perhaps making a taster one free.

Makes money straight away but take care to budget properly.

Be a writer in residence

You spend set amounts of time at the café, perhaps spread over anything up to a year. You offer all of what is mentioned here. If doing this on a small scale, you may simply “camp” at the café for a day, chatting to people interested in reading, talking about your books, offering advice on writing and selling signed copies of your books.

Makes money eventually. Raises your profile.

Launch a book from the café

You might make a loss on this unless your publisher agrees to pay some costs. You will need to provide some refreshments for your guests. They may not all buy a copy of your book but they will now be more aware of it.

Makes money eventually. Raises your profile. 

Author readings

Work with a couple of other writers and offer readings, Q & A sessions and sell copies of your books. You can share the costs.  You’ll probably make less on your books than at a single launch – most people will buy just one book. However, you have access to each other's fans.

Makes money eventually. Raises your profile.

Hold a literary salon

Ask the café to put on an evening or afternoon event at a set price. Charge your guests a little more – to cover all costs and perhaps reward you a little for your hard work. Invite all of your writerly / reader friends and fans. Ask two or three people to come and talk about their work – probably best to ask published writers. Agree to pay them a fee and expenses. They can bring copies of their work to sell.

My first salon was free of charge but I charged for subsequent ones to make a profit for the project. I asked people to donate as they saw fit. It worked – some made a lot of money, others less. It averaged out to cover costs and made me a small payment.

You probably wouldn’t sell any of your own books here. But see my more detailed description of the literary salon on the blog

http://www.creativecafeproject.org/2012/05/literary-salon-at-time-for-tea.html You can put one of your own into the book swap.      

Do this often enough and it will raise your profile anyway. 

Raises profile. Makes money eventually.

Start a reading group

Perhaps make this a couple of hours long and negotiate for the café to waive charges but encourage members to buy drinks and cakes. Take it in turn suggesting books. Never one of you own. But you can invite your group members to your launch and give them flyers about your books. Curiosity will probably make members try one of your books eventually.  

Raises your profile. Makes money eventually.

Writing project

Organise a writing project. Arrange meetings at the café. Perhaps you’d like to collect ghost stories from the old town in which you live, for example. Discuss ideas. Offer workshops on the writing. Hold critiquing, editing and design meetings. You become the publisher. You may even be able to get an Arts Council grant for the right sort of project. The Creative Café Project can help you with the publishing process.

Raises your profile. Makes money eventually.   

Tempted?    

Of course, if you come across any more creative cafés, or any more ideas of what you might do there, do let me know on gill@cafelit.co.uk