I declined a speaking opportunity this week. One in a very reasonable distance from me, as a matter of fact. This time of year often fills my calendar with such requests, which thrills me. I love doing events. But they must be worth my investment of time, travel, and book sales.

In this case, it was a writers thing. I won’t say which one. Doesn’t matter. That’s not the point. Their conditions and mine just didn’t meet in the middle and we parted ways amicably. We all have budgets.

But, that said, my fee is not high, and oftentimes, the fact I am on the SC Humanities Speakers Roster would have covered my speaking fee. But the travel and hotel were not covered, and sales would be minimal. Writers don’t make money selling books to other writers.

Some will say I can afford to turn down an event at this stage in my career, but in actuality, I could not afford to accept it. I would have declined early in my career as well.

1. Events consisting of all writers do not result in big book sales. Most writers there are trying to sell a book. Your exposure is minimal.
2. The time invested into travel, speaking, hotel, and basically standing around, must be worth the time you have stolen from writing the material that earns money.
3. If you don’t respect your worth, nobody else will.

Now, every person has a different measure. But never fear saying no once you weigh the pros, the cons, and the return on investment. After all, this is a business.