Last week I finally wrapped up a
project that began back in December -- an online course designed to teach
students everything they need to establish and manage a successful estate sale
business. In conjunction with creating the course, my client also established
the National Association of Estate Liquidators, an organization designed to
support, mentor, and educate estate sale agents, and to help establish
standards of professionalism in the industry. The course and organization have
been a long-time dream of Donna's, and I am pleased to have been part of
bringing her vision to the web.
Although you can't see the course we
developed together (which was 95% of this project), you can take a look at the
website (I helped with the content).
What I did. When I originally met with Donna, we discussed her project,
and I left the meeting with a stack of typed pages, her notes on the sections
of the course she had already drafted. There were several additional section
planned, which she sent to me over the course of the next few months, along
with photos, videos, and web links. This is what I did with it.
- Rewrote all written material.When it comes to estate
sales, Donna knows her business. She needed to partner up with someone
whose business is writing. During our initial meeting we decided together
on her Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA), then I took her rough notes and put
the content into appropriate language.
- Organized the material. Everything needed to be grouped
into units, with several sections within each unit, and put in a logical
sequence. We wanted the student to be walked step-by-step through the process of
starting their business, developing and running their
business, and learning many of the tricks and trade secrets that lead to a
successful business.
- Dropped in graphics and videos. We decided that each
page of the course should have it's own photo or graphic, so I went
through files Donna sent me, as well as an online resource, and decided
which graphics should go where.
- Transferred course content onto the platform. This
isn't really in my job description, but Donna needed someone to do it (I
classified this as administrative work). The site was a “cut-and-paste”
template, so little tech skill was needed.
- Set up a beta test. We wanted to have someone run
through the course to let us know 1) whether there were any bugs with the
program, 2) whether the content was logically ordered and clear, and 3) if
at the end of the course they felt they had everything they needed to
start and run an estate sale business. I located a candidate and drew up a
simple questionnaire for feedback.
- Developed and edited website content. Donna already had
some content worked out, which I tightened up. Other pages needed to be
written, which I did based on the course material we had already
developed. She also needed a Code of Ethics, which I pulled together after
reviewing several samples. And I edited her first blog post, something which will probably be a recurring assignment.
What I learned. Although I hope to learn something new from each project,
this one was particularly beneficial as a learning experience. Here's what I took
away from it.
- Don't
start until you have everything. And, I mean
everything. Particularly rewriting a project this large, it is much
more efficient to wait until everything is sitting on your desk (or
on
your hard drive) before you dig in. Neither Donna nor I had a clear
idea how large this project would get when we first met, and it evolved
as
we worked on it together. In the future, I'll ask my clients to
have all of their ducks in a row before we start crossing the
street.
- Be flexible in your communication. Being new to the
business, I had some pretty clear (and naïve) ideas about how client
communication works. Client emails document to me. I edit/proof
document and send back to client with a list of
questions/comments/concerns. Client emails answers and comments on edits.
I make final changes and email to client with my bill. But Donna was much
more comfortable communicating by phone. It took several weeks for us to
settle into a groove, but eventually we figured it out and our
communication was much clearer and more efficient.
- Rewriting is a whole lot different than editing. My
rewriting process ended up going something like this. Read the client's
draft. Think about it. Highlight crucial information and keywords. Think
about it. Decide on logical progression of ideas and information. Think
about it. Sketch out language using crucial information and keywords.
Think about it. Write first draft "in client's voice." Think
about it. Set it aside and work on something else. Edit it. Send it to
client as “first draft.” When it comes back with comments, start the
editing process.
- I catch certain types of errors more quickly on a
printed page. I realize this make me less efficient than many editors, but
getting it done right is more important to me than getting it done fast. I
know I'll eventually be able to edit and proof strictly on screen, but for
now, my last pass will be on a printed page, because my clients deserve
the absolute best I can give them.
What my Client said. Here is
the glowing recommendation from Donna.
"I’m so happy I was able to find Monique to help me write my
online estate sale courses. It has been a long time dream of mine to start a
national organization of estate sale agents and offer ongoing training and
education. Monique was able to take my years of experience in the business and
my rough notes and turn them into exactly the quality of training course I’d
hoped for. And her help developing content for my website was invaluable. No
matter what your project is if it involves expressing yourself in words Mo can
make it better." - Donna Davis, Founder, National Association of Estate Liquidators (NAOEL)
What's next. I'm already neck-deep in the line edit of a novel. I met
Anna through a LinkedIn
group when I offered to beta read her novel. She was so impressed with my
feedback, she hired me to do the editing. I am very excited about this project
-- the first book in a planned trilogy -- and Anna has already proven to be a
joy to work with.
