Genealogy Conferences - Delivering the Content

This week's discussion at 'Geneabloggers' is about genealogy conferences. On day 1 Thomas and Helen (and probably others whose posts I did not see) talked about conferences from the perspective of the planners. Thomas has also written a brilliant post about being a speaker.

Later this week I will explain why I love attending genealogy conferences, and the realities of selling goods and services there; but today's topic is Delivering the Content: what does it take to be a speaker at a genealogy conference? One thing it takes is courage! Even after presenting fifty papers to audiences ranging in size from fifteen to over one hundred people, I still get butterflies in my tummy. (Hint: take homeopathics such as Rescue Remedy or Brauer's Nervatona Focus before the talk!)

A wise friend once told me, 'Choose a topic that you know well. Then, as you look out at the sea of expectant faces, remind yourself that they have come to listen because you know more about the topic than they do.'

When I am asked to give a talk, this is what usually happens:

1. The organisers and I agree on a date, time, venue, number of talks, length of the talk/s (with or without question time), and payment / reimbursement of expenses if applicable.
2. Sometimes I am asked for a specific talk that I have given elsewhere, but usually I submit a list (titles plus content descriptions) and the host makes a selection.
3. I ask what equipment will be provided (laptop, projector, microphone etc), and I ask permission to display and sell my books.
4. I ask whether I need to put a purchase order number on my invoice. (I once waited three months for reimbursement of $600 travel costs because the host forgot to give me a purchase order number.)
5. Only once have I been asked to sign a contract, but I was happy to do so. Occasionally I draw up an agreement based on the advice in Professional Genealogy: a manual for researchers, writers, editors, lecturers and librarians (Elizabeth Shown Mills; Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 2001). Usually I just send (and require acknowledgment of) an email that clearly states all the arrangements.
6. I write or update the talk(s); do one or more practice runs to check the timing; prepare handouts; scan documents for use in overheads; and create a Powerpoint presentation. Non-presenters have no concept of how long all that takes!
7. I save the Powerpoint show on a USB flash drive (or two), in several different formats including HTML. I once found that the host's laptop would not open my Powerpoint slides, so now I play it safe.

It's lucky that I enjoy travelling, because 90% of my talks have been a long way from home. A six-hour drive is not uncommon. If I need to fly, I check airline schedules before agreeing to speak at a certain time. I once had to leave home at 3.30am because I made the mistake of letting the organisers book my flight. After some panic situations due to cancelled flights or vehicle breakdowns, I now aim to arrive in town the previous night.

Many speakers enjoy being billeted in private homes, but I had a very bad experience with that. My hostess insisted on talking (picking my brains?) until midnight - and to make matters worse, I was allergic to her dog.

In Making Money from Genealogy, I talked about payment for speaking engagements. Unless I belong to the host society, I usually charge a speaker's fee and ask to be reimbursed for travel and accommodation expenses. The 2009 Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry was (to the best of my knowledge) the first Congress to offer speakers a really good deal. The organisers might not want me to publish all the details here, but you can email me if you wish. One of the conditions was that we should be available to delegates at all times (so no skipping social functions or sneaking off to go sightseeing!)

Talks are usually arranged many months in advance, but my most enjoyable 'speaking trip' was an impromptu affair. My sister asked me to relocate her campervan from the Gold Coast to Cairns. I drove 2,000 kilometres in nine days, and along the way (with only three weeks notice) I gave talks at Biloela, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Mackay, Townsville and two in Cairns. I had contacted Council libraries and genealogical groups, told them what day I would be in town, and offered to do a talk for just $50. (Council libraries in Australia usually expect to pay about $100.) I gave them a choice of three talks, all of which I had done before. The trip was tiring but great fun, and the $50 fees plus sales of my books covered the cost of fuel, caravan parks and my flight home from Cairns to Brisbane.

I would love to do similar trips in the future, especially in rural Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Family historians who live far from a capital city really appreciate the opportunity to learn about sources and research strategies. I can empathise with them, because I grew up in the bush and started researching my family when I lived six hundred miles from Brisbane (with no Internet).

I wonder what other speakers find especially rewarding. For me, the ultimate thrill was having a member of the audience look at one of my overheads and excitedly say, 'That's my great-grandfather!'

Making Money from Genealogy

There has been much discussion this week about 'genealogy blogs for fun or profit' and 'careers in genealogy'. Before I add my ten cents worth, let me explain my perspective. Although I am relatively new to blogging, I have been doing personal family history research since 1974 and paid research since 1986. As a medical scientist in a hospital, I was working a five-day week plus some nights, weekends and on-call. I switched to part-time employment because my parents were getting on in years and needed help. Less hospital work meant less income but more free time and flexibility, and part-time professional genealogy became an option.

I am the sort of person who reads the instruction manual before taking the new gizmo out of its packaging, so in addition to reading widely and attending many seminars, I wanted some formal training. After hearing an inspirational lecture by Elizabeth Shown Mills, I did a Graduate Diploma in Local and Applied History (University of New England, NSW). That was expensive and took four years (two subjects per year), but it was interesting, relevant and definitely worthwhile. I also taught myself to write HTML code in a text editor and create my own Web pages (the smartest move I ever made).

Genealogy Blogging for Fun or Profit

Should genealogy blogs have advertising, affiliate links etc? This was thoroughly debated in 'Genealogy Blogging for Fun or Profit' (Thomas MacEntee) and Genea-Bodies: The New Somebodies (Joan Miller). In Beyond Genealogy, Illya defined 'information', 'research' and 'family-focussed' genealogy blogs, and said that 'Anyone who devotes significant amounts of time in their blogging efforts and produces meaningful and helpful posts that promote quality research and support the industry should... have the guilt-free opportunity to benefit financially.'

The phrase 'guilt-free' is interesting. No business survives without promotion, and no-one should feel the need to apologise for promoting their business - and yet, like many genealogy professionals, talking about fees often makes me uncomfortable. (Perhaps this week's discussion will help me to get over that!) I love helping people, and I spend quite a lot of time on genealogical activities for which I am not paid. It is not always easy to achieve the right balance between genealogy for fun and genealogy as a business.

In most of my blog posts I freely share my knowledge of family history sources, techniques etc. Occasionally I mention my own services or publications, but my blogs are more educational than promotional. They do not yet have many readers so they generate virtually no revenue from ads. For my main Web site, which shows Google ads, the situation is quite different. With a Google Adsense account I can tweak the HTML code to control which part of the page the ad server reads when it is deciding what advertisements will match the page content. I can also block ads that I feel are not appropriate for my site. This means that most ads displayed are relevant to my readers. It costs them nothing to click on an ad and get more details, and I earn about $600 per year (enough to cover the cost of my Web hosting fees and Internet connection). But, as I said, that is from my Web site, not my blogs.

What Do You Mean It Isn't Free?

I was impressed by the article 'You Pay Your Plumber, Don't You?' (Thomas MacEntee). Many people simply do not understand what is involved in handling a research request, so I now put this on my Web site:

Fees are based on costs incurred and time spent on handling the commission. This includes the time it takes to analyse information supplied, contact you for clarification if insufficient data is provided initially, plan the research, search the records, assess results, order and collect photocopies, prepare reports, and read and respond to emails. Out-of-pocket expenses are extra (photocopies, phonecalls, certificates, photographs, postage, packaging etc). My hourly rate covers non-billable expenses such as stationery, computer hardware and software, equipment repairs, Internet access, Webpage costs, electricity, ongoing education (genealogy seminars, conferences and journals), books/fiche/CD-ROMs for my home reference library, etc.

Careers in Genealogy

I earn money primarily from research, copying services and self-published books. The vast majority of my clients find me via my Web site, which has lots of free advice, plus tens of thousands of names from archival sources that I have indexed. If you find a relevant name there, you can pay a 'copying service' fee and I will go to the Archives and copy the original document. (If you are determined, have lots of time and can visit the Archives in person, the source description on my Web page may be enough for you to find the document without my help.)

For speaking I usually charge a fee (unless the group is one to which I belong) and I expect to be reimbursed for all or most of my expenses (travel, accommodation etc). In Australia, Council libraries usually pay higher speaker's fees than genealogical societies. I do not give the same talk often enough for a speaker's fee to cover the time involved in preparing talks, overheads and handouts (not to mention travel time) - but in country areas people often buy my books after the talk, so that helps. In the future I hope to do more speaking, especially in rural areas and perhaps overseas. Some groups keep inviting me back, so they must think I give value for money. (I once extended a two-hour talk to four hours because the audience and I were enjoying ourselves so much, but I was a wreck afterwards!)

In Genealogy: Charting Your Own Course (Amy Coffin), Kerry Scott commented that 'some of the traditional advice to would-be professional genealogists can be (unintentionally) very discouraging.' There is a fine line between 'discouraging' and 'realistic'. Personally I like to understand the potential risks and rewards before putting a lot of time, effort and money into setting up a business. I am so often asked about genealogy as a career that I have prepared a leaflet on the subject. I will publish that in a future blog post.

Conclusion

When my accountant looks at the figures for my genealogy business, she shakes her head and says, 'Why do you bother?' I explain that it is not my sole source of income; that it gives me a lot of pleasure; and that being able to claim genealogy conference expenses as a tax deduction is a big plus! I do have plans for expanding and diversifying my business, but everything is on hold while I deal with family commitments, health issues, bereavement and executor duties. In the meantime, I am learning as much as I can from this wonderful community of genealogy bloggers. Thanks, folks!

Follow Friday: Geniaus

'Follow Friday' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'. My recommendation this week is Geniaus, where I especially enjoyed these blog posts:

• 10 things I can't live without to support my genealogy addiction. Jill illustrates how people (including volunteers and decision makers) play a vital role in our research. She also mentions Trove, which has material of interest to genealogists worldwide (journals, magazines, photos, maps, and searchable Australian newspapers). Note that Australian newspapers often print death notices etc that were originally published overseas.

• Pointers for Presenters and the follow-up post Get Prior Information on Your Audience contain advice that is especially relevant to those who give talks or seminars on genealogy and related topics. (I will try to follow that advice in my talks!