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FAQ About Author's Assistants
What is a professional virtual author's assistant?
An author's assistant is a certified professional who makes the author's life easier. The author's assistant plays many of the roles and takes on many of the responsibilities that fall to the author, but which the author may not have the time or expertise to take on.
We have identified 24 critical services that authors need and that can be handled by a trained professional, the author's assistant.
What kind of work does an author's assistant do?
The author's assistant does a wide variety of work, and may specialize in one or more aspects of the author's workload. Many, if not most, author's assistants work virtually and spend the bulk of their time on their computers and on the telephone.
The author's assistant spends time on the phone setting appointments, doing research and fact checking, helping authors obtain any permissions required, answering author questions and explaining the publishing process, finding high-value service providers like editors, proofreaders, printers and more, following up with individuals who will be reviewing the manuscript, setting speaking engagements and more. Many author's assistants can handle all the complexities of Amazon bestseller campaigns and virtual book tours.
What do author's assistants get paid?
What author's assistants are paid varies widely, both by geography and on skill level. Most author's assistants bill by the hour, but others work by the project. Because it is so often asked, author's assistants are paid, generally, anywhere between $35 and $80 per hour.
In order to write, publish and promote books, there are certain tasks that must be done. The author can choose to do these himself or herself, but the cost of the author's time is often much more effectively spent on revenue-generating activities. It is also the cost of learning what to do that can be bypassed by using an author's assistant.
What is the typical background of an author's assistant?
An author's assistant may have worked for a long time in a corporate career in publishing or may have been an executive or virtual assistant for some time. Many author's assistants do this work as a second income and may work primarily as writers, editors, proofreaders, graphic designers or web designers.
Author's assistants typically love books and the world of books and so they have a real passion for making authors successful.
How does an author's assistant become professionally certified?
There is only one international training program to professionally certify author's assistants. The first level of certification is the Professional Virtual Author's Assistant (PVAA). To become a PVAA, an individual must take many hours of instruction with put in additional hours required for practice in the skills required and then complete a rigorous final examination. This assures you that a PVAA is ready to do the work the author needs in a competent and professional manner.
There is a second level of certification for individuals who have extensive experience in working with authors who have recommended them for certification. This level is called the MVAA, Master Virtual Author's Assistant certification.
How competitive is the market for author's assistants?
Let me answer this way: About 500,000 new trade books were published last year, about half self-published and half of these nonfiction books. At present there are fewer than 300 fully-trained professional virtual author's assistants. Based on what we see in as the future of the publishing industry (more nonfiction authors self publishing) we believe that the demand is very high for qualified author's assistants and will be for a long time in the future.
An author's assistant is a certified professional who makes the author's life easier. The author's assistant plays many of the roles and takes on many of the responsibilities that fall to the author, but which the author may not have the time or expertise to take on.
We have identified 24 critical services that authors need and that can be handled by a trained professional, the author's assistant.
What kind of work does an author's assistant do?
The author's assistant does a wide variety of work, and may specialize in one or more aspects of the author's workload. Many, if not most, author's assistants work virtually and spend the bulk of their time on their computers and on the telephone.
The author's assistant spends time on the phone setting appointments, doing research and fact checking, helping authors obtain any permissions required, answering author questions and explaining the publishing process, finding high-value service providers like editors, proofreaders, printers and more, following up with individuals who will be reviewing the manuscript, setting speaking engagements and more. Many author's assistants can handle all the complexities of Amazon bestseller campaigns and virtual book tours.
What do author's assistants get paid?
What author's assistants are paid varies widely, both by geography and on skill level. Most author's assistants bill by the hour, but others work by the project. Because it is so often asked, author's assistants are paid, generally, anywhere between $35 and $80 per hour.
In order to write, publish and promote books, there are certain tasks that must be done. The author can choose to do these himself or herself, but the cost of the author's time is often much more effectively spent on revenue-generating activities. It is also the cost of learning what to do that can be bypassed by using an author's assistant.
What is the typical background of an author's assistant?
An author's assistant may have worked for a long time in a corporate career in publishing or may have been an executive or virtual assistant for some time. Many author's assistants do this work as a second income and may work primarily as writers, editors, proofreaders, graphic designers or web designers.
Author's assistants typically love books and the world of books and so they have a real passion for making authors successful.
How does an author's assistant become professionally certified?
There is only one international training program to professionally certify author's assistants. The first level of certification is the Professional Virtual Author's Assistant (PVAA). To become a PVAA, an individual must take many hours of instruction with put in additional hours required for practice in the skills required and then complete a rigorous final examination. This assures you that a PVAA is ready to do the work the author needs in a competent and professional manner.
There is a second level of certification for individuals who have extensive experience in working with authors who have recommended them for certification. This level is called the MVAA, Master Virtual Author's Assistant certification.
How competitive is the market for author's assistants?
Let me answer this way: About 500,000 new trade books were published last year, about half self-published and half of these nonfiction books. At present there are fewer than 300 fully-trained professional virtual author's assistants. Based on what we see in as the future of the publishing industry (more nonfiction authors self publishing) we believe that the demand is very high for qualified author's assistants and will be for a long time in the future.
Last updated by Jan B. King Nov 11.
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