How to ask a professional for help with your project

I will preface this to say I have never done this myself, so YMMV, but I attended a panel at Dragon Con last month where this exact question was asked. The panel said that generally speaking, universities, libraries and museums are very accommodating to requests like these. One panelist was writing a 19th century historical naval adventure and got a lot of help from the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I know for a fact he wasn't published yet at that point since it was his first novel. Another panelist contacted a historical society in Philadelphia and got the entire minutes of every Philadelphia city council meeting from the 18th century onwards e-mailed to them.

I don't know exactly what you're looking for and from whom, but e-mail makes things easier for us introverts. Look for a general contact page or information address on an institution's website, and ask to be directed to someone who might be able to help answer a question. The worst that will happen is they will say "no."

I've approached the odd person, politely, and most have been happy to help. Polite is the key...

I've gotten tons of assistance from professionals over the years. I'll be doing research, find a site, look at the references, contact the people mentioned - politely and honestly - and have never been turned down. Most are more than happy to explain things, answer even the most inane questions politely and helpfully. I've heard the same from other authors who have spoken to local law enforcement and government agencies, as well as other local experts. I'm sure there are a few rude folks out there, or people that just don't have time to help out, but if that happens, just thank them anyway and move on.

I do find many are more responsive when they know I've had novels, articles, or whatever, published. But you just ask. The trick is knowing when you're asking for too much.

I've talked to everyone from police officers, to FBI agents, to a CIA recruiting officer (I think that;s what he was. I asked to speak to a recruiter, and he's the one who came out, but with the CIA, who knows?), to Navy Seals, to astronauts, to physicists, to governors, to a vice-president, all the way up to Ronald Reagan.

Just be nice, be friendly, be confident, and come across like you know what you're doing, like you've done this a hundred times, and almost anyone will give you more than you need. Lastly, know what you want to ask, and limit how much time you take.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

If you tell them what you want the info for, people are usually very helpful.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

We have a forum here for Story Research -- people have listed their specialist subjects -- maybe you can find some of the experts you need here!

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10463

I've only had one book published, but I've asked for help and received it from: a tribal elder of a Native American tribe, a tour of more than one Coast Guard facility (and lots of questions answered), a tour of a 2-million-dollar yacht, a tour of a Masonic Lodge, and many more! If you need help practicing how to ask for the info you would like, let me know -- I am not afraid to call anyone and ask for anything! I will gladly help you come up with a short script you can practice until you are comfortable winging it!

The one time I contacted a specialist in a subject, they simply ignored my email. Which, you know, was frustrating, but maybe they were busy, or had bigger problems going on. Or maybe they didn't know the answer to my question and didn't want to appear ignorant.

Even still, it never hurts to ask. Every now and again, I have someone contact me to ask about historical costuming. It's fun to talk about your passions, so I don't mind answering questions. I don't expect credit or payment, although a mention in the acknowledgments would certainly be gratifying.

The only thing that truly annoys me is when a writer comes in with preconceived notions and refuses to admit they might be wrong. One time, I talked with a writer who was so desperate to keep a subplot intact that she completely twisted my words to support her ideas. I was peeved, to say the least! But sometimes a writer wants a scene to go a certain way, so they're not looking for the truth, they're looking for "proof" to support their version of events.

My advice is: don't limit yourself based on what you think you know about the subject. Be willing to accept that your notions of history, or science, or whatever, might be based upon popular myths and misconceptions. Don't be ashamed if that's the case! Plenty of people have been fooled. If you're in doubt, talk to more than one expert, just to make sure you're getting the whole picture.

Faye-M said:

Followup question - Do they ever ask to be paid? Is their name on the acknowledgements page usually enough?

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I've never had anyone ask for payment. If they were to say they typically get paid X amount for a "consultation" or whatever, I'd probably just thank them and move on to the next on the list

Orianna2000 said:

The one time I contacted a specialist in a subject, they simply ignored my email. Which, you know, was frustrating, but maybe they were busy, or had bigger problems going on. Or maybe they didn't know the answer to my question and didn't want to appear ignorant.

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An e-mail is very easy to ignore. Phone calls are much more difficult to ignore In person is almost impossible to ignore.

Unless I know the person, or unless they have a set up inviting e-mail questions, then e-mail is always my last resort. Many people are swamped with e-mail. As of last week, I receive an average of more than one hundred and thirty e-mails per day, and this doesn't even count all the junk e-mail that gets filtered out. Some receive a heck of a lot more than I do.

Now add text messages to this, and many are drowning.

remember

Most experts like to explain things in their specialty, especially if it's a field that doesn't get much attention. Typically, they became knowledgeable because they love their field, and love leads to sharing.

Be polite, ask intelligent questions, a little up front research, tell them how it will be used, and your problem will be too much help and information.

Faye-M said:

Do they ever ask to be paid? Is their name on the acknowledgements page usually enough?

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If you're asking someone to do something for you that's the same as the things they usually get paid for -- if you're asking,that is, for professional service of some sort -- it's not unreasonable for them to ask for payment. It's their work, and there's no reason they should be expected to work for free for every stranger who asks. (But if you explain they may give a waiver or a discount on the fee.)

Information may fall into that category in some cases, e.g. if you want actionable legal advice from a lawyer.

Mostly, though, if you ask someone for information about their professional field of expertise, and they have the time & inclination to answer you at all, they will do it for free, & they may be happy to have the attention of someone who's interested in their specialty.

In that case, it's generally a good idea to do your own basic research first, so you can approach them with specific questions & demonstrate that you respect their time, that you aren't just trying to shortcut a homework assignment, and that you haven't already jumped to a conclusion that you just want them to agree with.

Email, as people have said, is not necessarily the best way to get the attention of a busy professional. People often don't even see the email that comes in from strangers at unknown addresses, or open email they don't already recognize as important/urgent for other reasons.

Phone may work better. If you leave voicemail, though, don't be surprised if it doesn't get a response. Voicemail (esp. from strangers) is another thing that a lot of people don't pay any attention to anymore.

If you can find them on a social network, that may give you an access path. Depending on the type of expertise you want to leverage, there may be forums you can make use of. (There are a variety of interest-groups on Linkedin, for instance, where people can be very chatty about professional topics.) If people don't know the answer themselves they may be able to refer you to someone who does, and an introduction/reference from a known acquaintance may put you a step closer than total stranger.

As Karen said upthread, there's a story research subforum here. Perhaps ask your question there? It can't hurt*.


* Not guaranteed.

I think it really depends on the nature of the help you want. It'd good to be as specific as possible about what it is you need to know. For instance, a student asked me once if he could pick my brain about some biology stuff for a book he was writing, and I said, "Sure." But as it turned out, he didn't have anything really specific he wanted to talk about. It's more like he wanted me to tell him every possible thing that might be useful to know about biology for someone writing a SF story set on an alien planet.

I wasn't able to be terribly helpful in that instance. All I could really do was point him towards some web sites that he could have found on his own anyway.

Faye-M said:

Thanks, everyone, for your responses! Unfortunately, the person I contacted for help basically blew me off, wondering why I was trying to write a book that included topics for which I needed outside help, and telling me to ask friends and family for artistic guidance instead of an important professional. Mmkay. Not doing that again.

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Well . . . sometimes people are jerks. I'm sorry you found one! There's no telling who you're going to meet when you reach out. You might find someone who blows you off and is rude, or you might find someone who's just too busy to help you, or you might find someone who loves to talk about their interests and will go above and beyond to help you with the information you need.

Try not to let it discourage you! (Easier said than done, I know.)

Obviously, this guy is ignorant if he thinks that writers ought to know 100% about every detail they include in their novels. I've spent hours researching things for my novels! Indeed, research is a well-known trap that prevents writers from actually writing. . . . And with the internet, it's all too easy to get enthralled with the history of sidesaddles, or 18th century French baking, or medieval plumbing.

Orianna2000 said:

And with the internet, it's all too easy to get enthralled with the history of sidesaddles, or 18th century French baking, or medieval plumbing.

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OMG, you really aren't kidding here (and yes, I've been sucked into research morasses by 2/3 of these topics--the ones that aren't related to baking).

Faye-M said:

Thanks, everyone, for your responses! Unfortunately, the person I contacted for help basically blew me off, wondering why I was trying to write a book that included topics for which I needed outside help, and telling me to ask friends and family for artistic guidance instead of an important professional. Mmkay. Not doing that again.

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I've found many instances where the help of an outside professional was required. You can't go by what any one person says or does.

I'm not sure where "artistic guidance" comes in. My questions are always technical, in the experts field, usually pretty darned difficult, and never one I can answer on Google. Certainly none could be answered by friends or family, or I would have gone there first. We don't even talk about a novel, or art, or writing.

I agree, and I should have thought to mention it in my previous post, but what does "artistic guidance" have to do with anything? It's not like you were asking this "expert" for advice on character arcs, or plot twists, or anything to do with writing. You went to him for help researching a particular subject, in which he's supposedly knowledgeable. It's certainly none of his concern what you do with the information he gives you!

(. . . Unless you're asking for advice on making explosives. Then I'd be concerned if he didn't ask why you needed to know.)

Gah! The nerve of some people. I'm starting to get angry with this dude, not only on your behalf, Faye, but because he's insulted all of the writing community with his haughty ignorance.

Faye-M said:

So true... Thanks, I'm trying not to let it discourage me. I toyed with the idea of using this guy's name for a villain in my book, but maybe that would be going too far.

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I know how you feel, but that sounds like a quick way to end up with the Author Behaving Badly label. If you contact someone you don't know, completely out of the blue, asking them to take time to help you with your project and they don't give you that help, move on.

Have a look at your request. Is there ambiguity? Maybe there's a way to rephrase it when you ask the next person.

Or ask in AW.