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[syverce]

So I haven't been posting a lot of writing here because I've been working on embarrassing fandom projects. To ease my financial issues, I'm considering offering literature commissions. There's not a lot of call for it so I don't expect to make oodles of money, but every little bit helps. This post is more about discussing the feasibility of such

Comments

[tmelange]

I think it's a great idea. Writing is a marketable skill, and I know I would pay for a commission, just like I pay for art commissions. The question for me would be the topics you'd be available to write.

I think $1 per 400 words to be a very low rate. I freelance write on general topics and I make $13 - $25 per 400 words. I think if you are writing original it is more valuable than fanfic, but I think even fanfic is more valuable than $1 per 400. I equate 400 words to an artist's sketch or doodle, like making chibis. I have paid art commissions like that from $10 - $25...

[syverce]

By my understanding freelance works differently from commission writing, and commission writing is very poorly covered on the internet. Those few authors I could find providing it who were, in my opinion, comparable, offered rates that broke down to about that. This is why I'm asking, tho', to get a sense of the value of the written word.

I may take you up on the freelance thing. I'll have to produce a worthwhile sample first--I'm pretty sure my weirdshit fiction won't cut it.

[tmelange]

Very true. I think it all comes down to what people will pay. I think many people won't harp on the specific price if they know it's for a good cause. People have started paying for writing commissions for charity, but I think there is as valid a window for writing commissions that support the writer's income as there are for art commissions. In other words, if I saw a writer or artist open up commissions as a way to bridge income requirements while looking for a new job, I would support them.

I can give you a sample, and you can re-write it, if you like. The only problem is all my samples are business-related. You could use one of your blogging posts on gaming, though. That's a viable topic.

[syverce]

I'll look through my stuff from college, see if I can find one of my "translations", I had a class where our weekly assignment was to take professional literature and translate so anyone could read it, there may be something there I can re-write.

I was part of a discussion about this with an artist I'm no longer friends with, why its viable to pay for fanart or other art commissions but no one commissions writing. There's a general sense of devaluing writing, as its more approachable--it requires very few special tools, and is viewed as requiring much less in way of specialized skill. We never came to a conclusion on the topic.

[tmelange]

If you need to make some quick money writing, I suggest signing up with Demand Media to do some blog writing:

http://www.demandstudios.com/freelance-work/writers.html

They pay between $15 - $25 for 400 words and pays twice a week. It's a good way to get cash quickly.

If you plan to do this, talk to me first for advice.

[telerib]

How confident are you that you can hit a given word count? Specifically, how to neck down or blow up a piece to fit within the commission, so that you can write 'Alistair gives my f!Cousland the rose' at 500, 1000, and 4000 words.

I suspect you're fine with it - if kmeme is good for nothing else, it's good for learning to estimate about what you can get done in 600 words or so. But I think you'll save time and effort if you can peg the word count pretty close on your first draft, instead of figuring out that you're overwriting only when you're half-done with the piece and now have to totally restructure it to fit it in.

[syverce]

Doing commission writing would involve a lot of discussion with the buyer, to reconcile their expectations and realism. My sense of writing is more, I write this much in an hour and I cover about this much content over so much time spent writing.

I tend toward the florid and the concise by turns, and still have my BSing skills from college (which translated well to fiction), so I'm pretty sure I can inflate a word count as necessary or whittle it down as well. This is also part of the purpose of ongoing dialogue with the buyer, being able to go, "so this is my word count, and this is where I am story-wise, we need to talk."

[tmelange]

Last, I plan to start a online story subscription website a la juxtaposefantasy.net in the next couple of months. Email me if you have any interest in entrepreneurship.

[syverce]

I've no experience with subscribing or otherwise to such a thing, do people actually make any money off of them?

[tmelange]

Oh, absolutely. Provided you are prolific and can run a business. You should study juxtaposefantasy. She's been running that site for...10 years? It's her primary source of income.

[syverce]

She's the only one I'm aware of, though.... I imagine you've researched this quite a bit, so I'll stop doubting.

[i_am_elenilote]

A friend of mine just started doing this sort of thing, fanfic commissions. $1 /400 words is incredibly low, you should pitch it about $5 per 1000 words. I would imagine you have no issues writing porn but as a rule, the more graphic the content, the more it will cost.
It's easier for people to pay a rounded amount than calculating per word count, also if you charge a fixed fee up to a set o of words, gives you more freedom with the stoty.

[syverce]

There would be "tiers", I imagine, up to this much at this rate, this much at this rate, but there's not a lot to draw from for what writing is worth. If I'm writing non stop but not at my fastest pace that's paying myself... only $9 an hour, so you're right, I would want to be making a little more.