by Jake Poinier
Dear Dr. Freelance, I am a rookie soon-to-be freelancer based in Europe who’s wondering how much to charge for Twitter ghostwriting.
The background: I am currently finishing a webdesign/copywriting project for a small software startup. Since they are both colleagues of mine and they were offering me the chance to collaborate on future projects, I gave them a 30% discount on an already very conservative estimate. Still, it was quite a lot of money for them. [Read more…]
by Jake Poinier
Dr. Freelance: I have been working with a private partner/funder on a writing and research project for the past year in which I accepted a low rate in exchange for the lion’s share of credit and 50% of royalties. He has now referred me to a friend of his, and I’m realizing I should probably charge about 60% more. (That’s how deeply I discounted myself.) With that said, what’s your thought on raising rates that much for a friend of a current client? It’s not a project that I’m especially passionate about, nor do I expect there to even be a book, so I hesitate to use royalties as part of my negotiation. More generally, is $40 a reasonable rate for someone who is relatively new to the game? — Ready4Raise [Read more…]
by Jake Poinier
Dr. Freelance: What would you say are reasonable freelance ghostwriting rates for a non-fiction book for a leading authority on a topic, based on his research and data? (He’s a Ph.D. and the president of a large university.) When negotiating a contract, should the ghostwriter ask for payment during the writing stage, plus a percentage of the book royalties? The author has also offered to share credit. — Could Be Casper
Casper: How appropriate that a ghost would write in just before Halloween! Honestly, there are a 101 ways for a freelancer to skin that black cat. For starters, this “How Much Should I Charge?” pdf from The Writers Market says this about ghostwriting rates (without royalty or credit): $70 an hour, with a per project low of $5000, high of $100,000, and average of $36,000. The per word costs are 50 cents low, $3 high, and average $1.65. Yeah, that’s a pretty wide range! [Read more…]