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Friday link roundup

by Jake Poinier

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Super busy day ahead, but wanted to take a few minutes to share a link roundup of items I came across in the past few days:

Here’s How Daniel Pink Writes: Absolutely fantastic interview at Copyblogger with the author of Free Agent Nation, Drive, and, most recently, To Sell Is Human. Free Agent Nation made a huge impact on me when I was early in my freelancing career, confirming that I was on the right track going solo. I simply love the way he thinks, and am gratified that he thinks writer’s block is bunk, just like I do. [Read more…]

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Triangle man and the ill-fated writing partner

by Jake Poinier

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Part of succeeding in the freelance world is having partners you can depend on—most often, for me, that happens with good, solid graphic designers and web designers, and I am blessed to have several.

By nature, I’m a lone wolf when it comes to writing, but on occasion, I’ve been partnered with other freelance writers on a project. In cases where I’ve assembled the team, it’s been smooth sailing. More recently, I ran into a situation where my writing partner wasn’t someone I would have chosen. And it ended badly, as triangle situations often do. [Read more…]

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Getting started as a ghostwriter

by Jake Poinier

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From deep in the comments on a post about “Freelance ghostwriting rates”…Dear Dr. Freelance: I am a long-time (30 year) writer/editor working in the non-profit field, and currently between jobs. I have done interviews for feature pieces as well as for fundraising videos; edited all manner of manuscripts and proposals; successfully written over other people’s signatures in their voices; and feel comfortable with all of the above, but have never been officially hired as a ghostwriter.  [Read more…]

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Freelance ghostwriting rates

by Jake Poinier

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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…]

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Freelance Follies: Can you just wordsmith it a bit?

by Jake Poinier

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Freelance Follies Episode #4: “Can you just wordsmith it a bit?” Because, as our intrepid freelancer finds out…sometimes, “wordsmith” is client-speak for “don’t touch a thing.”

You can see all of the Freelance Follies video shorts at DearDrFreelance’s YouTube channel.

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