Any Writers In Here?

[Po Pimp]

I was propositioned with a writing assignment on Craigslist. They asked me to give them a price, but I didn't know what to say. I told them I was open to negotiation. How much would about 1000 words of writing cost?

P.S. Actually, it's mostly editing and not too much writing from scratch.

[Whitesox]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

Wow, someone paying to have you write a paper? Never heard of it.

I do write some, for school though.

[Mo]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

Depends on what it is about.

Though I wouldn't do it off craiglist.

[Blzer]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

Yeah, what's the essay on?

EDIT: Meh, it's really tough to revise a paper that's already been written. Normally the grammar things are simple, but if this is a high school Shaffer paper there's not much that you can do with regards to creative editing, and if it's open-form writing you're always inclined to make it your own but it involves major re-hauls to every paragraph and such.

I don't know what's considered a "good" price, but hell that doesn't sound like a bad gig. I know I'd never pay someone to revise my essay.

[superjames1992]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

We have a professional writer on here by the name of jim416 (The Author of The Angel From Vietnam).

[J.R. Locke]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

I have written two novels and currently working on a film script. Also working on a kickass project that will hopefully be released soon.

Anyway magazines pay different than newspapers do. If this is an essay for school or something I would charge $20 a page.

[CWSapp757]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

20 bucks a page. Man, that's some good money

[jim416]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

I was propositioned with a writing assignment on Craigslist. They asked me to give them a price, but I didn't know what to say. I told them I was open to negotiation. How much would about 1000 words of writing cost?

P.S. Actually, it's mostly editing and not too much writing from scratch.

I know a book can be expensive to have it done professionally, and right. Cost could be as high as $2-3.00 a page. My publisher wanted .03 a word. I did it myself (to much regret) which lead to changing the publisher/title/cover/etc., from The Ghosts of Vietnam to The Angel From Vietnam.

Editing sounds easy until you have a manuscript in front of you.

[Po Pimp]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

I know a book can be expensive to have it done professionally, and right. Cost could be as high as $2-3.00 a page. My publisher wanted .03 a word. I did it myself (to much regret) which lead to changing the publisher/title/cover/etc., from The Ghosts of Vietnam to The Angel From Vietnam.

Editing sounds easy until you have a manuscript in front of you.

I actually want to write a book one day. I'm not really a drawn out novel type of guy (I'm sure I would lose my focus), but maybe a collection of short stories. If I want illustrations (like for the cover), I can also do that myself. How would I go about getting a book looked at to be published?

[jim416]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

Writing a book can be quite easy actually. I'll cover more in a PM if you wish, but....

1. Just start writing your thoughts on the topic at hand.
2. Wake up in the middle of the night and remember something, write it down.
3. You don't necessarily have to worry about structure. I wrote the end of my book before I even started on the beginning.
4. Don't worry about grammar, that will come later, just WRITE.
5. Don't write every day, every hour. Take some time off, use that time to put paragraphs in order, chapters in order, etc. It took me about 8 months to write my book.
6. You CANNOT proof you're own work. NEVER. You'll needs some friends who will take the time to read your book for you, unless you want to pay for editing, and that can be expensive.

Once you've finished, let the book sit. Don't pick it up, don't read it for a few weeks, then take a ruler and go over it line, by line. You'll be surprised at what you missed (and your friends). It is very common for people to read right over errors, especially when they are errors that are spelled correctly, but the wrong word was used, e.g., "their" instead of "there" instead of "they're", "too" instead of "to", etc. You want your book clean as can be before you submit it.

If you are interested in making a lot of money.....forget it. Only a certain few, who have the money to invest, make the bucks. I went with what is called basically a vanity press and it was published for free, Publish America. I signed a seven year deal and they get the rights (except movie, lol DOH!), but I really didn't care.

The book is "print on demand". Most books are. That means that it is not in book stores, but it IS carried by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, actually hundreds of on line sites all over the world. For example, when you order it from Amazon (and they show it in stock) the order it from my publisher, how prints it on demand.

I do my own publicity and have been really happy with the results. Have done two radio shows, tons of book signings, etc., etc. and the feedback makes it all worthwhile. I keep about 50-75 books on hand (you will get big discounts then you purchase your own books) for people who get in contact with me over the internet, for book signings, etc.

I'll be more than glad to help anyone, walk anyone through the process. It would be my pleasure as I got a lot of help myself.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

That's not very long at all... unless it's really intensive stuff like technical writing, I'd say that a $50 flat fee is about right.

I'm not a writer, but I know that magazines pay about that much for editing articles.

[slickdtc]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

Writing a book can be quite easy actually. I'll cover more in a PM if you wish, but....

1. Just start writing your thoughts on the topic at hand.
2. Wake up in the middle of the night and remember something, write it down.
3. You don't necessarily have to worry about structure. I wrote the end of my book before I even started on the beginning.
4. Don't worry about grammar, that will come later, just WRITE.
5. Don't write every day, every hour. Take some time off, use that time to put paragraphs in order, chapters in order, etc. It took me about 8 months to write my book.
6. You CANNOT proof you're own work. NEVER. You'll needs some friends who will take the time to read your book for you, unless you want to pay for editing, and that can be expensive.

Once you've finished, let the book sit. Don't pick it up, don't read it for a few weeks, then take a ruler and go over it line, by line. You'll be surprised at what you missed (and your friends). It is very common for people to read right over errors, especially when they are errors that are spelled correctly, but the wrong word was used, e.g., "their" instead of "there" instead of "they're", "too" instead of "to", etc. You want your book clean as can be before you submit it.

If you are interested in making a lot of money.....forget it. Only a certain few, who have the money to invest, make the bucks. I went with what is called basically a vanity press and it was published for free, Publish America. I signed a seven year deal and they get the rights (except movie, lol DOH!), but I really didn't care.

The book is "print on demand". Most books are. That means that it is not in book stores, but it IS carried by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, actually hundreds of on line sites all over the world. For example, when you order it from Amazon (and they show it in stock) the order it from my publisher, how prints it on demand.

I do my own publicity and have been really happy with the results. Have done two radio shows, tons of book signings, etc., etc. and the feedback makes it all worthwhile. I keep about 50-75 books on hand (you will get big discounts then you purchase your own books) for people who get in contact with me over the internet, for book signings, etc.

I'll be more than glad to help anyone, walk anyone through the process. It would be my pleasure as I got a lot of help myself.

Very cool, thanks for that. I don't have any plans to write a book now, but I could definitely see myself writing down the road. This is a good little overview for someone like me. I'll remember it.

[Po Pimp]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

Writing a book can be quite easy actually. I'll cover more in a PM if you wish, but....

1. Just start writing your thoughts on the topic at hand.
2. Wake up in the middle of the night and remember something, write it down.
3. You don't necessarily have to worry about structure. I wrote the end of my book before I even started on the beginning.
4. Don't worry about grammar, that will come later, just WRITE.
5. Don't write every day, every hour. Take some time off, use that time to put paragraphs in order, chapters in order, etc. It took me about 8 months to write my book.
6. You CANNOT proof you're own work. NEVER. You'll needs some friends who will take the time to read your book for you, unless you want to pay for editing, and that can be expensive.

Once you've finished, let the book sit. Don't pick it up, don't read it for a few weeks, then take a ruler and go over it line, by line. You'll be surprised at what you missed (and your friends). It is very common for people to read right over errors, especially when they are errors that are spelled correctly, but the wrong word was used, e.g., "their" instead of "there" instead of "they're", "too" instead of "to", etc. You want your book clean as can be before you submit it.

If you are interested in making a lot of money.....forget it. Only a certain few, who have the money to invest, make the bucks. I went with what is called basically a vanity press and it was published for free, Publish America. I signed a seven year deal and they get the rights (except movie, lol DOH!), but I really didn't care.

The book is "print on demand". Most books are. That means that it is not in book stores, but it IS carried by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, actually hundreds of on line sites all over the world. For example, when you order it from Amazon (and they show it in stock) the order it from my publisher, how prints it on demand.

I do my own publicity and have been really happy with the results. Have done two radio shows, tons of book signings, etc., etc. and the feedback makes it all worthwhile. I keep about 50-75 books on hand (you will get big discounts then you purchase your own books) for people who get in contact with me over the internet, for book signings, etc.

I'll be more than glad to help anyone, walk anyone through the process. It would be my pleasure as I got a lot of help myself.

Thanks! This is good reference material that I'll save in a word document

That's not very long at all... unless it's really intensive stuff like technical writing, I'd say that a $50 flat fee is about right.

I'm not a writer, but I know that magazines pay about that much for editing articles.

Update...the guy is gonna pay me $200 for editing his documents. I told him to make me an offer because I didn't know how much to charge really. If I would have gone too high, he would have gotten someone else. If I said $50, then I would not be getting paid what I am now...lol

[Stumbleweed]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

That's good for only 1000 words. If it's pretty in-depth, that would make sense... are you editing the content (think newspaper editor) or just basically proofreading and correcting syntax, etc.?

[Po Pimp]

Re: Any Writers In Here?

That's good for only 1000 words. If it's pretty in-depth, that would make sense... are you editing the content (think newspaper editor) or just basically proofreading and correcting syntax, etc.?

I'm pretty much just sprucing it up to make it have more pizazz

Funny thing is, I'm not a professional by any means. I've proofread a bunch of papers for friends and associates for free, and I've written a few articles here and there, but that's the extent of my experience. I did major in English though, and that's probably why they contacted me.