Ghost Writing eBook - What should I CHARGE?

[skorpion]

I am ghost writing an ebook for someone based on their notes with no research required. What should I charge for this per word...per page?

Thanks

[bhopkins]

I'm not sure, but once you figure it out PM me a price for one of about 50 pages with all my notes. You will have to take some screen shots, but the rest will be just following notes.

Also I would need to see some examples of your work.


Bruce

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by skorpion

I am ghost writing an ebook for someone based on their notes with no research required. What should I charge for this per word...per page?

Thanks

Are you good?

[WritingMadwoman]

Have you seen their notes already? If so, are they clear enough to work from? I always make sure I ask to see them beforehand because I've been handed some frightening "research" and couldn't make heads or tails of it, which took way longer than I originally anticipated.

You'll find that ghostwriting rates vary by a lot depending who you talk to, what kind of writing it is and how experienced you are as a writer.

For most general jobs I've seen writers charging anywhere from $5 a page on up to hundreds. Mine fall in between there somewhere too. (Average would be between $10 and $35 for straight content jobs, but again it depends on a lot of things.)

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that yes you can charge by the word if you like, average for that seems to be anywhere from 1 cent to 10 cents, but can go higher depending on what kind of writing it is.

Hope that helps,

Wendy

Originally Posted by skorpion

I am ghost writing an ebook for someone based on their notes with no research required. What should I charge for this per word...per page?

Thanks

[Zeus66]

If you have experience, $10 per page is probably the "going" rate. Less for less experience, more for more. But those are typical rates for writing one from scratch. If you have to do no research, drop your rate by a few dollars/page, I would think. I've written several ebooks, but never one I didn't have to do research to compile.

John

[skorpion]

Originally Posted by bhopkins

I'm not sure, but once you figure it out PM me a price for one of about 50 pages with all my notes. You will have to take some screen shots, but the rest will be just following notes.

Also I would need to see some examples of your work.


Bruce

PM Sending...

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

Are you good?

Yes, I have always been a great writer. Just been focusing on running my biz and designing sites lately.

Originally Posted by WritingMadwoman

Have you seen their notes already? If so, are they clear enough to work from? I always make sure I ask to see them beforehand because I've been handed some frightening "research" and couldn't make heads or tails of it, which took way longer than I originally anticipated.

You'll find that ghostwriting rates vary by a lot depending who you talk to, what kind of writing it is and how experienced you are as a writer.

For most general jobs I've seen writers charging anywhere from $5 a page on up to hundreds. Mine fall in between there somewhere too. (Average would be between $10 and $35 for straight content jobs, but again it depends on a lot of things.)

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that yes you can charge by the word if you like, average for that seems to be anywhere from 1 cent to 10 cents, but can go higher depending on what kind of writing it is.

Hope that helps,

Wendy

Originally Posted by Zeus66

If you have experience, $10 per page is probably the "going" rate. Less for less experience, more for more. But those are typical rates for writing one from scratch. If you have to do no research, drop your rate by a few dollars/page, I would think. I've written several ebooks, but never one I didn't have to do research to compile.

John

Thanks guys. I've decided on a rate...right around what I thought I should charge.

[angela99]

I agree with the OP -- ask to see the notes. :-) Some buyers have a very strange idea of just how much information you need to write an ebook.

Re the prices you charge; that's up to you.

Work out how much you need to earn per hour to stay in business, and then (once you have the notes) do a little test run. Write five pages and see how long it takes you. You'll get faster, but this is a guide.

Once you've done your five pages, you know how long that takes you, and with your "must have" hourly rate, you can work out a fee for the project.

DON'T SEND your test run to the client until you have an agreement, and some money in hand, of course.

Big Tip -- add on at least 20 per cent to your fee to cover unforeseen challenges. I once quoted on a furniture catalog and miscalculated, so that I ended up working for half my normal rate. Completely my own fault, but mistakes and miscalculations happen...

Good luck, hope you have fun with the project -- I love writing ebooks, because I can immerse myself in a project. :-)

Cheers

Angela

[impact-productions]

You need to be very clear how many words per page you intend to average. This will vary dramatically depending on font size, line spacing, page size (UK or US) etc.

You also need to decide, are you providing raw text, or are you delivering the formatting, screen shots, table of contents etc, all within. If so, are you charging only for the main body, or for the complete page length including the filler pages.

Personally, I'd suggest charging only for the main body of text, and offering the additional services at a further rate for people who want a polished product.