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Does $3/page Still Stand For Creating E-Books?

by Jamie Iaconis
10 replies
Dear Warriors and Warriorettes, your assistance is needed...

I have a project a customer wants done and I do know a ball-park
figure but I am not sure if the estimate still stands as it would have
a couple years ago for an e-book to be made up...

The e-book will include images and text and I have told my
customer is will be approx. $3 per page...

Does this amount still stand today?
($3/page to create an e-book)

All input is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Jamie
#$3 or page #create #creating #e-book #ebook #ebooks #stand
  • Profile picture of the author Shannon Tani
    I usually charge more for ebooks ($10 at the lowest), but it's all about finding a price that you're comfortable with. You have to think in terms of how long the project will take you and how much you want to make on an hourly basis. Then, figure it out from there.

    For example, if you know a lot about the topic, already have a clear idea of what you want to write, then you might be able to easily write several pages an hour, so $3 per page might be good. If the page count you're charging for includes the pictures and it's something that you can easily add (e.g. not something that you have to search for and/or create on your own), then it boosts the page count for little work.

    See what I mean? It all depends on how long you think things will take you.

    Love,
    Shannon
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    • Profile picture of the author Jamie Iaconis
      Hi Shannon,

      OK, that being said...

      He has the book already made and I believe he is getting it printed
      off soon enough as a hard-copy book... what he wants me to do is
      basically create an e-book form of it, so should go fairly smoothly.

      By what you said and now that I have written more information
      it seems that the $3 per page might be a fair amount to ask.
      (but I will also look at the whole picture i.e. total time)

      Thank you!
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        It's well over 2 years since I've done any, but $3 per page sounds very low, to me. (I know that "page" is a bit variable, of course, according to the format/size and so on.) I always used to estimate the number of hours involved, quote a price worked out from my hourly rate for the complete job, and just "stand the difference" myself, if it turned out I'd underestimated it.

        Good luck!
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      • Profile picture of the author Shannon Tani
        Originally Posted by Jamie Iaconis View Post

        Hi Shannon,

        OK, that being said...

        He has the book already made and I believe he is getting it printed
        off soon enough as a hard-copy book... what he wants me to do is
        basically create an e-book form of it, so should go fairly smoothly.

        By what you said and now that I have written more information
        it seems that the $3 per page might be a fair amount to ask.
        (but I will also look at the whole picture i.e. total time)

        Thank you!
        Formatting a book for ebook is certainly a different ball game. I didn't understand that from your post. :-) Assuming that he gives you an electronic file of the document, it shouldn't take too long and $3/page might work out well for you.

        Love,
        Shannon
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  • Profile picture of the author Danielle Lynn
    Hi Jaime,

    $3 a page for an ebook?

    A writer would be paid only $150 for a 50 page ebook that could be sold for $20-$45 a piece. Something's not adding up there, is it?

    To answer your question, I know several writers who proofread pages at around $3-$5 a page. But you'll be very hard pressed to find a good writer willing to pour hours into a $3 a page ghostwriting gig.

    Like Alexa said, there's a ton of variables that go into creating an ebook. Will they be provided with material? Are they expected to format and add pictures themselves? How many words per page?

    All these things will change the price point.

    My advice: Take a look at the warriors for hire section - I believe there's several ebook ghostwriting gigs on there. You can get a feel for the pricing available.

    Good luck to you

    Edit: If this is a formatting job, again that's up to the writer. I know some that charge as little as $1 a page, and others charge $20 per page.
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    • Profile picture of the author WebPen
      Are you sure you didn't mean $3/100 words?

      That's MUCH more reasonable, but still fairly cheap for an ebook/report.

      $3/page is not much more than $1/100 words which is dirt, dirt cheap- even for articles.

      Writers should generally charge a bit more per word when writing a report since it requires more research, has to flow well, and is going to be sold- not just fill up a website
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      • Profile picture of the author Sandor Verebi
        Hi Jamie,

        Agree with Danielle.

        Perhaps... I'd only add that you need to compile the outline first. If you have already laid the table of contents, then you can see, how will you be able to unwrap each items of your outline.

        What is the demand of your client? What is your style? What is your workload?

        You can cover much or less on a topic. It occurs that one item doesn't require more than half a page. At other times, that might need three pages to present your message properly.

        So, if you are possessing the table of content, then you are able to project the cost as you want.

        Many successes,

        Sandor
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Justin Stowe View Post

        Are you sure you didn't mean $3/100 words?
        This would make much more sense.

        $0.03 per word should be the kind of "entry-level" price, I think? :confused:
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        • Profile picture of the author Jamie Iaconis
          WOW, thanks for all of the responses from each
          and every one of you... all great insight.

          I have not done an e-book in a couple of years either Alexa but I seem
          to remember something about $3/page was the "going rate"

          I gather times have changed and prices have gone up.

          I will take everything you all have said into account
          as I am estimating what the entire job will take.

          But also like I said, he has a hard-book being made so
          I figure he must have an electronic document of some
          sort to send to me and then I will convert it.
          (which should make it much easier)
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  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    I may be misunderstanding...but I don't think he's WRITING the book for $3 per page. He's formatting a book that's already written.
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