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Fortuitous Jinx · 09-05-2014

I think you're too high, honestly. I just took a look at Fictionmania and the MC story archive. Just looking at it (and this is just my personal view), I went to one of my favorite stories there that I consider "the right length"...not so long I lose interest, not so short I'm left wanting more. It was 9000 words. And knowing my budget, and what it will get me if I spend it on what is (essentially) fap material, I would probably have been willing to pay 20 dollars if that story was written to my specifications.

You have to remember again that people can buy a 10-15 minute video for ten-ish dollars, or a graphic novel for 3-4. Yes, those aren't custom, but there's enough of it out there that they can usually find what they want. I would probably set my price point at about 10 dollars = 5000 words. This is, again, hard to say because there's no examples out there.

One concept from the modeling world may apply here. When you first start, you end up doing a lot of what they call TFP (Time for Prints)...the photographer gets no pay, because he's getting a model for free. The model gets no pay, because she's getting photos for her portfolio. At the end of the day, they both have something they can show to other people to help boost their portfolios and convince people they're worth paying rates, even though they made no money off THIS.

Talk to some people, and do up a few sample stories, at varying lengths. Make what would be a $5.00 story, and a $10.00 story, and a $20.00 story. Put those up as examples to show people what they'd be getting for their money.

While everyone loves the idea that you can make money off what you do, the reality is, most people don't want to commit to it, they just dabble a toe. They overcharge, when there are a LOT of competitors, or they take six months to deliver a commission...things like that. The people who make it in the commission biz are the ones who start with low rates, and FAST turnaround times. That builds word of mouth and a clientele. Once you're successful and famous? Then you can raise your rates. But at the start, you build volume, cause that's what you need to build a client base.

09-05-2014	#4
Fortuitous Jinx Lurker Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 10	Re: Commisions - What is a fair price? [Writing] I think you're too high, honestly. I just took a look at Fictionmania and the MC story archive. Just looking at it (and this is just my personal view), I went to one of my favorite stories there that I consider "the right length"...not so long I lose interest, not so short I'm left wanting more. It was 9000 words. And knowing my budget, and what it will get me if I spend it on what is (essentially) fap material, I would probably have been willing to pay 20 dollars if that story was written to my specifications. You have to remember again that people can buy a 10-15 minute video for ten-ish dollars, or a graphic novel for 3-4. Yes, those aren't custom, but there's enough of it out there that they can usually find what they want. I would probably set my price point at about 10 dollars = 5000 words. This is, again, hard to say because there's no examples out there. One concept from the modeling world may apply here. When you first start, you end up doing a lot of what they call TFP (Time for Prints)...the photographer gets no pay, because he's getting a model for free. The model gets no pay, because she's getting photos for her portfolio. At the end of the day, they both have something they can show to other people to help boost their portfolios and convince people they're worth paying rates, even though they made no money off THIS. Talk to some people, and do up a few sample stories, at varying lengths. Make what would be a $5.00 story, and a $10.00 story, and a $20.00 story. Put those up as examples to show people what they'd be getting for their money. While everyone loves the idea that you can make money off what you do, the reality is, most people don't want to commit to it, they just dabble a toe. They overcharge, when there are a LOT of competitors, or they take six months to deliver a commission...things like that. The people who make it in the commission biz are the ones who start with low rates, and FAST turnaround times. That builds word of mouth and a clientele. Once you're successful and famous? Then you can raise your rates. But at the start, you build volume, cause that's what you need to build a client base.