| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Beginner Issues > Topic: being paid by the word |
Topic: being paid by the word
| Author | Message |
| rhino writer | Posted – 5/5/2008 12:15:00 PM | show profile My writing jobs so far have been by the article, flat fee. Now I have a couple that are to be paid by the word. My question is, if the editor says 800-1000 words and I hand in something that's 957 words long, do I invoice for whatever rate times 957? Do I round up to 960 or 1000? Do the title and dek count for word count, or just the article itself? Do I invoice for the number of words I hand in or the number actually published (if it needs to be cut to 900, for example)? This is more complex than I had thought. Thanks!! |
| snappiness | Posted – 5/5/2008 12:45:21 PM | show profile I am all about work-avoidance this morning, for some reason. You invoice for the agreed-upon length. If it's a range, you bill for what you write, not what runs. You can't bill for what runs anyway unless you wait months to bill, which you should never do. When I get a range like that and if I can't pin them down, I always write long and bill long. I always bill to the nearest hundred, say it's assigned at 800 - 1000 and I write 887 or 908 (which I'd never do b/se I'd write 1000), I'd bill for 900. If, in rewrite, it involves a bunch more work and is quite a bit longer, you'd discuss that with the editor, to bill at the longer count (but that's a grey area since rewrite adjustments are not likely to be spelled out in your contract, but also not likely that they're going to run it longer than assigned). The few times I've gotten more length later, the magazine paid me for the new length. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 5/5/2008 1:34:09 PM | show profile This is a good point which a lot of people overlook. Let's say a magazine assigns me a 2000 word piece and pays $1 a word. If I turn in the piece and then ask for a bunch of info that I know will dramatically expand the word count, I address that issue before I do the work. I'll email and say, "I'm happy to provide the additional info. However, this will raise the word count to 2500. I assume that the rate will go up proportionally?" It's ridiculous for a magazine to assign a 2000 word piece for a dollar a word, and then ask for more work that raises the count without paying more. --f, in rewrite, it involves a bunch more work and is quite a bit longer, you'd discuss that with the editor, to bill at the longer count (but that's a grey area since rewrite adjustments are not likely to be spelled out in your contract, but also not likely that they're going to run it longer than assigned). The few times I've gotten more length later, the magazine paid me for the new length-- |
| rhino writer | Posted – 5/5/2008 3:28:52 PM | show profile Thanks, snappiness and dribble! |
