How much to write a book

[Anonymous No.15620444]

I got an offer from a business man to write him a fiction book about the project he has been working for quite some time. He said he would gladly finance it and he would want it finished in a year and a half, when the project is finished. I accepted it since I never had a novel published yet, only short stories that won contests.

Today is my first session with him. He will explain to me his journey through the project and the people who stood against it. My question is how much money can I ask him to write the book? I thought about 5000€ (I'm an eurofag) since it will be a year and a half commitment and that implies a great deal of hours working on it but I don't really know the rates.

[Anonymous No.15620512]

Bumping

[Anonymous No.15620558]

bump

[Anonymous No.15620572]

Some business guy wants someone else to write a work of fiction about a project he's working on? What is this?

[Anonymous No.15620582]

>>15620572
He wants to criticize the people who made his life impossible. This project is a passion of his and wants to finish it with a novel.

[Anonymous No.15620620]

>>15620444
Go to >>>/biz/ if you want financial advice.
To me 5k€ sounds very low for a year and half. I'd change that much for 3 months or less

[Anonymous No.15621032]

>>15620620
This is not about finantial advice but writing as a job advice. I also need to say that I won't do this full time, I expect to have a decent novel (200-250 pages) by the end of his project. I would dedicate like 1-2 hours a day on average so it would take me about 1000 hours without counting the hours I will spend listening to the bussiness man story. Since it is my first paid job I would say having 5€ an hour is decent.

For how much an hour would you accept writing a book?

[Anonymous No.15621056]

>>15620444
Tell him 5000 for first advance and if he likes how it's going at the six month mark then you can negotiate the second advance.

[Anonymous No.15621064]

>>15621032
5€ an hour? That's not nearly enough. The minimum wage jobs where I live are 10€/ hour.

[Anonymous No.15621094]

>>15621064
In my country (Spain) it is also below minimum wage (it's 6,5 €) but I prefer shooting low and taking the writing job than lose it because it's tooe xpensive.

I will probe him on accepting me first though. I will listen to his story until I have it completed then I will pitch the full novel with it's structure and maybe the first sample pages.


>>15621056
Now this I like it more. The idea of an advance didn't cross my head. I will probably do something like this. Thank you!

[Anonymous No.15621120]

>>15621094
Don't sell yourself short, because if it works out he will tell people you work for less than minimum wage. Get an advance, and make sure your total per hour comes out at skilled worker rates. You don't need to tell him how many hours you actually work in the end, only you need know that. You can tell him you're going to work one to two hours most days and some days maybe more.

[Anonymous No.15621155]

>>15621120
This is a good idea, listen to him OP.

[Anonymous No.15621166]

>>15621120
There is a complication I haven't told you about. My company might also work on this project (construction) and I fear that we might not end up taking the project. I appreciate your concern but I don't want another company taking the project.

[Anonymous No.15621195]

>>15621166
>fear that we might not end up taking the project
If that happens make it clear you're willing to add them to the list of bastards who have wronged him. Don't bring it up until it happens though.

[Anonymous No.15622263]

>>15620444
ask for an advance and don't sell yourself short even if it's your first job. By having a low rate you come off as desperate and unprofessional.
Do this >>15621056

[Anonymous No.15623908]

>>15622263
I just came back from the meeting. They are very positive about giving us the cosntruction project. As for the novel, we've connected very well and when he asked about the financing I told him I wanted 5000€ and he didn't respond negatively so I guess it's good for him; I'm happy. We still have to discuss the payment process but I think I came out good. I might have been able to ask for more, but since I have never been paid to write I think this amount is good enough.