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Third novel out in the spring · Two commissions open this quarter · I answer my own email+1 876 405 2218
Penyler

Writing

Writing

Essays, reporting and the occasional short story. Everything is free to read and nothing is behind an email address.

What two novels actually earned17 September 2026 What two novels actually earnedAdvances, royalties and the arithmetic nobody publishes. Real numbers.On writing about a place you still live in17 September 2026 On writing about a place you still live inThe two rules I have, and the time I broke both of them.Exposure is not a form of payment17 September 2026 Exposure is not a form of paymentA short piece I have sent, unedited, about thirty times.Delete the first two paragraphs17 September 2026 Delete the first two paragraphsAlmost always. Here is why they are there and why they should not be.The book that does not exist17 September 2026 The book that does not existTwo years, ninety thousand words, abandoned. What it taught me about the two that came after.

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Will you read my manuscript?
Not for free, and not as a favour, because I did that for two years and it was bad for everybody. I will line-edit five thousand words for nine hundred dollars and tell you the truth about it.
Why are your rates on the site?
Because otherwise the first email is a negotiation about whether you can afford me, and neither of us enjoys that. The numbers are fixed per piece rather than hourly.
Do you do spec work?
No. Not a sample chapter, not a test page, not a pitch. If you need to know whether I can write, there are ninety essays on this site.
Who owns the commissioned writing?
You do, outright, on payment, including the right to change it. Ghostwritten work carries no credit and I will not mention it publicly, ever.

A paragraph about the piece is enough to start

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