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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

Fixed fees, two or three a quarter

Work I take

Five kinds of commission with real prices. Anything longer than these is quoted on the brief, and I will tell you if somebody else would do it better.

Commissions

Brand copy, a whole siteEvery page, written to a voice we agree in the first week rather than one I impose. Includes two rounds and the document that lets somebody else keep writing it after I have gone.USD 4200.00 A long-form piece, ghostwrittenTwo to four thousand words under your name, from two interviews and whatever you already have. My name appears nowhere and that is the deal.USD 2800.00 A speechWritten to be spoken, which is a different craft from writing to be read. Includes a run-through on a call and the marked-up reading copy.USD 1600.00 Editing somebody else’s draftUp to five thousand words, line-edited with the reasoning in the margin so you can argue with it. The most useful thing I sell.USD 900.00

Shorter

An hour on a piece you are stuck inYou read it out, I tell you where it goes wrong. Frequently the answer is that the first two paragraphs should be deleted.USD 180.00

Appearances

A reading or a talkFree for schools, libraries and anything not making money. Otherwise quoted, and travel is a line rather than a surprise.

Asked by email

Mostly about rates, rights and whether I will read your manuscript.

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.
How quickly do you answer?
Within a week, always, including to say no. There is no agent and no assistant, which is slower and is the arrangement I prefer.

What clients and readers say

Read all the reviews
He wrote a voice document so our own people could keep writing it.
Two interviews and it sounded more like me than my own writing.
Every essay free, with a note where he has changed his mind.
He will not read a manuscript as a favour. He is upfront about it.

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+1 876 405 2218

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