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Commission Prototype News + Data
3 years ago
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Hello everyone! I hope everyone has a great existence so far, no matter your respective time zones!
I come back from the blacksmith workshop to test my writing. Granted I probably could have spent a lot less than 12 days on this, but life is life. I still did make four prototype commissions that I'd love for you to see and give feedback on. Their links are down below, and your comments will greatly help me in figuring out if this is the way to go. If not that's totally ok too; you can blast them for poor writing or say they can be better too that's entirely ok! I eagerly await your feedback - send it anyway you wish. The rest of this is just me talking about ambitions and financial stuff, you know the things we all collectively leave behind for this amazing furry world. But stuff I feel need mentioning since I wanna be honest with you all. So. Yeah! Links down below, existential void flavored by capitalism and innocent freelance writer dreams just below that.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47898699/ - Growing from Ruins
-
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47898805/ - A Walk in the Park
-
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47898948/ - A Golden Picnic
-
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47899144/ - Balans's Ideal Afternoon
Right, now that the idea radiation warnings are there and we're all still here so I assume it's ok; Let's do some math! Ok no wait, don't click away I promise this matters!
I would love to write for this community. I've been on this website for 4 years now -- and the community as a whole for over 10 years now. I've always wanted to contribute more to it, but you know the usual challenges of finances and, of course, putting bread on a table so I don't speedrun any% life by mistake. So I have an idea! This is what I could offer as a commission for everyone;
$25. One, simple prompt of your choice. One hour. There ya go!
I understand that writers usually charge per word; $0.05 cents is the average starting rate for a beginning freelance writer in the larger industry for example. But from a customers side of the countertop it leaves a lot of questions. Can one accurately proclaim how many words it would take to write their idea? Can they budget for a story or idea where they don't know how many words it would have? Is it really worth it to pay for a writer you don't know $0.05 a word? (Which can add up to an average of $25 per Microsoft Word page one writes.) Is this writer truly the correct choice for the written idea I would like to see? Can they write the adventure, or horror, or romance, or comedy that I would like to see in my text?
All of the above, and doubtless more questions I haven't listed, are all valid! Allow me then to field test your idea, with a cheap price tag, and you can decide from there if I am worthy of your inspirations. With a simple prompt and $25, I'll write as much as I can with the given prompt. Then when either that hour is done or the day - never more than a 24 hour wait - I'll hand you what I create. From there you can judge if I am worthy of your time. I hope I am and that I treat you with the respect you deserve! But if not that's entirely ok too - my written tone and voice may not be what you want. But even there you only lose $25 to field test a writer you've never met. No need to slam hundreds of dollars down and clench your seat in anxiety over a commission.
Just $25 dollars, one prompt you want me to write, and one hour. Simple as that!
And if you like what I do and want more? I could talk prices in the future then! Admittedly I still need to prototype how longer commissions will go. But for the moment I like this! I can even show you what you can expect with the 4 stories posted above. Here's the math if you wish to see it;
( P )rototype ( C )ommission 1 - Growing from Ruins:
$25, 1h 7m 36sec, for 1,324 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $66.20
PC 2 - A Walk in the Park
$25, 58m, 20sec, for 1,084 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $54.20
PC 3 - A Golden Picnic
$25, within 1h, for 1,649 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $82.45
PC 4 - Balans's Ideal Afternoon
$25, within 1h, for 1,371 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $68.55
Per word commissions can get expensive fast. They're meant to be with tons of love, passion, and care for the client and writer. A story or series of stories with multiple chapters can go beyond hundreds of dollars easily. If someone did commission me for something of this caliber I would be honored beyond words. Thanks to this however, now anyone who is curious can field test me to see if I am the writer for them. Or heck, even if you have a silly idea and want me to entertain it for an hour that can be done too! It saves the commissioner a lot of thinking and I hope just as much anxiety over a large purchase.
What about the writer on the other end of the store's countertop though? Wouldn't be unfair to sell stories for so cheap comparatively to industry standards? Would that writer be given a respectable wage for their work? (Not to low that they starve, not too high that it's bleeding the commissioner dry?)
Well, to that I'll leave this journal off with a great website which number crunches for me. Assuming I can fill 40 commissions a week (so 1h commissions, 8 a day, 5 days a week like a normal job) and fill all 52 weeks in a year, then the world can expect this:
If by $25 a story an hour:
Per day: $200
Per week: $1,000
Per month: $4,333.33
Average annual salary: $52,000
Compared to average US median salary: 96.4%
If by $0.05 a word:
Per hour average of writing: 1,357 words / $67.85
Per day: $542.80
Per week: $2,714
Per month: $11,760.67
Average annual salary: $141,128
Compared to average US median salary: 261.7%
I show this to say - Don't worry about me. Now it's not likely I'll make $140k a year on this. At least from when I write this, I can't fathom myself reaching that coveted position. But also if it's just $25 an hour writing, it's likewise not going to break the bank either. Most likely I will end up somewhere in that whacky wide range of 52K or 141K a year. After all not everyone is going to commission 2,080, 1 hour stories in a year (the amount needed to make $52K a year). There will be days where no one buys. There will be days where someone walks in with a couple hundred dollars and a dream. And that's ok!
This is all just to say, at the end, that this is possible. I can write for a community I love. They can commission written material on a budget. It's entirely possible that, per chance one day, this could be an actual job. Just like artists and programmers who make this amazing community their full time jobs and get to make what everyone loves, I hope to do the same with writing. I imagine too that I can write all sorts of everything -- within reason of course. Writing non-furry material is just as valid as writing furry material. Just don't expect to go so far as to write something that probably should have stayed on E621. That I still need to figure out too haha!
But for now, thank you all for reading this to the end! Please let me know what you think! These are just prototypes and calculations based on the above after all. Things can change and your feedback helps me to better see what I can or should be doing. Thank you all for checking this out until the end, and as always I am eager to see you again soon! I hope you have a great day, week, and existence ahead!
I come back from the blacksmith workshop to test my writing. Granted I probably could have spent a lot less than 12 days on this, but life is life. I still did make four prototype commissions that I'd love for you to see and give feedback on. Their links are down below, and your comments will greatly help me in figuring out if this is the way to go. If not that's totally ok too; you can blast them for poor writing or say they can be better too that's entirely ok! I eagerly await your feedback - send it anyway you wish. The rest of this is just me talking about ambitions and financial stuff, you know the things we all collectively leave behind for this amazing furry world. But stuff I feel need mentioning since I wanna be honest with you all. So. Yeah! Links down below, existential void flavored by capitalism and innocent freelance writer dreams just below that.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47898699/ - Growing from Ruins
-
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47898805/ - A Walk in the Park
-
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47898948/ - A Golden Picnic
-
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47899144/ - Balans's Ideal Afternoon
Right, now that the idea radiation warnings are there and we're all still here so I assume it's ok; Let's do some math! Ok no wait, don't click away I promise this matters!
I would love to write for this community. I've been on this website for 4 years now -- and the community as a whole for over 10 years now. I've always wanted to contribute more to it, but you know the usual challenges of finances and, of course, putting bread on a table so I don't speedrun any% life by mistake. So I have an idea! This is what I could offer as a commission for everyone;
$25. One, simple prompt of your choice. One hour. There ya go!
I understand that writers usually charge per word; $0.05 cents is the average starting rate for a beginning freelance writer in the larger industry for example. But from a customers side of the countertop it leaves a lot of questions. Can one accurately proclaim how many words it would take to write their idea? Can they budget for a story or idea where they don't know how many words it would have? Is it really worth it to pay for a writer you don't know $0.05 a word? (Which can add up to an average of $25 per Microsoft Word page one writes.) Is this writer truly the correct choice for the written idea I would like to see? Can they write the adventure, or horror, or romance, or comedy that I would like to see in my text?
All of the above, and doubtless more questions I haven't listed, are all valid! Allow me then to field test your idea, with a cheap price tag, and you can decide from there if I am worthy of your inspirations. With a simple prompt and $25, I'll write as much as I can with the given prompt. Then when either that hour is done or the day - never more than a 24 hour wait - I'll hand you what I create. From there you can judge if I am worthy of your time. I hope I am and that I treat you with the respect you deserve! But if not that's entirely ok too - my written tone and voice may not be what you want. But even there you only lose $25 to field test a writer you've never met. No need to slam hundreds of dollars down and clench your seat in anxiety over a commission.
Just $25 dollars, one prompt you want me to write, and one hour. Simple as that!
And if you like what I do and want more? I could talk prices in the future then! Admittedly I still need to prototype how longer commissions will go. But for the moment I like this! I can even show you what you can expect with the 4 stories posted above. Here's the math if you wish to see it;
( P )rototype ( C )ommission 1 - Growing from Ruins:
$25, 1h 7m 36sec, for 1,324 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $66.20
PC 2 - A Walk in the Park
$25, 58m, 20sec, for 1,084 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $54.20
PC 3 - A Golden Picnic
$25, within 1h, for 1,649 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $82.45
PC 4 - Balans's Ideal Afternoon
$25, within 1h, for 1,371 words. If charged $0.05 per word? $68.55
Per word commissions can get expensive fast. They're meant to be with tons of love, passion, and care for the client and writer. A story or series of stories with multiple chapters can go beyond hundreds of dollars easily. If someone did commission me for something of this caliber I would be honored beyond words. Thanks to this however, now anyone who is curious can field test me to see if I am the writer for them. Or heck, even if you have a silly idea and want me to entertain it for an hour that can be done too! It saves the commissioner a lot of thinking and I hope just as much anxiety over a large purchase.
What about the writer on the other end of the store's countertop though? Wouldn't be unfair to sell stories for so cheap comparatively to industry standards? Would that writer be given a respectable wage for their work? (Not to low that they starve, not too high that it's bleeding the commissioner dry?)
Well, to that I'll leave this journal off with a great website which number crunches for me. Assuming I can fill 40 commissions a week (so 1h commissions, 8 a day, 5 days a week like a normal job) and fill all 52 weeks in a year, then the world can expect this:
If by $25 a story an hour:
Per day: $200
Per week: $1,000
Per month: $4,333.33
Average annual salary: $52,000
Compared to average US median salary: 96.4%
If by $0.05 a word:
Per hour average of writing: 1,357 words / $67.85
Per day: $542.80
Per week: $2,714
Per month: $11,760.67
Average annual salary: $141,128
Compared to average US median salary: 261.7%
I show this to say - Don't worry about me. Now it's not likely I'll make $140k a year on this. At least from when I write this, I can't fathom myself reaching that coveted position. But also if it's just $25 an hour writing, it's likewise not going to break the bank either. Most likely I will end up somewhere in that whacky wide range of 52K or 141K a year. After all not everyone is going to commission 2,080, 1 hour stories in a year (the amount needed to make $52K a year). There will be days where no one buys. There will be days where someone walks in with a couple hundred dollars and a dream. And that's ok!
This is all just to say, at the end, that this is possible. I can write for a community I love. They can commission written material on a budget. It's entirely possible that, per chance one day, this could be an actual job. Just like artists and programmers who make this amazing community their full time jobs and get to make what everyone loves, I hope to do the same with writing. I imagine too that I can write all sorts of everything -- within reason of course. Writing non-furry material is just as valid as writing furry material. Just don't expect to go so far as to write something that probably should have stayed on E621. That I still need to figure out too haha!
But for now, thank you all for reading this to the end! Please let me know what you think! These are just prototypes and calculations based on the above after all. Things can change and your feedback helps me to better see what I can or should be doing. Thank you all for checking this out until the end, and as always I am eager to see you again soon! I hope you have a great day, week, and existence ahead!
Throughout countless comments, and now even here too, thank you so much Otterplop. Really the support is valued so much and I'm thankful to know you. I can't wait to see what we can do together. :D