for writing....um, hmmmm
For one, I would like to be number one on that list......
I really haven't seen written commissions much. dollar a word? :P
$50 for commission? Use that for a base.

I see them quite a bit, though it's because I look for them so I can get an idea on pricing.

I've seen them range from $40 - $80 for a short story (8 - 10 pages) to $200. I know, you're reading that and thinking "Bullshit!" but these people had full commission lists waiting to be completed and I mean... I'm not going to name names, but the writing was hardly that noteworthy.

As I said, seemed excessive to me.

I have a friend that is published and $200 seems very low. To start out with $40 to $80 does not seem unreasonable.

Intriguing. I mean commissions make sense, gives people more control over the plots and content. I've never gotten a written commission, whether you charge by page or words or whatever, it tends to add up pretty quick. Idk, my preferred method would be charging a flat rate for a quickie of a few hundred words, a higher rate for something that comes out to a few pages, and then some incremental amount for each page past a certain limit. In any case, I think it's probably a good idea if you're up for it, and I'm sure I'd like to grab one at some point. :3

I'm thinking of going by MINIMUM pages.

You pay me $50, I'll write you AT LEAST 10 pages... if it turns out to be 12 or 13 because that's what the story demands? It's a bonus.

Hmm, that could surely work, leave some mystery to it all haha. I'm sure $50 for 10 is somewhat reasonable based on what you were saying above, as well as the cost of you putting your time and skill into the work, but I know I tend to be too cheap for stuff of that level. Idk, if you're open to it, a couple people could split the price for a story and that would make things easier. I actually have an income these days so I shouldn't be stingy, who knows.

Haha, well, I'm going to do some research on pricing before I start to offer ANYTHING... and it probably won't be until the end of April as I'm pretty busy until the 24th, so I wouldn't worry about it yet or anything.

But I mean, the capitalist in me doesn't see an issue with how many people chip in for something.

Pricing stories is always difficult to do, and there is no actual guidelines to go by. You can't really base it off of other writers on FA, since the quality and acceptable content will vary so greatly.

There's also the problem of trying to base your price on what publishing magazines offer, as the average ones can range anywhere from 1 to 10 cents a word, and $10 to $50 a page. However, the biggest thing you have to realize with them, is that they don't pay every writer who sends them something. They reject 99% of what they're given and only select what they consider as the very best for what they want to publish. The commissioner on FA doesn't have that luxury. They do not receive stories from a dozen different writers and then get to choose which single one out of those to pay.

If pricing by the page, it also has to consider what is a page. With everything being digital now, there's no set rule on what a page consists of, and can vary greatly on how many words different writers would consider as being a page.

Now, with that all being said, I'm not trying to discourage you from taking on some story commissions. I'm just trying to point out that you can't really base your pricing on what others are charging, or what magazines are offering. You have to base it on what you are comfortable with. If you end up feeling your prices are too low, you'll lose interest and the writing might suffer; and if you feel they are too high, you'll spend way too much time on a story, trying to make sure it is perfect for what the customer is paying for. Either way, you won't be happy and end up regretting taking commissions.

My suggestion is to start slow, with only very short stories, on the order of just a few pages. Get a feel for how much time and effort goes into it. You'll know right away if $10 is too little or $20 is too much. This way, when you start getting up to the $50+ range, you'll know that your prices will be satisfactory to both you and your customer. :)

That's exactly the kind of advice I was hoping to hear. I have submitted to magazines before, and been published in a few online-only zines that didn't pay (though weren't run by some guy who decided to make a Freewebs page one day ;) ) so I have a basic understanding of literary pricing ranges.

I'm on the same page as your suggestion to start low as well. I'm hardly a powerhouse in comparison to the more established writers on FA, but I've been here less than a year and I feel I'm getting to a point that I can justify a bit of cash for my stories. I'm incredibly fickle when it comes to my interest in writing, so I don't expect I'll be taking on massive projects even if the pay is on par with the amount of work required; I write short stories because I find I get bored with a theme or character quickly and anything longer than 15 pages or so becomes a crapshoot in terms of when/if I'll finish it.

I really appreciate the advice, and I'll be taking it into consideration. Ideally I'd like to look at charging for minimum pages (a page, in my mind, being 450 - 500 words). You pay me $45, I'll write you AT LEAST 10 pages with the possibility of more if the story demands it. There are some risks with that style (artificially extended stories) but I think it's an attractive model for prospective clients as there's that chance of getting a few pages for free.

Oh. And I do want to add that having been a reader of a number of your stories (due to a busy RL, I'm unfortunately way behind on my reading of stories on FA), I would definitely be interested in commissioning you for something, once you have everything all worked out. :)