Fee Schedule
I do my best to offer you a fixed price for any job. Sometimes that just isn't possible. In both instances I'll remain sensitive to your budget and scheduling needs. To give you an idea if we can work together or not, I've put some sample pricing and hourly rates here for you.
PS: There's a typo in this page. If you find it, I'll give you a 10% discount on the job. All work and no play is a dull, dull day.
Books
Of course, every job is custom and priced individually. Still, I strive to make sure you know all estimates of costs in advance. To that end:
- I can quote hourly, but I prefer to "Fix Price" most jobs to a defined scope of work and then quote any changes to scope as an incremental separate price.
For example, if you have a straight-forward book typesetting job
- typical 6" x 9" or 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" finished format
- trade paperback with perfect binding
- black ink text only
- 80,000-100,000 words
- standard chapter headings
- no index
- no graphics/photos
- one to two page table of contents
- standard/minimal front-matter
- minimal back matter (eg: a 1-page bio and a book order form)
I can generally keep the price under $1,000 for the interior on a job like this. That's laying out the book in Adobe In-Design with professional typesetting. Your input file to us should be in MS Word. I'll deliver you an In-Design file and an Adobe PDF with embedded fonts that you can take to just about any printer. You'll get all the fonts I used for the printer, but you won't need them if they use the PDF files.
If I do the editing too, I can bundle that in for around $0.02 per word. I edit to the Chicago Manual of Style specifications.
The cover is a little tougher to gage blind, but its pricing will be in a similar vein to the above.
All in all, you can have editing, typesetting and cover for about the same price as an editing job would cost at full retail pricing.
If you want a finished galley (an actual book digitally printed with a 4-color cover), I can do that for as little as $120.00 + shipping.
Our price includes all back and forth communication, phone calls, pretty much everything you can think of...NO SURPRISES.
Typical lead time for typesetting work like this is 2 weeks after I receive the first payment installment. Editing will be another 2-4 weeks depending upon the schedule of our professional editors.
Schedule is negotiable for many services. It will drive up the cost to do a rush job, but I do our best to accommodate whatever your needs may be.
I've even been known to drop ship a galley copy overnight (at the author's risk) to meet a deadline for a contest entry. A bit insane I'll admit, but hey, if that's the requirement, then that's the requirement!
Proposal Writing
This is one area I just can't fix price. I work on proposals at $75.00 per hour flat rate. Proposals that require over 40 hours will be billed weekly. I'll be working for you like any contractor with the exception that I don't charge time and a half for hours over 40 in a week.
Graphic Design & Copy Writing
By now, you've got the point of our pricing model. It follows with graphic design and copy writing too. I'll fix price the job if I can, but on some jobs the creative process requires redoing the work several times before you are completely satisfied. You know you better than I do. If you work better from a mock-up moving images and changing type after you see the first cut, then let's price things accordingly. I'm cost conscious, so we'll price the job the way we think is the least expensive for you.
Websites
I load websites to our server and test them using Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and Safari browsers. I give you the Internet address so you can cruise through, make changes and comments on the design. After we agree the site is ready to go, I setup the finished site with your ISP and deliver files to you.
Websites are tested in Internet Explorer 7, Opera, Firefox, and Safari browsers throughout development.
Website design services can vary widely.
For estimating purposes, you can budget $100/finished web page. This includes all testing and up to 3 revision cycles for HTML pages.
This estimate is 500-1,500 words of text and up to 3 graphic images (plus any graphic in the header). Setting up a blog, shopping cart, and so forth are not included. Tthe pages on this website are representative of what you'll get, less the header which is a custom design.
Note: I'll talk with you about how you are planning to sell your book. If you are going to use distribution, digital print-on-demand technology, or a fulfillment house, you might be able to link directly to them from your website and avoid the hassle of a credit card processing account altogether. That's what I recommend.
A custom header like the one on this webpage will run about $200.00 to design in Photoshop Professional + fees (at our cost) to license the required photography and import into Dreamweaver as a single graphic. For all websites over 3 pages, the page header design can be included in webpage pricing.
I provide you with all graphic purchasing information so that you can buy additional licensing from the supplier should you wish to use parts of the graphics I purchased for your web design for other uses in your business.
Websites are created in Dreamweaver CS3 software.
Simple shopping cart driven eCommerce that you can maintain yourself after the website is operational is great feature of our website designs.
You probably won't need to contact us when you want to add a product or change a price. Just go on-line and do it. However, I can maintain the site for you. I'll send you a CD of the site for your protection and convenience no matter what you decide. You own the rights to all work that has been paid for at all times.
Terms & conditions
Working with us is straight-forward. 50% for us to begin, 30% for you to receive the finished draft for your review and approval, and 20% after you approve all/any revisions to the work and agree everything is to the quality and specifications you desire. I check everything multiple times, but I want you to check it too.
I can do the 50/30/20 in cycles. That is you pay for the editing as a cycle, then the typesetting, and then the cover. That way you don't get too deep into the process before you have some time with us under your belt and remain comfortable with our relationship. It's less stress that way for everyone.
Unless otherwise agreed, payment for any out-of-pocket expenses is due as they are incurred.
Guarantee
Most of my business comes from word of mouth, so I want our relationship to be as risk free as possible. To show you that, I'll do the following.
I'll do a sample chapter (or a few pages if the job is editing) to make sure you are happy with the font, layout and so forth. If you have a book you want us to replicate in style, I'll do that to. After you are satisfied, I engage and you send me the first payment.
You approve the next phase of work each step of the way.
You own everything you pay for. If I create a file or use a graphic, you get it in your final delivery. That way you get a complete package to take to anyone in the future whether you return to us for upgrades or not.
Up to 3 revisions of the agreed to website pages are included in the price I give you. You can use those changes for minor revisions of text/graphics or anything that doesn't include a total re-design of the page because you've suddenly had a eureka moment. I'll work with you to ensure your satisfaction.
If you've paid me and have a change of heart before I get started, I'll gladly refund all you money, no questions asked.
If I've already began a project, you'll be charged a reasonable fee for the percentage of the work I completed and the remainder will be refunded. If I get to the halfway point and you can't make the next payment, I'll hold all for you until you can.