Hey everyone! Hope you're having a great week.
So, interesting story. While looking for a new job, I got an interview for an Administrative Assistant position. One phase was to write a story in a couple minutes, just based off of a basic overview. Long story short, I wrote the story, got the job because of it, turned down the job (lol)...but I got a call a few days ago from the manager, and she loved the story so much that I came up with, that she wanted to hire me to write three books, and then write the screenplay for both of those. We met up and spoke about the scope, and I'm super excited to see if this could go anywhere...
But, I've got no idea how to place a cost to this. I'd appreciate any guidance of how you place a cost to your services when writing for someone, in both writing a book to be adapted to screenplay, and the screenplay? Do you charge by page count? Word count?
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I'd ask about what length they hope for to tell their story. A 40 page book is priced differently than a 400-pager. Ask what they are hoping to pay for that. Is it ghostwriting or will you get a credit?
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Hire an entertainment attorney. For that volume of work you want an expert in your corner.
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Ask her what her budget is for the total project. You run the risk that she will low ball you, but once you have a number, it gives you a negotiating start point. From there
- estimate how long it would take you to complete the task, and if the money on offer is worth the sacrifice.
- if it's not, but you can get enough upfront to be semi-happy, negotiate to have the rest of your fee paid when the books are bought, or sell XXXXX number of copies, or when the movie goes into production.
- come to an agreement about what credits you would get on each project.
Once you have those basics covered, hire an entertainment attorney to help with drawing up the contract and working out some of the finer details. A book and screenplay contract will be too complicated a thing to handle on your own.
The best thing to remember for your first writing assignment - don't get greedy. The experience you gain is part of the reward when you're starting out. But also don't let them bend you over too badly :)
Congratulations and best of luck!!
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Thank you guys so much for the direction and advice. Definitely helped eased my nervousness. I'm going to give her a call today and have a conversation. I'll clarify these things and begin looking into that entertainment attorney. I'm both excited but also since it's my first assignment, my nerves are going off the charts. Let's see how it goes!
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Start off with a smaller deal. Ask how much they'd pay for outlining the script (a full beat sheet). Doing so enables you to see how/if they pay, what they expect, what they're like to work with... get half paid up front - retainer.
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Imo Wimana Chadband - In the new documentary about Pavarotti, he's quoted as saying, each time before he went on stage. "Now, I got to die." He was a nervous wreck! Pavarotti! The most incredible tenor of all time! It's the thrill of death/failure that juiced him — the nectar of victory made so much sweeter by the pain.
I get the same feeling every time I start a new gig - equal parts agony and ecstasy.
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The issue I've faced twice is that clients get cold feet once the honeymoon period ends and stopped further payment. That's why I advise Babysteps. People fall in love with the idea of a script, not its reality.
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I'll take a little different approach. Questions to ask yourself: what's my goal in all this? To make some money? Improve writing skills? Build a network/relationship? All of the above? Answer these and the questions you ask her will define themselves.
I personally would determine what hourly rate I'd be okay with, multiply that by how many hours I estimate to complete and give a quote based on that. Then a payment schedule that includes some money up front, one or two paid milestones, and a final payment on delivery.
DO NOT allow yourself to be open to micromanagement (endless meetings, critique sessions, constant editing) - she already likes your writing, don't let her second-guess that. IMO!
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I'm truly a wreck at the present moment lol Phil Parker But I cannot let that deter me. Let's get it!
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This is something I have to get accustom to, so I'm taking it not only as my "potential" first writing assignment, but also a learning experience. A lot of what you guys have mentioned is new knowledge to me, and I'm sure this is going to teach me a lot at the end of it, if it all goes well.The questions to ask, and how to go about breaking things down to be manageable, I've already learned a lot just from your guidance.
As Brian said, I believe they're thinking this process is easy peasy, so I've got to have that realistic conversation not only in terms of payment, but time line and expectations. I'm feeling the milestone route, piece by piece and not take on the entire thing at once, you know. I believe their intention is to self-publish.
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Imo - I can give you some guidance RE contract basics. Not legal advice, just strategy. PM if you want.
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Will appreciate that a lot, Phil! You're the best bro!