Pricing & Guidelines

Word Studio invite people to get in touch by email, describing in about 200 words the project with which they would like assistance. This should cover:

The process

1. What is the subject matter (brief summary)?*
2. Who are the people involved (as authors or sources)?
3. How big the book is expected to be?**
4. What is the reason for writing the book?

* Nothing indecent or defamatory will be considered. Word Studio’s decision on whether to accept a commission is entirely their decision, and final.

** A book of around 250 pages will require a manuscript of perhaps 50,000- 80,000 words

Word Studio then communicates with the proposer, and asks for greater detail. If appropriate, a person-to-person meeting or at least extended phone conference is scheduled to tease out the issues. If the project is accepted by Word Studio, the following stages are:

1. A full brief or proposal for the project is generated by Word Studio, specifying timeline (eg minimum two months, maximum two years), deliverables or ‘mileposts’, and payment schedule
2. Acceptance by the client (proposer) of the brief, with a memorandum exchanged to lock down the specifics
3. Payment of first advance (approximately 1/3 of the total)
4. Work on the project, by way of sample chapter (first ‘milestone’)
5. Feedback and confirmation of the approach taken
6. Conclusion of 1/3 of the material – the second ‘milestone’
7. Checking by the client of the initial manuscript sample; if acceptable to the proposer/author, Word Studio will move on to complete the project
8. Submission of final draft manuscript to the client
9. Checking and correction by the client, and final amendments
10. Delivery of the full manuscript to the client and final payment.

Fees

Word Studio offers professional authoring and editorial services. The service is charged out like that of other professionals, by the hour.

The initial consultation with the person proposing the project is free. This would normally take 30 minutes to an hour. No charge is made because the discussion is all about assessing and scoping the project.

Once the project has been accepted by Word Studio, a ‘Memorandum of Agreement’ will be provided to the client. This specifies the nature of the project, the likely timeline, any ‘stage payments’ that will be made after the conclusion of work completed, and information about payment options.

After the initial consultation, all work done by Word Studio is charged out at the following rates:

1. Interviews with the author or other sources@ $100 per hour (plus travel fee costs)
2. Research @ $50 per hour (plus travel fee, as appropriate)
3. Writing @ $100 per hour
4. Editing and revision @ $50 per hour

The Word Studio practitioner (eg the ‘ghost author’) logs every hour of work completed (what is being done, how long) and this becomes part of a ‘job sheet’ for the project. The final tally of hours (against the rate) is then provided, together with an invoice.

For big projects, and especially those with multiple ‘milestones’, invoices for ‘stage payments’ (part payments) will be submitted to the client at the milestones previously agreed.

1. Reading and manuscript assessment @ $50 per hour
2. Editing and manuscript revision @ $50 per hour
3. Research @ $50 per hour
4. Interviews with the author or other sources @ $100 per hour
5. Writing – all styles and formats @ $100 per hour
6. Design and typesetting @ $50 per hour
7. Publishing services @ $50 per hour