[MsTee]

There was a not-so-big-but-kinda-uneasy furor in our fanfic community where we discovered a few authors charging $0.50 - $1 / requested drabble/short-story fanfic. There was much disgust and anger and annoyance, and the consensus was: Paying for fanfic? DNW! O-fic (original fiction), on the other hand, is fair game.

Which led me to here, of course, to ask (and I'm terribly sorry if this has been asked before!):

Would you write a book/short-story for someone by request?

What terms would you require (for instance, you'll be allowed to sell it to everybody else after X number of X time has passed)?

 

[Mathew Reuther]

I've sold custom shorts in the past for $100 a pop. All of them were too custom to be of any interest to others. (I did a lot of RPG background stories for characters. Half prose half character sketch.)

I wouldn't really see any reason to do it again, to be honest. Were I to charge for a custom piece, it would probably be at about $50/1000 words.

 

[Guest]

I would write it if it was something I wanted to write and I was allowed to sell it freely (ie. it's only written 'for' the person in that they get to see a story they wanted).

Like if somebody wanted to see a parody Rose vs a Conan clone story.

 

[George Berger]

There are folks on dA who ask (and apparently get) $2-5 per thousand words for fiction (often slash fanfic). But that's dA, a strange land of strange people with strange ways.

I've been tempted, believe me. Even $2 per thousand words is more than most of my short fiction has made me, y'know - and I reckon I'm a better writer, at least on purely technical merits, than most of those folks.

But honestly, I'd probably never do it, because I'm not a big enough fan of any popular franchise to be able to do anything but a horrible flanderization of the characters, and have a really hard time writing smut seriously.

But, hey, if anyone is reading this and wants to pay, like, $5/thousand words for some Better Off Ted Ted/Linda fic in which, oh, a swimming pool is set on fire, maybe, and a homeless guy is inadvertently vaporized by a laser, PM me...

 

[Mathew Reuther]

But, hey, if anyone is reading this and wants to pay, like, $5/thousand words for some Better Off Ted Ted/Linda fic in which, oh, a swimming pool is set on fire, maybe, and a homeless guy is inadvertently vaporized by a laser, PM me...

Throw in a goat and I'm sorely tempted.

 

[MsTee]

But, hey, if anyone is reading this and wants to pay, like, $5/thousand words for some Better Off Ted Ted/Linda fic in which, oh, a swimming pool is set on fire, maybe, and a homeless guy is inadvertently vaporized by a laser, PM me...

LOL! *insert picture of Fry from Futurama holding money here*

Not to derail the thread, but I love the fact that there are folks who HAVE watched Better Off Ted. Heeey, rhymes!

I think something like this could work, though. After all, painters get commissioned for projects. And what about digital art? I wonder if those folks resell art they've done for other clients?

 

[Mathew Reuther]

All of that depends on the rights negotiated. Much of the time if you get a piece of digital art to be used for a project, you get only that project and promotional use directly related to the project. The artist then retains rights to sell the art as prints, etc.

 

[George Berger]

Not to derail the thread, but I love the fact that there are folks who HAVE watched Better Off Ted. Heeey, rhymes!

Lindabagel!

 

[Hildred]

On my series' website I offer unique scenes (one page) for ten dollars. The buyer tells me what two characters and the heat level they want to see. (I've had them run the gamut from "super sweet but no sex" to "DIRTY DIRTY NAUGHTY TIMES FY!) The conditions are that it's a completely unique scene that the buyer gets to do with as they wish - as in either hoard it, share it  with friends, or share it with everyone. A lot of the couples I get are pure crack!ships and can't possibly be cannon anyway.

Last month these custom shorts made up about 1/3 of my income. And they only take me a couple hours to do. (One hour of writing, one hour of editing/formatting.)

 

[Andykay]

Lindabagel!

It's been a while, but this was an awesome memory refresh:

http://www.viddler.com/v/825bfbfb

 

[Andykay]

Also, that episode where they install the sensors in the office that can't see black people is one of my favourite episodes of anything. Must rewatch that.

 

[Cherise]

Creating art on demand is an age-old tradition.

It's called "being commissioned."

Oddly, that's also what they call getting a position of command in the military...

 

[Hilary Thomson]

Creating art on demand is an age-old tradition.

It's called "being commissioned."

It's not unusual for editors to suggest a topic to a nonfiction writer they have under contract. I suspect it happens less often for fiction, though if a series starts to make money, an editor will often try to persuade a writer into producing more books for it by dangling money.

 

[NoCat]

It happens for tie-in fiction all the time. I just wrote a story for a project where the editor and producers told me what they wanted to see.

It also happens in anthologies a lot, especially invite-only ones. Often there will be story types that editors expect to get and if those holes aren't filled by the time all the requested stories are in, they tap writers they know can write to spec and ask us to write them a story about whatever they are missing.

 

[MsTee]

It happens for tie-in fiction all the time. I just wrote a story for a project where the editor and producers told me what they wanted to see.

It also happens in anthologies a lot, especially invite-only ones. Often there will be story types that editors expect to get and if those holes aren't filled by the time all the requested stories are in, they tap writers they know can write to spec and ask us to write them a story about whatever they are missing.

That's a great idea!

I think something like this can really help someone who's now starting out to improve in their confidence. Instead of throwing yourself at the mercies of thousands, start with one customer and go from there.

 

[NoCat]

That's a great idea!

I think something like this can really help someone who's now starting out to improve in their confidence. Instead of throwing yourself at the mercies of thousands, start with one customer and go from there.

I think we call this writing short stories and sending them to paying magazines...

Getting invites to anthologies and getting tapped to write tie-in fiction isn't something that most new writers can do (or know how to do). Writing specific things to an editor's requirements is actually pretty tough, especially if you are working with characters and a world you didn't create and have to fit in with existing canons.

 

[George Berger]

A graphic-novel artist today posted this ad over on dA, that seemed relevant to this thread:

...My roommate is moving out and I can't afford this place on my own and am taking the opportunity to propose this: If you are a writer or just think you could use my services and can provide [room and board] I will dedicate the usual 8 hours to your project. The rest of the time I can hopefully work on my own work. Right now am working a part time job and the rest of the time I dedicate to this endeavor. The room doesn't have to be super great, just a space to keep a desk, books, tools, ideally a bed. I'll move anywhere...

It takes all sorts, I guess.

 

[MsTee]

I think we call this writing short stories and sending them to paying magazines...

Getting invites to anthologies and getting tapped to write tie-in fiction isn't something that most new writers can do (or know how to do). Writing specific things to an editor's requirements is actually pretty tough, especially if you are working with characters and a world you didn't create and have to fit in with existing canons.

Hmm, that's true. I'd be terrified if some known editor (or any editor) of a magazine asked me to pinch-hit!

But thinking about it further, maybe something like this is better for an established writer. I don't think readers might trust to spend their money on an unknown.

 

[NoCat]

Readers spend money on unknown writers all the time. 

 

[Clare K. R. Miller]

I've done prompt calls where I ask people to give me prompts and then I write a story based on that prompt. They get a sample for free, and then if they (or anyone else) wants more I charge. I have a number of friends who do the same thing (for fiction and a few for poetry), and it's fairly lucrative for some of them.

This isn't quite the same as what you're asking about, since it's not quite write-to-order and the work is all posted freely (sometimes with the original prompter getting to read the whole thing, but that's just getting to read it, not having it be theirs), but I thought I'd throw it out there.