I just got contacted by one of the managers at Creepypasta. He says he was impressed by a story I submitted a couple years ago, and wants to commission me to write some more. Naturally, I'm 100% on board with that idea, but I've never done commissions before. What are some good and/or standard prices for writing stories per commission? Got any other tips you think I could use?
I have personally never done any commissions but I would say that depends entirely on the length of the story. Let's say you want ten bucks for 3k words and you want five more bucks for every thousand words added. You can, of course, set your own prices. At the end of the day what really matters is how much you value your own work. That said, don't ask for a ridiculous sum just because you can.
The SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) has a set rate of 8 cents per word. https://www.sfwa.org/2019/01/16/sfwa-raising-pro-rate-for-short-fiction-to-eight-cents-per-word/
you may well find that when you mention payment his interest disappears in a big puff of purple smoke
It seems a little strange that an editor would remember a submission from a few YEARS back, no? When I've been approached to write something I've always been told right away how much they are willing to pay me. Maybe it's all good, but that's two red flags for me.
