“Why Didn’t You Blog About ________?”
My post about the Sad Puppies is up to 100+ comments at this point, and several of those comments have expressed frustration that I didn’t write about something different, generally things like, “Why didn’t you do a similar post on things said about the Sad Puppies” or “You should be talking about the Rabid Puppies instead of the Sads.”
I didn’t write about the Rabid Puppies in part because there doesn’t seem to be much confusion or ambiguity about Theodore Beale’s beliefs and motives, and I’m not all that interested in giving him attention. As for things said about the puppies…said by whom? I was blogging about the official pupmasters of the Sad Puppies movement, and despite claims of conspiracies and wars, there is no equivalent Anti-Puppy group.
While there are a number of reasons, perhaps the most important simply boils down to the fact that this is my blog, and I tend to write about whatever I feel like writing about, because I think it’s useful or entertaining or interesting.
I understand that a few people might think this is unfair, so I’ve come up with a proposal. If you feel it’s that important for me to write about the thing you wanted me to write, well, I am a professional writer…
For nonfiction, my rate is 25 cents/word, which I believe is fairly reasonable in the nonfiction market. Sunday’s post was 3000 words. If you’d like me to write the equivalent post for Mr. Beale and the Rabid Puppies, or about various things other people have said about the Puppy campaigns, that would come to $750. You can contact me through my website to work out payment arrangements and contract details. (I’m thinking $500 up front, with the balance payable upon publication once we see the final wordcount.)
I reserve the right to decline work, of course. If you ask me to write 500 words about why my own books suck, I might say no. Or I might say yes. That could be fun… And with two kids, I could certainly use the money!
All such posts will include a preface noting that they were commissioned. (That preface will not be included in the total word count.)
Any questions? 🙂
Noel Lynne Figart
June 9, 2015 @ 8:30 am
GOOD answer!
Martin
June 9, 2015 @ 8:34 am
That are fair rates…
If someone wants to push for a sad puppy text, I would add 100$ to the pot ;-).
John G. Hartness
June 9, 2015 @ 8:34 am
Well played, buddy. Well played.
Heather
June 9, 2015 @ 8:35 am
“If you feel it’s that important for me to write about the thing you wanted me to write, well, I am a professional writer…”
Muahaha! Best response I can imagine. 😀
Martin
June 9, 2015 @ 9:11 am
I make my living in the IT. When I talk about it, sometimes people feel encouraged to ask for consulting on their private IT problems. Sometimes I let it stand, but if I want to squash it, I just tell them my hourly rates. That usually squashes any discussion on that topic instantaneously ;-).
M. Fenn
June 9, 2015 @ 9:37 am
Well played, Jim. 🙂
Claudia
June 9, 2015 @ 9:45 am
+1 Internets for you, sir. What a great response.
Mark
June 9, 2015 @ 10:13 am
Jim, as one of the people jamming up your other comment thread, let me apologise and say that I very much appreciated your post, and you are perfectly entitled to write whatever you want (especially if it happens to be another novel for me to buy!)
Incidentally, would you take commissions for limericks? I suspect you might demand a higher price per word, rhyming takes time after all……
Jim C. Hines
June 9, 2015 @ 10:30 am
No apologies necessary, but thank you.
And I think it would depend. I’m sure we could negotiate something! 🙂
Alan
June 9, 2015 @ 11:30 am
Now I need to balance my desire to continue to have $25 versus my desire to have Jim write 100 words on his favorite style of hat.
Dr. Zoidberg
June 9, 2015 @ 3:21 pm
Jim, could you write me a piece about Siamese cats? I’m gonna go scrounge around in my couch cushions and see how much money I can find.
Linkmeister
June 9, 2015 @ 3:55 pm
Would making it YOUR favorite style of hat cause you to part with your $25 more readily?
Sally
June 9, 2015 @ 5:06 pm
Would you consider a lower rate to write about either your children or your cats?
And does this work out to maybe a dollar or two per Tweet? Can we commission Tweets?
Jim C. Hines
June 9, 2015 @ 5:09 pm
You can always ask. But I suspect I should reserve the right to say no, and I’m unlikely to rent out my Twitter stream. Otherwise, I’ll end up doing a constant stream of commercials for people, for two bucks a pop.
SherryH
June 9, 2015 @ 5:28 pm
Hmm…what rhymes with “puppies”?
*dashes off to find rhyming dictionary*
Veronica Sicoe
June 9, 2015 @ 5:29 pm
I don’t comment much, but damn that was fucking brilliant.
SherryH
June 9, 2015 @ 5:31 pm
Heh.
[Plus some more words in case the filter won’t let me post a comment that short.]
Sally
June 9, 2015 @ 5:38 pm
Hmmm. How about strictly non-commercial tweets? Like, I say “Jim, here’s two bucks. Post a picture of all the animals in your house.”
Jim C. Hines
June 9, 2015 @ 5:44 pm
That might work 🙂
Megpie71
June 9, 2015 @ 7:26 pm
Nicely played, sir.
David Y
June 9, 2015 @ 9:58 pm
I thought the rate for SF was 3 cents a word…
Jim C. Hines
June 9, 2015 @ 10:03 pm
It varies. SFWA pro rates for short fiction are five cents/word and up.
Nonfiction tends to pay significantly better than fiction.
And Now For Something Completely Distempered 6/9 | File 770
June 10, 2015 @ 12:10 am
[…] “Why Didn’t You Blog About ________?” – June 9 […]
Standback
June 10, 2015 @ 4:56 am
Aww, man, now I wish I had $750 for this.
Hmm, maybe I’ll go open a Kickstarter…
Marie
June 10, 2015 @ 6:30 am
guppies, but they aren’t as cute
Dorothy
June 10, 2015 @ 12:37 pm
Ah, that feeling! I’m currently employed at a university in the English department, so when colleagues, friends, and students alike find out that I’ve worked as a copy editor in the past, the requests for help begin:
“Nothing big, really, just glance over this if you have the time. Seriously, it’s only [#] pages. It’ll probably only take you [drastically underestimated number of minutes]. Not official, but if you can see anything I should fix…”
Then I quote standard copy editing rates by word, page, and hour, plus work intensity, plus document formats with which I’m willing to work, and the person vanishes in a puff of wanting free stuff.
Martin
June 10, 2015 @ 1:45 pm
Probably it is easier for me to make “friends” understand that my work is worth paying, which is unfair.
I published only one book (and we did self-publishing in 2001 long before it was cool), but I will never underestimate the value of a good editor. My thesis (CS) and my book profited greatly from editing. For the thesis I had to rely on friends help (and returned it), but for the book we hired (for every edition) a professional editor and paid her.
Dorothy
June 10, 2015 @ 2:00 pm
Well, everybody I know who’s in IT gets constantly pestered for free assistance as you described, so it’s certainly a phenomenon common to many professions. 🙂
I think that it’s often just a case of being unfamiliar with how much concentration and effort goes into any field that a given person is not a part of; a sort of assumption that knowledge and training make things *easy* to do.
Linkmeister
June 10, 2015 @ 2:31 pm
Look at New Yorker cartoons from the 1950s and you’ll see doctors being pestered at cocktail parties by the person they’re talking to about that person’s ailments.
Martin
June 10, 2015 @ 3:42 pm
I guess if you start collecting here, it may suffice 😉
celli
June 10, 2015 @ 4:52 pm
I can’t wait to see the nonfiction section when you report out on your writing income next year. 😀
Laura Resnick
June 10, 2015 @ 8:11 pm
How dare you not write on your own blog what =I= want you to write about? How DARE you?!
That DOES it! I am never buying another Tor book again! NEVER, sir!
(…this just in…. Hines does not write for Tor….)
THAT IS TOTALLY BESIDE THE POINT! I AM COMPLETELY ENTITLED TO MAKE IRRATIONAL DEMANDS ON THE BASIS OF MY HYSTERIA!!!
Jim C. Hines
June 10, 2015 @ 8:13 pm
If you want, I can try to pitch a book to Tor so you can refuse to buy it when it comes out!
Tasha Turner
June 10, 2015 @ 9:07 pm
What rates do you charge for that?
Jim C. Hines
June 10, 2015 @ 9:10 pm
If Tor buys the book, I’ll let Laura refuse to buy it FOR FREE!
David Y
June 10, 2015 @ 9:43 pm
yuppies aren’t as cute, either
Emi Cordill
June 10, 2015 @ 10:57 pm
Don’t you know, Jim, that by having a blog you automatically have to write about every single thing other people want you to write about? You are a public figure. You aren’t allowed to just do things the way YOU want to! You’re here to SERVE!
But seriously, those people can go and write their own blog pieces. Though I like your way of handling it. I may use that tactic one day.
Laura Resnick
June 10, 2015 @ 11:22 pm
And I will NOT buy things for free from Tor!