Would Novel and Comic creators be willing to pay for help with Story Planning and Beta Reading?

[BlackRose108]

This isn't an official job posting yet, just an inquiry.

I just wanted to know that If a person's art and writing portfolio was good enough would any comic artists and novelist would be willing to pay a modest fee for someone to help them with story planning and beta reading?

Like in terms of story planning it would be offering second opinions, help with character development, world building, tone, plot direction, etc. It would charged on an hourly basis based on, like, skype, or discord chats, or email, or even a phone call? It could either be a one time consultation or an ongoing one until the creator feels confident in riding solo.

And as for beta reading charging by the page for comics and words for novels.

I'm just asking cause when I was in college I had a student job that was very similar, and I really enjoyed doing that. But out on the "real world" unless you're in you're mid 30's, have a ton of credentials, and 3 published books no one thinks you're good enough. That and I'm broke and I'm just looking for non-traditional ways to make some money doing things that I'm good at >_<

Thoughts?

[minerrale]

I'm a novelist, and yes, I would definitely pay for feedback and beta-reading, even help for plotting.
But (of course there's a but) I have very very low income and soon none at all, so I can't pay much more than, say, maybe a Ko-fi or two per month...

[BlackRose108]

Yeah, I realize everyone's probably broke like me....

Maybe like $7 an hour for story planning consultations? And $1 per every 100 words for novelist and $2 per page for comic artist...????? I'd probably have to get a metric lot of clients to make any kind of decent money at those prices. But even side money is still money....>_<

[minerrale]

Actually, you'd make a decent amount of money if you charge $1 for 100 words...
Quick maths : each page of my novel is about 500 words, so let's say $5.
I have 40 pages up : 40*5 = 200.
So, with someone like me, you'd make at the very least $200.
That's about $100 a month with only 1 novelist! And most people have much longer updates!

[BlackRose108]

Hmmm...I guess you're right. But could the average online writer afford that or be willing to pay that?

[minerrale]

I highly doubt any of us earns enough, to be honest... As I told you, I can't give much more than 3, maybe 6 $ a month...

[BlackRose108]

(sigh) I guess you're right...Maybe I should just give up on this idea?

[Jenny-Toons]

I don't think you have to give up on the idea!
You can definitely take what Minerrale has suggested and provide services to multiple people. It would just mean you'd have to schedule when you give feedback and all that. And you can definitely show your previous work and provide your ratings.

There are people on here who are definitely willing to pay. They're a few and far in between, but I've seen them pop up when they're doing rounds of payment

[minerrale]

The idea is good, and I believe there are lots of people who could use your help in many ways, so don't drop it!
But don't try for the big money right from the start! At least not in here, where a lot of us do it for free while hoping for a tip on Tapas or Kofi
Maybe try the other approach : do it for really cheap, like 1$ for 5 pages (that's an exagerated example), and then direct people to a Kofi, a Patreon maybe?

[keii4ii]

Freelancing editors are a thing! (Specifically, with story planning, I believe that role is called developmental editor) There are people who make a living doing this. That said, just like freelancing artists who take commissions, there's a very wide range of skill levels, prices and styles/specializations. If you're just starting out, it may be difficult to charge the same amount as someone who's been an editor for years.

Have you worked with other creators in this manner before? Maybe test your editing skills by offering free critiques for a few people? If your "test subjects" agree to allow you to publicize your critiques/ include them in your portfolio, that could help as well.

(Sorry if my post comes across as patronizing -- just trying to cover all bases! XD; )

[BlackRose108]

No it's no patronizing. And I have done stuff similar to this. I used to be a writing consultant at my college, and I was an assistant creative writing teacher at my college's summer pre-college my last two years there. So I have consultant and teaching experience in story development for writing and comics, and I have helped out a few other artist that I speak to on twitter and tumblr, so...that's something, I suppose. Does that count?

[daniellekoste]

You should look into rates of Developmental Edits (which is what you're talking about basically by suggesting you'd help with character development, plotting, world building etc) and line edits/proof reading (which is what beta reading falls under)

Most editors, even very well established ones, cannot get away with charging $1 per 100 words. Imagine for a second that rate for a full novel, which are usually at least 70,000 words, depending on the genre. $700 for just a single type of edit is pretty high for a freelancer. and that would be min since most manuscripts will likely be more than that.

common prices I see (from looking for an editor myself since while self publishing my book) are 0.003-0,008 per word, depending on the experience of the editor.

[BlackRose108]

True, true, that makes sense. I was looking up prices and I saw a lot of 15-40 centers per word. But I'm guessing those are professionals. So maybe 3 cents per word for someone like me? That would be $3 for every 100 words? But you're saying less than a penny per word? x_x Figuring out pricing is weird.

I mean, I'll probably try to advertise to online creators who work in terms of updates rather than the full product all at once. Since I always figured people who want others to read their full novel want someone who has a master's degree or something. I mean I could do full works as well, I'm just not sure how to market to that crowd when I don't have the credentials/experience others do.

[Draconic]

unless you're in you're mid 30's, have a ton of credentials, and 3 published books no one thinks you're good enough

Those people know how to create a story that can be sold and popular. They know what will work and what won't. Anyone can ride a car, but not everyone can be a racer. That's why.
If you want to know how hard it could be, just look at how bad Marvel Comics are in recent years.

If you need money, you should just do some part time job because it's way easier than "non-traditional ways". You can be an editor and doing some jobs at the same time, never limit yourself!

[BlackRose108]

Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm not calling myself a professional -_- Everyone's gotta start somewhere I guess?

And if I could find a part-time job i'd be doing that. I'm trying to look for non-traditional ways to make money because I'm waiting to hear back from the traditional jobs I've been applying for. But in the meantime I figured i'd try to make money doing something else.

[Draconic]

And if I could find a part-time job i'd be doing that. I'm trying to look for non-traditional ways to make money because I'm waiting to hear back from the traditional jobs I've been applying for. But in the meantime I figured i'd try to make money doing something else.

It would be extremely hard to do so, but it's not imposible.
I guess you only need a validation answer, then here's my suggestion:

• If you need money for a short term/survival only, then you shouldn't think about it if you have no starting point and connection about being an editor.
• But if you love to become a profesional editor in the long term, then never give up!

[BlackRose108]

I do need money for survival right now, but I'm looking at doing this because I like it???? (´･_･`) I wasn't really implying that I'm just doing any ol thing because I need money. I do like editing, that's why all my student jobs in college were editing/teaching-based. I'd much rather do this than some of the traditional jobs I applied for.

[Zaboem]

I am poor, yet I still insist on paying for services rendered to my own projects. If nothing else, I trade favors. Rendering skilled services for free not only devalues your own skills but also screws up the market for your contemporaries. Although I am unlikely to call upon your services myself I strongly recommend that you do charge.

By the way, don't feel bad about customers not knocking down your door yet. It's a growth field. I think of myself as an excellent editor and a terrible novelist. At forty-two, I have yet to find any human being willing and able to pay me one cent for my editing. Keep sharpening your skills and keep networking with people at all facets of the business; I have confidence that you will get there.

[YaoiParadise]

I think it's very likely you could find a writer/comic creator who's willing to pay you for your services- but on a site like this, you'd want to target very popular creators who have a running patreon page or something similar which provides them with funding. You definitely have to keep in mind your audience- on Tapas, a lot of writers are struggling themselves and don't have excessive funds with which to pay people for services.

I would definitely be willing to pay beta readers and have thought about doing it before, but the prices you posted earlier are a bit out of the box- I didn't pay near that much for a professional editor when publishing, and certainly wouldn't for a beta reader (you may want to alter your terms, btw, as a beta reader- in my experience with several groups, two set up by publishing companies- is not really an editor and more an early reader advising on plot and overall enjoyment of the work, perhaps the occasional typo but really more a sounding board for ideas).

It's a very good idea, and could become popular on the site. But I refer to deviantart as a model- artists start out charging very low rates and raise them over time as they gain experience and a solid customer base of referrals and examples of past work. One of my favorite artists used to charge $5 for a certain piece and now charges $25 because they've proven themselves over months of work. Any kind of creative service is something you'll have to build up over time, especially online where there are multiple people offering services just a click away.