#commissions tips

Someone asked me in chat recently for some advice on taking writing commissions and I thought I’d share some of that here with you.

I’m not currently taking commissions, but I have a fair bit of experience with taking writing commissions on Tumblr, and also writing for Patreon which is a bit different, but still, people are paying to access my writing. This is all from my own experience, and other authors’ experiences may be very different, so please bear that in mind too. However, seeing how one person does things might be helpful for people thinking of opening their own commissions, so here goes.

Mostly for your own purposes and peace of mind, write yourself a ‘commissions info’ page. Here’s mine if you want to see how I’ve structured it and what’s on it.

Mine contains:

A link to my masterlist so that people can browse my existing works

What I will write (sfw, nsfw, fluffy, angsty, consenting and sapient non-human/interspecies romances, monster stories, etc.)

What I will not write (no fanfic, no vore, nothing offensive (homophobic, transphobic etc.), no underage, etc.) These are things which are non-negotiable.

How much my writing costs

How people get in touch with me about commissions

How people pay

How people view/access what they’ve paid for

Additional ways for people to support me if they’re not able to afford a commission right now, or if my commissions are full

I charge in my native currency, which is GBP (£), which may price me out of some people’s ranges, but I can’t under-sell myself otherwise I’ll end up working myself to the bone for not very much more money. I have been asked if I’ll take payment in dollars in the past, and I’ve said no, but I would be prepared to write a shorter story for them to accommodate a lower budget. I offer a range of story types, from very short drabbles for those with limited budgets, to (usually) a maximum of about 8k words for those able to fund something longer.

Here’s what the typical process of a commission looks like for me:

Client contacts me on Tumblr to see if I’m up for writing a commission for them.

I make sure they’ve read my commissions page and that they know what I’ll write and what I won’t, and how the process works.

We work out the details like - how long the story is, which characters are involved, what voice is the story told in, is it modern or historical fantasy etc. We also discuss what to include and what to avoid (so that they’re not taken off-guard by something that I’m fine with but they aren’t, and it can be something as simple as terms of endearment or a love of a particular food/place/etc.).

I’ll work on a very brief outline and I email it to them. I don’t use Tumblr chat for that - it’s unprofessional, clunky, and it’s really hard/laborious to search back for things down the line. If you want to keep it a bit more relaxed, Discord works well too, but I’d advise creating a special email for it if you’re serious.

Get them to OK the outline. This is the time for them to make changes and/or suggestions. After this, we both confirm that we’re happy with what we’ve discussed, and I remind them that after they’ve paid the invoice, and the money has gone through, I will not accept any more significant changes. Writers have been frustrated at best and burnt at worst by allowing clients to keep making hundreds of suggestions while they’re writing. Do not allow this. It’s good for no one.

I’ll wait for the payment to go through - and confirm with the client that it has - before I start writing anything.

Write the story. If I go over the agreed wordcount, that’s on me, not the client.

Leave the story overnight and edit it the next day. Don’t edit it lots. Chances are you’re not being paid enough to do three edits.

I make the story available to the client in PDF form if they don’t want it posted on your Tumblr, or post it. (Agree before hand if they’re ok with being tagged in it or would rather remain anonymous).

Some additional tips for opening commissions for the first time:

Make sure that your existing body of work is the best you can get it - no one wants to pay someone who has poor grammar and lots of errors in their existing work.

Write a commissions info sheet and stick to it - no exceptions, mates rates, or one-time deals.

Do not under-sell yourself. If you don’t value your time and effort, neither will the client, and they’re not worth having as clients if they don’t respect you. Trust. Me. It’s tempting to want to make some money rather than none, but the amount of extra and unforseen time and effort and stress is just not worth it. One good client is worth three shitty, cheaper ones. My rates on here are not high at all, and should go up, but I’ve found a good balance that works for me, and which values my time enough. It’s personal, but don’t sell yourself too short.

Be clear on your own commissions process before you open commissions up.

Be open to dialogue with the client about the story before you start, but be firm about changes once you’ve started.

Write a short storyline to send to them before you take payment, but don’t spend too long on it. At this point, you’re working for free. It’s a sign of trust, but don’t give them something that they can go away and take to another, cheaper writer. It happens in the jewellery world too - I’ve seen it done - and it happens to writers.

Send a PayPal invoice - make it professional. Don’t take money under the table, as it were. That way you’re secure, and so is the client. They know you’re serious if you make it professional. Invoice templates are really easy to set up on PayPal and are well worth it.

Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t think you’re the right person for that story if there’s something that doen’t feel right for whatever reason. Just be polite and say ‘you’re not the right person’ rather than ‘you’re not comfortable’ with it or whatever.

Have fun. If you don’t enjoy it, it’ll show in the finished work.

Ask other people who do this full time for advice too!

Hope that helps at least someone, and happy writing!