Hello everyone!
Yes, I am, in fact, still alive! Good to hear from me, isn't it? Life has ranged from crazy to hectic as hell over the last couple of years. I've bounced around games, moved three times, had just a mess of personal issues, went crazy a couple times, climbed Mt. Everest- ...okay, not that last one.
Through it all, one thing that's kept me going is writing. I love writing. It's my passion. It's my mind's way of expressing itself. And as I look around on dA, I see that while there are all sorts of people out there that do actual drawings/paintings/manips of characters, there aren't as many that do writing commissions.
"Silly Hiro,"
I can hear you thinking with my newly acquired cybertelepathy, "no one in their right mind would pay for writing commissions. People in MMOs are writers, they just write their own stories!"
Well, you're right. They do. But they also have lives. They have stories they want to see done that they haven't been able to write. They have all kinds of other things going on and just don't have time to do it themselves. Or maybe they just want to see how someone else handles their character.
Another scenario: in this thing we call life, there are all sorts of occasions that writing has to be done. Are you in high school? College? Well, I'm not gonna write your paper that's due for you. But I will help you write your own.
Do you have a presentation you have to do and need to write up a proposal? Or something equally banal and mind-numbing? Let's talk. I can help.
Did you piss off your girl/boyfriend, fiancee, significant other, boss, mom, cat, supreme overlord Xenu? Let me give you a hand with that heart-felt apology, spontaneously romantic text, or anniversary card!
"SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY, HIRO!"
you shout at your screen. "I have been convinced that I need you to write things for me! I have this idea where Captain Kirk and the sixth Doctor travel to Alderaan to try and rescue-"
Let me stop you there. We should go over the things I'm not going to write. It's a short list, because everything is negotiable. But I have four main rules.
- I don't do pure fanfics. I'm sorry if you want a story about the ladies of Law and Order: SVU going duck hunting. You gotta have some sort of original thought going, because I'm not stealing someone else's intellectual property and making money off it. That's illegal.
- Nothing weird or gross. If I think it's weird or gross, I'll tell you when we're discussing details. Don't be afraid to ask. Just, y'know, be prepared.
- I reserve the right to refuse a project until the point that I'm paid. I won't take payment until I'm done, but I'm not gonna haggle silly details.
- I don't plagiarize. Neither will you.
As long as we follow those four rules, we won't have any problem, and we'll be able to work together. Now, how does the process work? Easily, that's how!
First, you send me a message on here. A note-type thing. You tell me "Hey Hiro! I want you to write something for me!"
Then you tell me what kind of something. Is it an English paper for school? Is it for business? Is it for the President? Is it fiction?
And that's it. That's how the process starts. From there, I'll get in touch with you and link you to a form to fill out. This form is gonna help me get some basic information on the job. It shouldn't take you more than ten minutes to complete, unless you are just super particular, in which case I welcome you to take your time. If you have an Original Character that's part of the fiction I'm doing, then you'll have a second sheet to fill out with info about the character. If there are multiples involved, then that means multiple sheets!
We go from there via email. I give you a rough idea of when I might have it done, depending entirely on my other responsibilities. If it's less than 1500 words, I should be able to get it done in less than a week, easy.
"But...but..but...Hiro!!! This English paper is due Friday and it's Wednesday!"
Fear not, dear friend, for there are special
"Holy Deadline, Batman!" rates.
Oh, right, speaking of rates...
Pricing Information:
Pricing for fiction is charged by the word. Here's the thing: no two pieces are gonna cost exactly the same rate, because they're not exactly the same story. The more time and effort I have to invest into the writing, e.g. the longer the story itself is, the higher the price per word.
(Remember, this is starting pricing, meaning the cheapest you're gonna get it.)Starting Fiction Pricing:
Up to 1500 words: 1/2 cent per word (up to $7.50 USD)
1500-3000 words: 1 cent per word ($15-30 USD)
3000-5000 words: 1.5 cents per word ($45-75 USD)
If you wanted 1500 words and just would not accept a version that was any less than 1510, I'm not gonna charge you higher for those ten words. I'm also not gonna pad the word counts. For the simple reason that it makes my writing look bad.
Starting Academic/Business Pricing:
For Academic papers (that's fancy talk for "papers for school") the per word charge includes any Works Cited page ('cause those are a pain in the ass anyways). Business proposals will work basically the same. Grant proposals will work on an entirely different, case-by-case basis.
Up to 3 pages (not counting Works Cited): 1 cent per word
Every page after 3 (not counting Works Cited): 1.5 cents per word
Miscellaneous Services:
There are all sorts of other things I can do that don't fall into the paper and fiction writing categories.
- Proof-reading: $2 per page
- Romantic text/tweet/Facebook post/email/letter: $3.50 and up
- Character generation: $5 for three characters
- Plot generation/Assistance: $4 per plot
- All your wildest dreams: Negotiable
"Hiro, you've got me sold. But I realized something. Why should I give you my money? I don't know what kind of writing you've done. Who's to say that I'll be 100% satisfied?"
Certainly not me. Here's the thing: I can't guarantee you'll like what I write. Why? Because writing, like any other art, is subjective. It's also consumed in a different manner than other forms of art. You might hate the piece. If beyond all my reasonable skill and effort, you just cannot stand what I've done, then I'll trash the whole thing and we'll call it square. Simple as that.
As for my qualifications, well:
- I wrote a novel when I was 15. Yeah, lots of people "write novels" that never get published, and mine didn't either. But I say that more to show that I've been doing this creative writing thing for ten years.
- I've been doing freeform, forum, in-game, and email RP for the last five years. I know characters.
- I've contributed both editorial and journal articles to a number of websites.
- The lowest grade I've received on a paper in any high school or college class was a 96, and that's because I argued with the teacher in front of the class on the proper use of the word "obviously" in neutrally-toned papers.
- I am awesome.
Over the coming weeks, I'll post some things that I've done. I'll write some totally new things, just to show off some different styles and such. In the meantime, please, keep this in mind. Tell your customers, your clients, your friends, your guild mates, your class mates, your grandma, tell everyone.
This place is now open for business.