What is work-for-Hire? Basically it is when a publisher pays you a set fee to write something specific for them. There are no royalties and the publisher owns the complete rights of the work. In my experience, most of the manuscripts are for books in a series designed for the educational market.
The contract tells you beforehand exactly what the topic will be, the scope of the work, and/or the theme the work will need to include. There is always a strict word count, sometimes right down to how many words per spread. And there is almost always a certain reading level you must obtain
Usually there’s a super-tight, non-flexible deadline to be met—first for turning in the outline, then for the draft, and then for the revision. You work very closely with your editor on these titles. The editor ensures your outline and text fits the mold of the series.
I broke in to the work-for-hire scene with ORCAS, working with the amazing Stephanie Fitzgerald of Spooky Cheetah Press, referred to her by my friend of the pen Moira Donohue. But most publishers are willing to take samples from authors willing to do this type of work, so if you're interested, when you see a series of books, check out the publisher's website for submission details.
The contract tells you beforehand exactly what the topic will be, the scope of the work, and/or the theme the work will need to include. There is always a strict word count, sometimes right down to how many words per spread. And there is almost always a certain reading level you must obtain
Usually there’s a super-tight, non-flexible deadline to be met—first for turning in the outline, then for the draft, and then for the revision. You work very closely with your editor on these titles. The editor ensures your outline and text fits the mold of the series.
I broke in to the work-for-hire scene with ORCAS, working with the amazing Stephanie Fitzgerald of Spooky Cheetah Press, referred to her by my friend of the pen Moira Donohue. But most publishers are willing to take samples from authors willing to do this type of work, so if you're interested, when you see a series of books, check out the publisher's website for submission details.
Learn more about each title and purchase copies HERE.