tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post6596997625024374392..comments2023-11-18T13:07:27.303-08:00Comments on Indie Author: Why You Should Be Paying More Than $50 For Ebook Formatting & ConversionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-84369474103951454382014-01-29T13:42:10.714-08:002014-01-29T13:42:10.714-08:00Like you, I am frustrated that India and other cou...Like you, I am frustrated that India and other countries have taken over the freelance marketplace. If I could afford to, I would set up a freelance site like oDesk or Guru and call it U.S.Only. At least we would be able to charge a decent rate for our services and clients would be more likely to get freelancers who speak English.<br />www.tanyaprovines.blogspot.comTanya Provineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15382531051287315582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-76231428817483899802013-05-22T14:36:59.297-07:002013-05-22T14:36:59.297-07:00Thomas -
I am not aware of any standards organizat...Thomas -<br />I am not aware of any standards organizations, and the answer to the question of how to make a living at this when offshore entities and others are so severely undercutting your fees is: you may *not* be able to make a living at this.<br /><br />It's a harsh truth, but it IS a truth. When unsophisticated self-publishers who don't know enough about how manuscripts are turned April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-14338864069302843892013-05-21T07:30:36.740-07:002013-05-21T07:30:36.740-07:00As it was my comment that started this discussion ...As it was my comment that started this discussion initially, I wanted to comment here again. Much like R E McDermott I learned ebook formatting for my own work and found it a relatively easy activity as I am already knowledgeable in programming (though I can understand why most folk would not want to do it themselves). I started doing ebook formatting & conversion for a friend who wanted Thomas Beatonhttp://jthomasbeaton.weebly.com/ebook-formatting.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-80860077680888353102013-05-21T06:22:10.334-07:002013-05-21T06:22:10.334-07:00The same thing has happened in my business: web de...The same thing has happened in my business: web design. I used to work with graphic designers to code websites but they now get that work done via sites like guru.com - and the vast majority of that work is done for around #5 / hour by folks in India or Malaysia. I can't work for $5 / hour, so I'm looking for a new profession - I see the writing on the wall. I have been contracted to fix Kevin Moriarityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07268219787471024295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-14981867238171384192013-05-21T06:07:45.433-07:002013-05-21T06:07:45.433-07:00Hi April,
While I don't disagree with your vi...Hi April,<br /><br />While I don't disagree with your view that $50 for formatting an ebook is way too low, I suspect the source of the downward pressure on such services is unclear. It may be that many authors just prefer a DIY approach. I know I do.<br /><br />Initially I found it bewildering, but after a bit of practice and learning a few tricks, I discovered it's not difficult at all.R.E. McDermotthttp://www.remcdermott.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-71955361284157937272013-05-20T18:30:21.092-07:002013-05-20T18:30:21.092-07:00BooksAndPals -
You're right. Freelancers can&#...BooksAndPals -<br />You're right. Freelancers can't bill for their time (and money) spent on administrative tasks like billing and collections, accounting work, promoting their services, maintaining a website (as most pro freelancers do) and so forth.<br /><br />Add to this the fact that most of the time, freelancers are only working an average of 25 - 30 PAID hours a week per week over April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-60987893385996029162013-05-20T18:20:58.183-07:002013-05-20T18:20:58.183-07:00I just noticed you raised the issue of not working...I just noticed you raised the issue of not working 40 hours a week *and* the lack of benefits (including sick days and holidays). I've seen a figure quoted of 30% for a typical professional level employee in benefit costs (which includes the cost of sick days, vacation, holidays, unemployment insurance, etc). BooksAndPalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119670940383926570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-15300076649911120522013-05-20T18:18:10.575-07:002013-05-20T18:18:10.575-07:00The self employment taxes jumped out at me as inco...The self employment taxes jumped out at me as incorrect, too. Your overall point, that charging $50 for a job that, done right, would take 2 2/3rds hours isn't enough still seems right. <br /><br />However, I'd go about making that point differently. Take 8% off the top. That's half the self employment tax. The portion that is equivalent to what your employer would be paying at a BooksAndPalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119670940383926570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-54161811106541815342013-05-20T17:31:34.119-07:002013-05-20T17:31:34.119-07:00When I asked a friend to format my most recent boo...When I asked a friend to format my most recent book for me, I paid her $50 for ebook formats and $50 for paperback. This was the friend deal--I'd never expect to pay so little otherwise. (The additional payment she received was not hearing me groan about how much I hate ebook formatting.)<br /><br />When my next book comes out in October, I plan to pay her more, as a thank you and an Nancy Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00209727822644631003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-45628498259087453612013-05-20T16:26:05.788-07:002013-05-20T16:26:05.788-07:00Hi April,
I'm an excellent formatter and I lov...Hi April,<br />I'm an excellent formatter and I love doing it. I tried to break in and supplement my writing income. At first I charged $80/job since I was a newbie but no one wanted to pay that. People would come back with a lower price and ask me to match it or they would try to barter. It wasn't until I dropped the price to $40 that a few customers tried me out. Needless to say, I no Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-24122610145315260572013-05-20T16:20:14.178-07:002013-05-20T16:20:14.178-07:00Oh, I agree. I just wanted to clarify the "se...Oh, I agree. I just wanted to clarify the "self-employment tax" error. Generally, as a self-employed, your total taxes should only rise by 8% or so (the part of SS and Medicare usually paid by the employer). As a general rule, this means the self-employed should assume about 50% of gross income will go to total federal and state taxes (although with a good accountant one can hope to getAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-65341739949698380352013-05-20T16:13:35.540-07:002013-05-20T16:13:35.540-07:00One more thing - I would never stake my life on my...One more thing - I would never stake my life on my math skills, so it's entirely possible I'm off to some degree on the taxes. Even so, even if the taxes really WERE only $10 per $50 freelancer fee (and I'm very confident they're a LOT higher than that), remember this: yet another reason why freelancers are supposed to charge a higher hourly rate than W2 employees is that April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-40431010520824350252013-05-20T16:12:20.038-07:002013-05-20T16:12:20.038-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-41003532714062071102013-05-20T16:08:10.520-07:002013-05-20T16:08:10.520-07:00"either that person isn't paying him- or ..."either that person isn't paying him- or herself a living wage, or that person is not paying his or her taxes, or that person is not doing a thorough job on your book."<br /><br />Or… that person is actually just trying to survive as the competition from India is just freaking insane, charging as low as $50 for the conversion of a 60-page book into a fixed layout eBook (two formats)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-40382150497395256522013-05-20T16:06:10.379-07:002013-05-20T16:06:10.379-07:00Remember - the employer is paying half of that stu...Remember - the employer is paying half of that stuff for W2 employees, so when you're self-employed your taxes effectively double.April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-59450539910318689242013-05-20T16:05:26.083-07:002013-05-20T16:05:26.083-07:00It's closer to 45% if you're counting EVER...It's closer to 45% if you're counting EVERYTHING: FICA, Medicare, Soc. Security, and state taxes.April L. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06450879359445096462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782713127824478176.post-2416770316760869902013-05-20T16:03:54.611-07:002013-05-20T16:03:54.611-07:00I'm confused by your initial calculation. In t...I'm confused by your initial calculation. In the US, self-employment tax (i.e., SS and Medicare taxes) is a maximum of 15.3%, which would mean $7.65 off the top. Am I missing something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com