Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop FAQ: Q. I've been asked to write a book about a person's life. How do I get paid what is going rate? How do we get it published? Per page in advance won't work for this person but she has a fascinating story. Any ideas for a contract, rate of pay etc.?

Q. I've been asked to write a book about a person's life. How do I get paid what is going rate? How do we get it published? Per page in advance won't work for this person but she has a fascinating story. Any ideas for a contract, rate of pay etc.?

A. For celebrity biographies a "standard" deal is that the real writer gets all the advance and the subject and author split the royalties after the advance is earned back. This "standard" deal is generally arranged by the publisher: because of the fame (or infamy) of the subject, everyone expects to make money on this deal. Besides having the advance in hand, the writer also has a reputable publisher's signature on the deal.

However, fairly commonly some arrangement is proposed by the subject or the subject's family. Usually this is because the subject is not famous (although the subject or his or her family think the subject ought to be). The problem with such arrangements is that there is no one to guarantee that the writer gets paid. Secondarily, the subject or the family often have unrealistic expectations concerning the marketability of the book and the amount of money the book might make if it is well received.

You should protect yourself with a contract before any such discussions go far. You should be paid an advance by the family or the subject before you do any substantial amount of work. Usually this demand will be the end of the matter, for those who make such proposal generally intend for everyone else to invest in the project and to participate only in the project. "Deep Ghosting"--doing the work on an all-rights basis with no acknowledgment--should command a fee considerably more than the likely advance the book might receive, for in this case, the fee is all the writer will ever get.

If you agree with the subject or the family that the book would be marketable, you might be willing to make preliminary inquiries with publishers on speculation (that is, without a fee in advance) in this would not require a great deal of work on your part. In this case, you should have a contract that allows you to recover something for your work in the event that your efforts result in a book that is given to another writer. If the publisher agrees this is a marketable story, the publisher is very likely to want to assign it to a writer that is known to them and the subject or the family are likely to be willing to cut you out of the deal.

I strongly suggest you do no work on speculation and that you not get very far without some written agreement with the subject providing you with a kill fee if the work proves unmarketable or the subject finds it unflattering, etc. Hardly any story worth telling can be told truthfully while picturing the subject as an angelic being. These matters, as well as the usual questions of rights and payments should be considered in any contract.