Notes:

• Flat fees paid for technical writing should be at a higher rate. So too should writing children's books where extensive research is often involved. As a guideline, calculate the fee on the basis of the minimum hourly rate for editorial work. Similarly, use the hourly rate to help calculate an adequate return for the work involved when negotiating a royalty advance.
• The writer of the first edition of a guidebook or similar work should get a far higher fee than than an updater. They should argue for first refusal on future updates.
• Do not underestimate the time it takes to do the research for a guidebook. For every place included another place will probably be tried and rejected as not suitable for recommendation. This is particularly the case if the book takes the "300 best places" approach, where places that would get a negative review are eliminated.
• Listings take far longer to write than running copy. Insist that the publisher engages a fact-checker. Freelances who are required to check all listing information should charge an extra fee for this.
• Picture research should be paid as an extra task.
• Royalty rates for electronic publications are still very fluid. Some publishers offer the same percentages as for print editions - which is clearly unjust, since the reproduction and distribution costs are essentially zero. Net receipts should, in fact, be sale price less credit card fees and a small sum for server maintenance. We advise adding a clause into contracts for such works specifying re-negotiation after two years.
• Freelances who submit work on an expensive medium (such as a Zip™ disks) should make sure the client agrees to return it after use and to pay for or replace any lost or damaged disks.