Rates and conditions vary very widely across books, magazines and national and regional newspapers: each has its own section in this Guide.

Many freelances produce copy and/or work shifts across all the print media - for books, magazines and newspapers. Rates and conditions vary very widely. The standard method of payment for books is by royalties: a percentage of the gross receipts from sale of the books. The standard for newspapers and magazines is a flat fee for a licence to publish the work in one edition.

All freelances who write should register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to receive payments from secondary uses such as photocopying, and provide the Society with updated lists of their published works. Book authors, illustrators and translators should also register for Public Lending Right. See Rights and why they are important.

Any freelance is the first owner of their work simply by virtue of having created it. Publishers frequently apply pressure on freelances to "assign" all rights in their work - either because they have actual hopes of re-selling it for a lot of money or because their advisers simply do not understand authors' rights.

The NUJ has an agreement with the Guardian dealing with these issues, and groups of freelances have achieved agreements with some magazine publishers. The union has house agreements with other newspaper and magazine publishers, and is working to add terms setting out minimum rates and conditions for freelances to these, but this will take time. See the detailed advice sections for each sector, below.

Shifts and sub-editing

Some freelances specialise in sub-editing: checking copy and making it fit house style and the page. Many writers also do sub-editing shifts for backup income - and often as a useful source of contact with commissioning editors.

The suggested rates have been compiled from current agreements where they exist and from market information gathered through The Rate for the Job at www.londonfreelance.org/rates.

Print media contents:

• Books
• Editing/producing books
• Magazines
• National newspapers
• Regional newspapers

National newspapers

National newspapers include daily and Sunday titles produced in London and distributed throughout the UK; also The Herald, Sunday Herald, Daily Record and Sunday Mail (from Glasgow) and The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh) - although the latter, and the Scottish editions of London-based nationals, tend to pay slightly less than their London counterparts.

Although the London Evening Standard is not a national newspaper, similar rates apply; likewise for Lloyds List.

The Belfast Telegraph, Belfast News Letter, Irish News, Belfast Sunday Life, Western Mail and Wales on Sunday are usually regarded as regional newspapers and their rates and conditions are comparable with those of provincial daily and Sunday newspapers. See Newspaper categories.

Features

The rates paid for features in national newspapers vary hugely, depending on the titles concerned, the expertise/research required and how much the publication wants the article.

Red-top or traditional tabloids often pay considerably more per 1000 words than the "unpopular papers" - more than twice as much - but pieces tend to be shorter. The price for the piece tends to be discussed with only a passing reference to the number of words involved. Experience shows that there is more opportunity to negotiate with tabloids than with broadsheets and that, with them especially, genuine exclusives carry a very significant premium.

News

Freelances covering news will be paid either per 1000 words or by the day. Once again, rates offered by different newspapers vary widely and freelances should negotiate hard to get a fair return for their work. Remember again that exclusivity will have a huge bearing on the fee. Rates should be higher, sometimes much higher, for tabloids.

Extra payments

Certain jobs or stories command higher rates than others and it is worth negotiating significantly higher rates for them. For example if a journalist must work unsocial hours (after 8 pm, before 8 am) in order to file a story, they should add a minimum of £100 to the payment for the story as well as expenses.

Exclusives can command huge fees: a story in a national tabloid that appears in a prominent position, such as a page lead, should command more than £700 whatever its length. If a newspaper orders an exclusive story that is subsequently not used, the fee should be substantial to reflect the fact that once the story ceases to be current it may be impossible to sell it elsewhere.

Negotiate higher rates for material that appears in the colour magazines that accompany some editions of newspapers.

Rights and syndication

Som newspaper publishers attempt to gain all rights from freelance contributors. See Rights and why they are important. Remember that use on a paper's own website constitutes a separate use from the paper version and ought to be paid for.

Sub-editing

Most newspapers have set rates for sub-editing shifts and these can be difficult to negotiate individually. Almost all shift work should by law attract additional paid time off. National newspapers commonly try to enforce deduction of tax and national insurance at source, but this can be challenged - see Shift payments - tax and time off. The best way for freelances to get improved shift payment is by working with the chapels to get minimum rates included in the house agreement.

House agreements

The NUJ has house agreements with some newspaper publishers. However, only staff and, in some cases, people doing regular shifts are covered by the legal rights to union recognition and collective negotiation of terms. The union is working to include sections in house agreements that set out minimum terms and best practice for engaging freelances, and has achieved these with the Guardian and Express; but to get more will take some years, especially with those managements that resist negotiating anything they're not forced to. In any case, freelances will need to negotiate what each article they do is actually worth, even where there are agreements that set out the minimum.

Freelance agreements remain more likely to be achieved where freelances form networks (some think of them as "freelance chapels"). These have negotiated in liaison with and supported by the Freelance Office, the Newspaper Organiser, the relevant staff chapel, Freelance Industrial Council and any appropriate NUJ branch (freelance or general).

See contacts for some email networks - we are always happy to help set up another if there are several people demanding it.

Extra money for free

All freelances who write should register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to receive payments from secondary uses such as photocopying, and provide the Society with updated lists of their articles. See Rights and why they are important.

These are some things to remember when negotiating rates for work done for national newspapers. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• The rates suggested for copyright work are for limited licences: each extra use licensed attracts an extra fee.
• The rates are suggested as minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge and the value of the work.
• If the newspaper wants to make further use of the work, it is usually down to the freelance to do the thinking for the editor: "OK, what do you need? The weekly edition - and use of both on the web for a year - how about 30% extra?" Editors are trying to think about the content and want not to think about copyright at the same time, so the freelance needs to do that thinking and make the way smooth for an equitable agreement. See Negotiating Fees.
• The NUJ recommends that any work commissioned and delivered on time and to specification should be paid for in full, whatever happens to it after that. Editors who have over-commissioned, changed their minds, or (especially) taken over the commissioning editor's job often offer instead a "kill fee", typically half the agreed fee. The NUJ recommends that work submitted on time and to spec should be paid for in full; but the freelance has to decide whether to press the issue; they may after all save some time checking edited copy and they may be able to negotiate a replacement commission from the same publication and sell the rejected piece elsewhere.
• Many newspapers have set rates for sub-editing shifts, often tied formally or informally to house agreements for staff pay. By law, freelances should almost always get payment for time off on top of these rates - see Shift payments - tax and time off.
• As a rule of thumb, a shift that is booked but then cancelled with less than a week's notice should be paid in full.
• The Inland Revenue periodically pressures publishers to deduct tax at source from payments for shifts: Shift payments - tax and time off also gives advice on getting paid gross.
• The rates for shifts do not include paid time off.
• Many publishers operate a so-called "self-billing" system under which cheques appear magically with a kind of retroactive purchase order. This does give editors the option of boosting the fee for a piece they like. Both sides should check that it is at least as much as was agreed. See Getting your money.
• Some papers are trying to impose "payment on publication" schemes that at best delay payment and at worst enable arbitrary setting of fees by management. The NUJ is organising resistance to this and offers advice on your rights over late payments - see the links below.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice. Usually, they will need to invoice even publishers that operate "self billing"; faced with a particularly obtuse accounts department it may be necessary for the freelance to invoice separately for the VAT only, after the main payment has arrived.

See the advice section on print media and general advice for more discussion of these matters.

Rates for newspaper copy vary hugely and the following are decent achievable minima, mostly for what you might call "generic" stories. Exclusives and other big stories attract much higher fees. The rates for words are for their first appearance in a UK newspaper. If the publisher wants further uses, negotiate.

No-one knows quite how to categorise national papers now that the Financial Times and Telegraph are the only London national broadsheets. For the moment we have gone with qualities (tongue not entirely absent from cheek) and tabloids (straight up).

Shifts - National newspapers - category: Newspapers
Writing news: per day		185.00
6 or 7 hour sub-editing shifts		180.00

Shifts - National newspapers - category: Newspaper supplements
6 or 7 hour sub-editing shifts (weekend)		190.00
Writing: per day		200.00
6 or 7 hour sub-editing shifts		180.00

Writing, reporting and researching - National newspapers - category: Newspapers
Page lead, tabloids - sky's the limit, rarely less than		1000.00
Tip-off leading to exclusive or large spread, upward of		1000.00
Splashy features for "qualities", per 1000, from		800.00
Normal features for "qualities", per 1000, from		500.00
Page lead, for "qualities", per 1000, from		500.00
News, for "qualities", per 1000 words, from		430.00
Tip-off for news, "qualities" - much more for big stories		200.00
Tip-off for diary - minimum		50.00
Commissioned online blog post - e.g. "Comment is Free" from		110.00

Writing, reporting and researching - National newspapers - category: Newspaper supplements
Splashy features for "qualities", per 1000, from		1000.00
Per 1000 words, generic		600.00

Regional newspapers

Regional newspapers are morning daily papers with circulations covering large areas of the country, such as the Birmingham Post or the Western Daily Press. Provincial newspapers are local weekly or evening publications. See Regional newspaper categories.

While some regional papers and a few provincials pay reasonably by the standards of their local economy, freelance rates in many papers (especially in provincials) have not risen in proportion either to the cost of living or to staff salaries, and it is difficult for the NUJ to recommend that members work for these. For a freelance, the only plus in this area is that it may provide journalists a chance to get their by-line noticed - useful if to newcomers, but not others. Individual negotiation is essential, but freelances who do decide to do work for one of these papers should remember to try the nationals first with good stories - they of course represent a much bigger market and a bigger cheque too.

Lineage

Some papers are trying to reinstate a version of the old "lineage" system - that is, payment for each line of text published. Many freelances circumvent this penny-pinching system by getting the paper to order stories, and then invoicing for them. The NUJ is campaigning against this version of "payment on publication" - see the link below.

Rights and syndication

Some newspaper publishers attempt to gain all rights from freelance contributors. See Rights and why they are important. Remember that use on a paper's own website constitutes a separate use from the paper version and should be paid for.

Sub-editing

Most regional newspapers have set rates for sub-editing shifts and so these can be difficult to negotiate individually. Some may insist on deducting tax and National Insurance from shift payments at source but this can be challenged - see Shift payments - tax and time off). The best way for freelances to get improved shift payment is by working with the chapels to get their rates included in the house agreement.

House agreements

The NUJ has house agreements with some newspaper publishers. However, only staff and, in some cases, people doing regular shifts are covered by the rights to union recognition and collective negotiation of terms. The union is working to include sections in house agreements that set out minimum terms and best practice for engaging freelances, but this will take some years, especially with those management that resist negotiating anything they're not forced to. In any case, freelances will need to negotiate what each article they do is actually worth, even where there are agreements that set out the minimum.

Freelance collective agreements remain more likely to be achieved where freelances form networks (some think of them as "freelance chapels"). These have negotiated in liaison with and supported by the Freelance Office, the Regional Organiser, the relevant staff chapel, Freelance Industrial Council and any appropriate NUJ branch (freelance or general).

See contacts for some email networks - we are always happy to help set up another if there are several people demanding it.

Extra money for free

All freelances who write should register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to receive payments from secondary uses such as photocopying, and provide the Society with updated lists of their articles. See Rights and why they are important.

These are some things to remember when negotiating rates for work for regional newspapers. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• The rates suggested for copyright work are for limited licences: each extra use licensed attracts an extra fee.
• The rates are suggested as minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge and the value of the work.
• If the newspaper wants to make further use of the work, it is usually down to the freelance to do the thinking for the editor: "OK, what do you need? Use in a nearby sister paper? And use on the web for a year - how about 30% extra?" Editors are trying to think about the content and want not to think about copyright at the same time, so the freelance needs to do that for them to achieve an equitable agreement.
• The NUJ recommends that any work commissioned and delivered on time and to specification should be paid for in full, whatever happens to it after that. Editors who have over-commissioned, changed their minds, or (especially) taken over the commissioning editor's job often offer instead a "kill fee", typically half the agreed fee. The NUJ recommends that work submitted on time and to spec should be paid for in full; but the freelance has to decide whether to press the issue; they may after all save some time checking edited copy and they may be able to negotiate a replacement commission from the same paper and sell the rejected piece elsewhere. See Kill Fees for commissioned articles.
• Many newspapers have set rates for sub-editing shifts, often tied formally or informally to house agreements for staff pay. By law, freelances should almost always get payment for time off on top of these rates - see Shift payments - tax and time off.
• As a rule of thumb, a shift that is booked but then cancelled with less than a week's notice should be paid in full.
• The Inland Revenue periodically pressures publishers to deduct tax at source from payments for shifts: Shift payments - tax and time off also gives advice on getting paid gross.
• The rates for shifts do not include paid time off.
• Many publishers operate a so-called "self-billing" system, under which cheques appear magically with a kind of retroactive purchase order. This does give editors the option of boosting the fee for a piece they like. Both sides should check that it is at least as much as was agreed. See Getting your money.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice. Usually, they will need to invoice even publishers that operate "self billing".

See the advice section on print media and general advice for more discussion of these matters.

Rates paid by regional, and particularly provincial and local, newspapers vary hugely. These suggestions are based on the decent rates that members have achieved.

Shifts - Regional newspapers - category: Regional daily newspapers
6 or 7 hour sub-editing shifts (weekend)		160.00
6 or 7 hour sub-editing shifts		130.00

Shifts - Regional newspapers - category: Weekly/local newspapers
Sub-editing shifts are one kind of work where many - but not all - local papers pay noticeable rates.
6 or 7 hour sub-editing shifts		120.00

Writing, reporting and researching - Regional newspapers - category: Regional daily newspapers
Ordered story or feature, bigger papers, per 1000		170.00
Ordered story or feature, per 1000		130.00
Page lead		70.00
Tip		30.00

Writing, reporting and researching - Regional newspapers - category: Weekly/local newspapers
Ordered news or feature, per 1000		120.00

Magazines

The world of magazines is remarkably diverse, both in terms of what is published and how much is paid for it. It encompasses some of the best and some of the worst payers in the media industry. We divide the suggested rates into four bands - but note that publications like Vogue and almost all US magazines are off the top end of this scale and that Rabbit Breeder's Week may have been off the bottom while it lasted (it did exist, and had the lowest of all ABC circulation ratings!).

Setting fees

The nature of the publication; the value of a story in marketing a magazine; its exclusivity; the writer's experience and particular expertise; and the time taken for research all play important parts in negotiations over how much an article is worth.

It makes sense to expect a lot more from Cosmopolitan or Radio Times than from a small-circulation, fringe political publication. There are, however, "glossies" that pay relatively poorly, and prestigious specialist publications, with lower circulations and advertising rates, that pay top rates to the most highly qualified journalists.

The magazine categories used in suggesting rates are based on a combination of the publications' advertising rates, their circulation and prestige, and o course reference to the open Rate for the Job market survey . They are imprecise, making individual negotiation all the more important. (Remember Rule One: let the client name a fee first, and start from there.) NUJ members can check with the Freelance Office to see whether any new house agreements have been signed.

Note that we can not guarantee writers will get the rates quoted for work on the titles listed - only that members have secured similar rates and that they are reasonable minima in the light of the rest of the market. Writers should remember that you might always get more if you ask - and you will not if you do not.

Provincially-based or fringe publications routinely pay lower rates than those suggested. The NUJ cannot recommend that anyone should work for such low rates, though we recognise that members may sometimes accept them for reasons other than financial reward.

Contract publishing

This fast-growing area is the magazine equivalent of book "packaging", in which one organisation produces a magazine under another's imprint. An example is Redwood, which has produced publications for Boots and Marks and Spencer.

The area is volatile: a client may ask a contract publisher to produce a glossy magazine from scratch in six weeks - only to cancel it the next day. So it's probably a good idea for a writer commissioned by a contract publisher to get a clear agreement that they will be paid in full for good work delivered on time, whatever happens to it. The range of publications produced in this way is as wide as that in the more traditional field of "publisher publishing" and the rates paid are as varied, though with a welcome inclination to the high end on the whole. If in doubt, use the guidance for Groups A to C.

Contract publishers may well ask for all rights. As with any publisher, follow the advice in Rights and why they are important and ask what rights/extra usages they actually need: writers should charge extra if they agree to anything beyond normal print usage.

Shifts

Most freelances who work shifts on a per-day rate are sub-editing. Covering for a section editor, it should attract a higher rate to reflect the additional complexity and responsibility.

Magazines may also bring freelances in to do a day's, or a week's or a month's, work writing news, for example covering for a staffer on leave. They may even pay on a per-day basis for a specific article, and this may be a desirable alternative to negotiating a per-word rate that would reflect the amount of work involved. Freelances should be aware that this clouds the issue, at least, of who owns the work.

See Shift payments - tax and time off for notes on taxation of shifts at source and entitlement to paid time off.

House agreements in magazines

The NUJ has house agreements with some magazine publishers. However, only staff and, in some cases, people doing regular shifts are covered by the rights to union recognition and collective negotiation of terms. The union is working to include sections in house agreements that set out minimum terms and best practice for engaging freelances, but this will take some years, especially with those management that resist negotiating anything they're not forced to. In any case, freelances will need to negotiate what each article they do is actually worth, even where there are agreements that set out the minimum.

Freelance collective agreements remain more likely to be achieved where freelances form networks (some think of them as "freelance chapels"). These have negotiated in liaison with and supported by the Freelance Office, Magazines Organiser, the relevant staff chapel, Freelance Industrial Council and any appropriate NUJ branch (freelance or general).

See contacts for some email networks - we are always happy to help set up another if there are people demanding it.

Extra money for free

All freelances who write should register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to receive payments from secondary uses such as photocopying, and provide the Society with updated lists of their articles. See Rights and why they are important - and see the link below.

These are some things to remember when negotiating rates for magazine work. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• The rates suggested for copyright work are for limited licences: each extra use licensed attracts an extra fee.
• The rates suggested are minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge and the value of the work.
• If the magazine wants to make further use of the work, it is usually down to the freelance to do the thinking for the editor: "OK, what do you need? The German edition - and use of both on the web for a year - how about 30% extra?" Editors are trying to think about the content and quite reasonably want not to think about copyright at the same time, so the freelance needs to do the thinking and make the way smooth.
• A positive exploratory approach to negotiation by individual freelances often pays dividends, especially if work requires specific expertise, detailed research or travel time. Handy increases on a first offer are often achieved, and uplifts of between 20 and 200 per cent over the number the commissioning editor first thought of can be agreed, once it's emerged what work and skills the editor needs.
• The NUJ recommends that any work commissioned and delivered on time and to specification should be paid for in full, whatever happens to it after that. Editors who have over-commissioned, changed their minds, or (especially) taken over another commissioning editor's job often offer instead a "kill fee", typically half the agreed fee. The freelance has to decide whether to press the issue; they may after all save some time checking edited copy and they may be able to negotiate a replacement commission from the same magazine and sell the rejected piece elsewhere. See Kill Fees for commissioned articles.

Shifts

• Many magazines have fairly set rates for sub-editing shifts, some tied informally to house agreements for staff pay. By law, freelances should almost always get payment for time off on top of these rates - see Shift payments - tax and time off.
• The Inland Revenue periodically pressures publishers to deduct tax at source from payments for shifts: this section also gives advice on getting paid gross.
• As a rule of thumb, a shift that is booked but then cancelled with less than a week's notice should be paid in full. See Suggested schedule of cancellation fees for shifts.
• The rates for shifts do not include paid time off.

General

• Many publishers operate a so-called "self-billing" system under which cheques appear magically with a kind of retroactive purchase order. This does give editors the option of boosting the fee for a piece they like. Both sides should check that it is at least as much as was agreed. See Getting your money.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice. Usually, they will need to invoice even publishers that operate "self billing"; faced with a particularly obtuse accounts department it may be necessary to invoice separately for the VAT only, after the main payment has arrived.

Magazine editors periodically suffer from extreme pressure to make silly budget cuts. Frequently this pressure dissipates after a month or so, when the Men in Suits have asserted their authority and wander off beating their chests - and everyone else can get on with producing a publication that people want to read and therefore to buy.

The rates for words are for their first appearance in a UK magazine, or US as the case may be. If the publisher wants further uses, negotiate.

To emphasise what's in the advice section: do remember to register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to get your share of money collected for copying of magazines. See the link below.

Magazines - category: A: large-circulation and glossy mags
Writing, per 1000 - prestige US magazines from $3 a word (exchang rate updated to July 2018)		2200.00
Writing, per 1000 words		750.00
Acting as editor on publication: per day		350.00
Section or production editor: per day		300.00
Reporting or researching: per day		240.00
Sub-editing and production: per day		200.00

Magazines - category: B: smaller consumer mags
Writing, per 1000 - run-of-the-mill US magazines ($1/word). Exchange rate updated July 2018		750.00
Writing, per 1000 words		450.00
Acting as editor on publication: per day		300.00
Section or production editor: per day		240.00
Reporting or researching: per day		180.00
Sub-editing and production: per day		180.00

Magazines - category: C: larger trade and trade union mags
Writing, per 1000 words		335.00
Acting as editor on publication: per day		280.00
Section or production editor: per day		220.00
Reporting or researching: per day		165.00
Sub-editing and production: per day		165.00

Magazines - category: D: smaller mags
Writing, per 1000 words		250.00
Acting as editor on publication: per day		220.00
Section or production editor: per day		170.00
Sub-editing and production: per day		150.00
Reporting or researching: per day		150.00

Books

The book industry is as ruthless as any other business. Some might say that it is more so, for exploiting its residual gentlepersonly image, as though no civilised person would actually expect to make a living by work. Authors should take as much care over the details of a commission as they would in any other part of the media - or more, since the relationship with the client is more complex and longer in duration.

Contracts

The contracts book publishers offer are often complicated. They may refer to all kinds of peripherals, such as who supplies or pays for indexes and illustrations, who should negotiate for permission to use photographs, and much more. All items can be the subject of negotiation. Never agree to anything without being aware of its full implications. Be especially careful about "indemnity clauses" - see notes on negotiating book contracts. The Society of Authors (see the link below) publishes a useful booklet, a Guide to Publishers' Contracts (£12 to non-members of the Society, free to members) - see the link below.

Minimum Terms Agreements

Many NUJ members write books, but the NUJ rarely negotiates terms for book writers. This is the job of the Society of Authors and, to a lesser extent, the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. In the past, these two organisations have negotiated Minimum Terms Agreements with some publishers, but not all. Book authors should find out if such an agreement exists for their chosen publisher.

MTAs include:

• A stipulation that the author should have the right to review terms every ten years; should retain the moral rights over the text; and should be consulted about the cover design
• A commitment to publish within a specified time
• The advance on royalty (see below) to be at least 65 per cent of the amount the author should expect to earn from the royalties on the first printing of the book
• A termination clause giving the writer the chance to recover all rights if the publisher defaults or becomes insolvent and when the book goes out of print or sales fall below specified levels.

Other clauses cover minimum terms for sub-licensing rights to another publisher, foreign rights and US sales.

Commissioned books

Contrary to the image presented of the lonely/heroic author hawking books around publishers, many books are commissioned by a publisher who looks for an author to write to a certain specification. The writer is in law just as much the author and has the same rights as any other author; but the fact of commissioning may muddy the negotiating waters somewhat. See below.

Royalties and the advance

The conventional - and preferred - way of paying authors is by means of royalties on copies sold - that is, a percentage of the cover price and therefore of "gross receipts". Often there is an advance payment. Contracts should specify that there will be further payments for film rights, translations and foreign editions, serialisations in newspapers, use on television, stage or other dramatisations, and so on. The author usually retains both copyright and moral rights - but always check any contract carefully. Negotiate changes where desirable.

Much hangs on the size of the advance. If the book has a low cover price, a small first print run, or does not sell in large enough numbers for royalties to cover the advance, it may be all the author gets. Even if the book does generate an income for the author, this is unlikely to start flowing for at least a year after publication. So authors should try to get as big an advance as possible.

Royalties are a percentage, and whenever anyone sees a percentage they should ask: per cent of what?

Publishers may propose a royalty that is a percentage of "price received", also known as "net receipts" - the sum received by the publisher from the bookseller or other distributor - rather than of the recommended cover price. Publishers sell to booksellers at a discount, and distributors may get 55 per cent off. So 10 per cent of "price received" could be equivalent to 5 per cent of the cover price, or less. If the publisher insists on "net receipts", negotiate a higher percentage.

Such "price received" deals are not recommended. They are, however, fairly common in some areas, especially in educational publishing. Discounts in this case may be relatively small, which helps alleviate the problem. Authors should remember their hourly rate when negotiating a royalty advance.

Flat fees

Some publishers, especially in the non-fiction area, and even more especially in children's non-fiction, prefer to pay flat fees. They are frequently immovable on this, but there might be no point in moving them. If the fee is adequate, it could well be a better bet than royalties. Fees tend to be higher than royalty advances and, if print runs are too low to earn off an advance, the author could come out better off.

The big problem with fees, as opposed to royalties, is that they tend to go hand-in-hand with all-rights contracts. A publisher may say: "we thought of this book, we decided what it would be like (how many pages, how many pictures...) so we keep the rights, and we just pay you for the words." There is no more merit in this argument when it comes from a book publisher than when it comes from a newspaper.

Guidebooks

For example, guidebook publishers rarely agree to royalties. If it is a new series the chances are the flat fee will be better than royalties as there is no guarantee the series will be a success. If it is an already established series royalties in theory would be better - particularly since a few in a series may be spectacularly successful - but the publisher will argue that they have already established the template and the reputation of the series. This is another argument for "windfall" provisions - see below. See more notes on negotiating flat fees.

Making the best of it

It should be possible to accept a fee for a licence granting the publisher rights to do specified things with the work, rather than for the sale (or "assignment") of all rights. The author would then expect extra payments for any reprints, foreign editions etc. There is no reason why a flat fee should mean the author gives up their share in massive income if the whole world adores their book. (In Germany, the law states that contracts must be renegotiated in such "windfall" cases.) But the system has been entrenched in some fields of publishing for many years.

The Society of Authors shares the NUJ's stand on copyright (see Rights and why they are important). When a publisher demands copyright assignment, authors should offer to sell instead an exclusive licence for a specific period of time - at the same time ensuring that they have negotiated safeguards to prevent the publisher from altering their manuscript without their approval. It may also be possible to negotiate refresher fees paid, for example, when the book is reprinted or for editions in foreign languages.

Flat fees paid for technical writing should be at a higher rate - as should those children's books where extensive research is often involved and most of the work may go into producing fewer words. As a guideline, calculate the fee on the basis of the minimum hourly rate for editorial work.

The Society recommends that where an agreement is made to pay an author a fee per thousand words, payment should be made for the number of words commissioned rather than the number printed; and that payment should be on delivery of the manuscript rather than on publication, which could be months away.

Packagers

Packagers produce a book up to ready-for-press or even bound copies for a publisher to market under its own imprint. Packagers may have little flexibility in deadlines and payment. Publishers buying complete books from packagers should ensure that all contributors, such as freelance editors, have been properly paid - and if not, make the payment themselves. If a packager has not paid before the book is handed over, the author should approach the publisher immediately for payment.

Ghosting

Also known as collaborative writing, ghosting means working with someone else, often a celebrity, to produce a book in their name, Whatever agreement you reach about the income you get from your work, ensure that it is the publisher that pays you rather than the person for whom you are ghosting. This will avoid tensions between you and that person, and is generally a safer option. See the Society of Authors' Guide to Ghost Writing and Company Histories - see the link below.

Photocopying etc

Authors are entitled to payments for photocopying of their work. To be sure of receiving this money, writers need to register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society: associate membership of ALCS is free to NUJ members. See Rights and why they are important.

Public Lending Right

Book authors are also entitled to payments for lending of their work by libraries - simply by virtue of being the author and quite independently of copyright. See Rights and why they are important.

Networking

The NUJ and Society of Authors have set up an email network for authors of children's non-fiction: see www.londonfreelance.org/NibWeb. We are always happy to help set up another network if there are people demanding it.

With many thanks to Jenny Vaughan

Book contracts can be immensely complicated. (We would never suggest that the lawyers drafting them make them that way to prevent anyone reading them, them being lawyers and all.) We can give only general pointers here and in the the main advice section. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• Possibly the most crucial thing in negotiating a licence to publish a work as a book is defining the limits on that licence: what territories does it cover, for example? See examples of common combinations of territories for English-language works.
• The rates are suggested as minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge and the value of the work.
• The rates for shifts do not include paid time off.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice.
• It is very, very important to check the detail of book contracts. In particular, authors should beware of the enormous difference between royalties paid on cover price and those on net receipts: see the advice section for more detail. Members of the National Union of Journalists (and those of the Society of Authors) can get contracts checked professionally.
• Writers considering book contracts should beware of indemnity clauses. Many contracts are lawyers' laundry lists that include both:
  • a "waiver of the moral right to defend the integrity of the work" - in English, that is granting the publisher the right to change it at will; and
  • a clause making the writer "indemnify" the publisher against any legal action - in English, that means that if they change the work to libel someone, or lift a whopping copyright violation and drop it into the middle of the work, they want you to pay for the court-case. Or, for that matter, if they inserted a claim that Amanita Muscaria is good to eat and a small village was wiped out as a result... they would want you to be liable.
  Obviously, it is in writers' interests to refuse blanket indemnities and decent editors will not press for them. One large publisher recently agreed to change its contract wording to:

  all statements in the Work purporting to be factual are true to the best of the Author's knowledge having undertaken proper and diligent research with respect hereto

  And one writer managed to get a contractual agreement that the facts in their book were, to the best of their professional ability,

  true for the purposes of the National Curriculum

  See the section Indemnities - challenge them and get insurance
• Another trap for authors to beware is the "no competing works" clause - in many ways worse than a copyright grab, it may claim to stop the author writing on the same subject for any other publisher, ever.
• There is more to authorship than writing. Writing is only part of the job. Authors will have to check proofs, obtain licences to use any images, write captions and correct mistakes introduced by an editor who has just arrived from the Planet Gymkhana and knows nothing of the subject.
• Authors should not waive moral rights: apart from the general considerations of their honour and reputation, they are invaluable in arguing with said Gymkhanan.
• Authors of technical or children's books negotiating with publishers who insist on a flat fee argue for advance agreement that they will receive extra payment if proof checking takes an inordinate amount of time on account of said Gymkhanan.
• Authors must INSIST that it is agreed in advance that YOU WILL SEE PROOFS before the bok goes to press.

This section offers some (very basic) advice for those writing books: we've called it just "books" to fit with the rest of the Guide - photographers and illustrators also contribute "content" to books, for example. There is a separate section for those doing book editing and production.

To emphasise what's in the advice section: do remember to register with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society to get your share of money collected for copying of books; and for Public Lending Right to get your share of payments from libraries. See the links below.

Writing and research - Books -
...and see also the advice section for a discussion of flat fees, which should be negotiated as royalty buy-outs.
Rate/1000 words		275.00

Royalty rates - Books -
Royalty rates are percentages. Whenever anyone sees a percentage they should ask: per cent of what? See the advice section for a discussion of royalties... And the royalties offered or agreed for ebooks (electronic publication) are still quite fluid: see the notes below and let us know what you get.
Electronic publication - publisher arranges markup - % of receipts	50.00%
Electronic publication - entire work delivered as multimedia - % of gross	40.00%
Hardback (sales after first 5000)	15.00%
Hardback (next 2500 sales)	12.50%
Hardback (first 2500 sales)	10.00%
Paperback (sales after first 20,000)	10.00%
Paperback (first 20,000 copies)	7.50%

Editing/producing books

The book industry is as ruthless as any other business. Some might say that it is more so, for exploiting its residual gentlepersonly image. Some publishers are particularly fond of engaging people to do editing and production work as though it were a civilised hobby or a finishing school, not a way to earn a living. Freelance editors should take at least as much care over the details of a commission as they would in any other part of the media.

Editing

Book editors are well advised to charge by the day, and if persuaded to negotiate a lump-sum fee must factor in a considerable number of days for crises and general faffing around. If it's not the author turning in the manuscript late, it's the publisher changing the schedule...

Packagers

Packagers produce a book up to ready-for-press or even provide bound copies for a publisher to market under its own imprint. Packagers may have little flexibility in deadlines and payment. Publishers buying complete books from packagers should ensure that all contributors, such as freelance editors, have been properly paid - and if not, make the payment themselves. If a packager has not paid before the book is handed over, the freelances should approach the publisher immediately for payment.

Packagers may in turn want to further sub-contract as much of the work as possible to one person - for example having them do picture research and rights clearance as well as editing. Rates should of course reflect the range of skills demanded.

Abstracting

Once only seen in the domain of technical publications and journals, abstracting has become more common since the growth of the internet. Many sites publish condensed extracts of longer works. Abstractors tend to work quickly, developing a skill for scanning a larger publication and pulling out the salient issues and creating a succinct abstract of the work. Technical editors would expect to be paid the same rate for abstracting as for editing - and should be charging at the top of the range for this work, given the time and effort it takes to acquire the complete specialist knowledge required to do the job well.

Indexing

This is an area where publishers are wont to skimp. The now widespread practice of distributing proof copies of technical books for review before the indexer has started work is their main tool for getting away with it (a reviewer of technical books moans). Just because publishing software allows someone to click on random words in the text and generate something that looks like an index does not mean it is an index. Producing a really useful index requires as deep an understanding of the content of the book as do editing or abstracting; particularly to do it under the time pressures that publishers impose.

These are some things to remember when negotiating rates for book editing and production work. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• Abstracts, blurbs and indexes are copyright works. The editor/indexer and the publisher should agree on how many editions, distributed how widely, are covered by a contract; extra licensed uses should attract an extra fee.
• The rates are suggested as minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge and the value of the work.
• When negotiating over editing of a book, particularly when the editor is working from home, it is essential to be clear at the start on the timetable and how the invariable alterations to it will be communicated.
• The rates for shifts do not include paid time off.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice.

We especially welcome information on usual practice for extra licences for use of indexes in further editions.

Book editing and production is a separate business from book writing, which has its own section of this Guide.

See the notes below about the importance of clarity in contracts.

Production and book editing - Editing/producing books -
We cannot say it too often: be clear on what the contract covers. Additional days of work generated by others' changes of mind must, for example, be chargeable.
Proofreading, per hour		24.00
Project management, per hour		35.00
Specialist editing, such as classical languages or complex mathematics, per hour		50.00
Substantial editing and rewriting, per hour		30.00
Design, per hour		28.00
Copy-editing, per hour		28.00
Rights and contracts, per hour		28.00
Publicity, per hour		28.00
Full indexing, per hour		28.00
Picture research, per hour		28.00
Manuscript reading and reporting, per hour		22.00
Index adapting and simple indexing, per hour		22.00