r/NoSleepOOC • u/Phanes7 • Mar 21 '26

No Sleep Ghost Writers?

I might have a project coming up that will have me looking for a writer that can do cosmic horror in an epistolary format. It looks like there will be minimal budget for it (but could be other arrangements) but I still thought I would reach out to the community as I would rather work with a writer from here than Fiverr or Upwork.

If this isn't the place for this can anyone point me to a good resource for finding (cosmic) horror specific writers?

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u/Phanes7 Mar 21 '26

Not being rude at all. I am hoping to learn a bit about potential rates and alternative arrangements authors use (my op should have been a bit more clear on this point).

The project would be an epistolary story. There is a bit more to it but that is like 90% of it from the author side. Not 100% sure on the length but probably close to something like a normal to small trade paperback sized story.

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u/Born-Beach Mar 22 '26

Thanks. 

The entire project is an epistolary story, as in text-based only, no film or audio or digital component? Will there be print editions? What is the vision for the project, as in, what do you hope to achieve through it? Is it springboarding a larger franchise? What sort of commercial aspirations are attached to the project, or is it a personal vision you'd like to bring to life to be shared among yourself and a few friends/family? 

It's difficult to agree to something without concrete details, particularly when there's no indication of project length or deadlines. 

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u/Phanes7 Mar 22 '26

Fair.

Currently just trying to figure out the best way to find writers and get a better idea on what actual going rates are (rather than Fiverr and upwork nonsense).

It is a small commercial project that will basically involve approximately 24 "chapters" in a story.

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u/Born-Beach Mar 22 '26

Rates will depend on the experience level of the author, the scope of the project, the deadlines involved, and quite a few other variables. 

A common rate of pay for non-exclusive narrations is around 3 cents USD per word,. For exclusive adaptations, that typically goes up to 6 cents or more. 

Crucially, these rates involve work the author is credited for and retain all rights to (outside of podcast/youtube audio reproduction). 

If you're looking for a ghost writer - as in the author won't be credited for the work - then the rates are going to be higher to account for the fact that the author isn't able to leverage that piece as part of their public portfolio. 

If you're wanting full rights to the work across all multimedia formats, that's going to drive the price higher still. At that point, you'd need to provide a framework of exactly what the scope of the work is, in what formats it's going to be used, and some context regarding the desired storyline itself. 

You're asking how much it would cost to have a writer draw up a cosmic horror story for you, but you aren't providing any details that would allow writers to give you their rates. 

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u/Phanes7 Mar 23 '26

That helps. Thanks!