Jason boils down what he has learned about a process that can seem intimidating. From a Hampton Inn room in an undisclosed location, Rodrick tells stories about his amazing life in journalism -- the moments of despair and also the moments that keep him inspired.
How do you write a freelance story pitch that will grab the attention of an editor? In this episode Jason talks about pitching do's and don'ts with five leading editors: Elon got his start in journalism as an advertorial writer at the New York Observer in its heyday -- a weekly paper run by a legendary editor, Peter Kaplan -- and he reminisces about Kaplan and his influence. Elon is also known for interviewing famous writers, including Tom Wolfe, Lillian Ross, and Gay Talese, and shares the best advice he ever received from these folks.
At the beginning of the episode, Jason also gives some brief advice on how to pitch a freelance story to a magazine or site. Freelancers with 6-figure incomes, word rates, and the wisdom of Goodfellas: Miller, for a conversation about the practical side of making a living as a writer.
The odd sexual chemistry between Stevens and Windermere is the one puzzling thing to this book and the series to date. His replacement attempts to murder the kid in his apartment, but the kid manages to escape with his only friend in tow, a young woman. The shooter is a young man, utterly unremarkable—except in his eyes. I thought this book had a lot going for it. As much as I got to know Kirk, I liked him the best. As with the previous two books, "Kill Fee" features an intricately drawn crime plot, peeking not just into the minds of our law enforcement protagonists, but also into the criminals themselves. I would highly recommend Mr.
Kill Fee A podcast about writing and editing, with a focus on the practical side of creative relationships and making a living in media. Author and journalist Jason Fagone talks with reporters, editors, fiction writers, fact-checkers, news curators, and producers, sharing tips and advice on how to navigate the industry, do good work, and get paid.
Erik Malinowski—the challenges and joys of writing a first book. Ho—reporting on the murder trial of a high-school classmate. Jake Blumgart explains how Frank Rizzo is the original Trump.
How to write a nonfiction book proposal. Story-Pitching Secrets from Top Editors. Miller—the Where's My Money Bat. On the other hand, there are situations in which a kill fee would not be necessary—i. In that case, try to find other work with that client or simply move on to the next project. After all, some amount of financial risk is part and parcel of contracting.
For very short projects, however, you can probably arrange to be paid in full in the event of cancellation. In that case, your kill fee might include travel reimbursement. Generally, the highest you can hope to set your kill fee would be 50 percent payment for the time left on the contracted project timeline. But on more lengthy i. Using a sliding scale to determine kill fees Many consultants see the concept of a sliding scale as the best way to determine a proper kill fee.
Although a sliding scale can make the kill-fee clause unnecessarily complex and may cause it to seem punitive to the client, it can be useful for certain projects and situations. This approach can work well if your client cancels the project before it starts. What follows is an example of a kill fee structure based around cancellation penalties; you may want to adjust the time frames and percentages based on the length of your project and your anticipated earnings: If the client cancels the project more than one month prior to the start date, you will be paid a kill fee of 20 percent of the estimated project total.
The kill fee is a negotiated payment on a magazine or newspaper article that a freelancer is paid even if the assigned article doesn't run. It's not uncommon for a project to end early or be canceled. When that happens, you may want to negotiate a kill fee. We'll explain how it's.
Make sure you and your client agree on this amount. You could also break this down into weeks and weeks before the start date, but again, that can get confusing.
You can also implement the same sort of structure for cancellations after the project begins: If the client cancels less than halfway through the set project timeline, the kill fee is 20 percent of the remaining project total. After the halfway point, the kill fee is 40 percent of the remaining total. If you have a longer project, say, six to twelve months, you could waive any fee if the project is cancelled in the last month or two.
But of course, a kill fee may simply be unworkable for some types of projects. How to negotiate your kill fee You may find that a client objects to a kill fee in the contract. Your counter then, should be to point out to the client that if they are fully committed to the project, then the kill fee will never be invoked. If the client absolutely refuses to agree to the fee under any circumstances, try to uncover why the client is so uncertain about the scope of the project—perhaps another part of the contract needs to be rewritten.
Pointing this clause out to a client can help ease any concern over a kill fee. The converse is also true: