How I Get Paid

Should you get paid for walking your dog?

One of my authors is a lawyer who writes in his book about financial models in the legal industry. Most lawyers get paid either for the time they work (billable hours) or for the results they get (contingency fee).

My guy hates the billable hour.

He uses the example of a lawyer walking their dog who has an insight into a case that ultimately wins their client $100 million.

🐕 Should the lawyer only be able to bill for the 0.1 hour it took the thought to come into their head?
🐕 Or should they be paid for the value of the insight – and the experience that enabled it?

The client doesn't care. The only thing that matters to them is the result.

Following the same logic, I don’t write books on an hourly rate. Like many ghostwriters, I quote a fee. It may vary depending on factors such as length and complexity, but ultimately the price is the price.

It makes no difference to the client whether I write quickly or slowly. As long as I do a good job, the value of the book is the same to them … no matter how it takes to create.