When a client messages you first instead of picking a package for ghostwriting

[malawibrowns]

What to do about this? I have ghostwriting packages, but someone messaged me wanting to talk about their project first, which is fine, but can I break up the project into smaller parts for them? Like charge them for an outline, and then charge them for certain amounts of words until it fills up the project? My other concern is that when I asked them which package they wanted in terms of wordcount, they said, not sure, we'll see what story we create. I was like, 'well, you have to choose a package.' Because that would affect how much I charge them per milestone. Am I wrong? I'm new to this Fiverr thing and need some guidance about how to get started selling ghostwriting to clients. Thanks!

[williambryan392]

Break down the order into smaller parts. Create a ‘custom offer’ (there’s a button in the message box) for the first piece of work. Then after that completes create another custom offer for the next piece.

This way you protect yourself from potentially a buyer changing their mind half way through, asking for different things etc. 

[melanielm]

You have multiple options when a buyer does not know how many words they want. If you cannot agree on a number after describing different options to them, I think it makes sense to suggest they start with a lower number appropriate to the topic they want you to cover or the product they want you to create. Remind them that they can always order additional words if they want more after delivery.

As a professional ghostwriter, you should have some idea of word count levels for different projects. For example, if you are selling a freebie lead magnet ebook, 2500 words may do. If you are selling a fantasy epic novel, you will need 110,000 instead. Sometimes you need to educate the buyer about what is appropriate for their needs. Do not artificially inflate this number in an effort to make more money.

 

Edited to add -- I wrote all of that before I looked at your gig, which I now see is for romance novels only. I can understand why a buyer would be confused when choosing 40, 60, or 80,000 words. Perhaps you should differentiate your packages more clearly.

[katakatica]

Something I've noticed that people who don't write seem to be able to visualize things better in pages (though I still charge by wordcount.) So, say, if they ask for something short-ish, I'll say it'll be 1000 words, around two pages or so. Despite the fact that it's common sense to me (because of the way I format my scripts), this has saved me many times. 

And, to add to that, I actually prefer to break orders up - mostly because it's way easier to touch base with clients every, say, 5k words (I mostly write for games so it's a bit different but still!) As long as they pay for the first order and so on, the worst that can happen is that they decide, say, at order 3 that it's expensive for them and move to someone else. I still got to be part of a fun project, and yeah, still got paid. 

I'd honestly just charge them for the outline first and then go maybe, say, every 10k words or something if I were you. Just take it slow and easy.