Writing Commission Information

Welcome to my journal that will explain everything you need to know about my commissions, including my policies, guidelines, Terms of Service and pricing! Please try to be patient and read this as thoroughly as you can. Thank you!

I only write in the form of flash fiction, short story, or multi-part/chapter stories. I mainly write original pieces, involving original characters, however I am more than happy to attempt fanfiction as long as you are willing to answer any questions I may have about the particular fandom if I am not familiar with it.

One particular thing to note is that I am British and therefore my spelling will be different compared to if you are, for example, American (for instance, I will write 'colour' instead of 'color', and also 'tap' instead of 'faucet', 'car bonnet' instead of 'car hood', etc), so please bear this in mind.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns after thoroughly reading my policies and guidelines, please send me a note or an email so we can discuss.

Qualifications

I had chosen to study English Language and Literature as one of my three subjects at A-Level, where I received a grade B.
For my Creative Writing coursework, which formed as part of my A-Level English studies, I received a grade A.
I have studied English as a compulsory subject at GCSE, where I recieved a grade B.
For my Creative Writing controlled assessment, which formed as part of my GCSE English studies, I received a grade A* (A Star).

Policies

This states what I can and cannot write, with exceptions. Feel free to note me if you are unsure!

I will not be swayed to write extreme scenes of animal abuse or of an explicitly sexual, gory, or excessively violent nature due to being uncomfortable with the subject matter. In terms of sexual intercourse, I can, for instance, write a steamy romance before it and end the scene, starting the next scene with waking up the next morning. In terms of animal abuse, I can write about an animal that has experienced it in the past.

I also find it extremely difficult to write about strong religious views, strong political/governmental views, poverty and domestic abuse, purely due to never having experienced such matters. However, I can mention any of these themes above; I just wouldn’t be able to have any of them a plot or sub-plot of the story. I also may be able to write about it if you provide ample information and guidance, or there may be an exception I have not yet thought of, in which case you might as well note me with a small description of the theme(s) that are written above you would want to include. You never know, I might be okay with it.

Despite not writing it often, I can write scenes/stories involving romance, creatures (normal animals [for example, cats and horses] are my strongest point, however I’m open to try mythological creatures or animals in human form, etc.), real-place settings (for instance, London/Chicago/Salem, which would require research and map-planning), fantasy, sci-fi, time travel, bondage, and some fetishes (feel free to note me on this) but understand that it may not come out as well as things I am better at writing.

I can write psychological thrillers involving tension and suspense (particularly if it involves threats or modern-day weapons such as handguns and knives, but I can also write about ghosts, and horror, as long as it is not too graphic and gory), as well as family scenes, mystery, suspicion, adventures, violence (though not excessive or gory), emotional scenes, and light humour.

My strongest points as a writer are writing descriptions (of people/settings/emotions) and writing scenes where characters feel trapped (either psychologically or physically). I can also write scenes/stories involving numerous characters, in addition to ones involving very few.

My weaknesses are writing scenes with particularly fast-paced action, such as fighting/combat, as well as writing about real-place cities or towns, and giving characters a dialect/accent from a specific place.

If you are unsure if I will or will not accept your idea, please feel free to send me a note with the themes you wish to have included! If you describe your themes/ideas a little (it can just be one or two lines long), then I will have a better idea of what you are looking for and whether I can help.

I reserve the right to refuse a commission without explanation.

If I am unsure as to whether I am able to write something or not, I will tell you via note up-front so that you will be aware.

I am not responsible if your commission doesn't turn out how you wanted it and I stated that it was not my strong point.

Commissions containing your original characters will not be posted without your consent.

Commissions containing fanfiction characters from established books, films, television dramas or games will be posted, without needing the commissioner’s consent.

If a commission is to contain a mix of both fanfiction and original characters, then it will not be posted without the commissioner’s consent.

For fanfiction stories: If I am not familiar with the particular fandom, then throughout my time working on a commission, I may note you at any time if I have any questions and need more information about the characters, however I will attempt some research online before-hand.

For short stories/one-shots/flash fiction: Payment needs to be sent in full via either the 'Commission' widget on the top-left of my profile page for point payments, or direct Paypal bank transfer. I will not start your commission until I have received payment.

For chapter stories/multi-part stories: Payment needs to be sent in full for one individual chapter via either the 'Commission' widget on the top-left of my profile page for point payments, or direct Paypal bank transfer. I will not start each chapter until I have received payment, even if you have paid for & received previous chapters.

If the story does not contain any of your original characters, then once the commission is complete, it will be published on my deviantART account with your username tagged in the description, along with any appropriate disclaimers regarding the storyline and characters.

If the story does contain one or more of your original characters, then I will ask for your consent to publish it. If you choose to refuse, then a read-only copy of the Microsoft Word Document of your story will be sent to you.

If I accept your commission request, and payment has been made in advance, then I will send one work-in-progress via a direct link to my Stash within 4 days. If you have any problems with it, or wish me to make any minor or major edits, then please let me know as soon as possible and I will change it and re-send the work-in-progress. This can go on for as long as you find anything you would like changed. After the initial work-in-progress, one would then be sent for every 1,000 words (approximately).

Once I have completed the commission and either sent it you or uploaded it, if you find any minor changes you would like done, then please note or email me. I will be more than happy to edit it.

If, however, you are dissatisfied with the completed commission, I will not give a refund, and I will not re-write it. This problem should not occur due to the work(s)-in-progress, and if you are dissatisfied with the WIP, you should note me immediately with what you would like changed. Please do not wait until the completed piece to tell me that you are dissatisfied and either want a re-write or major edits done; you should let me know as I go along.

If you change your mind about your commission, and you have sent payment in full but have not yet seen my first work-in-progress, then you may either note me or email me, saying that you no longer wish to go ahead but you have a new idea. Your commission may be delayed slightly, but I will happily go along with your new idea(s).

If you change your mind about your commission, and you have sent payment in full and you have seen my first work-in-progress, depending how major the change is, I may or may not agree to change. In the condition that I decide not to change the whole idea, your only two options would be to continue to commission me with your old idea, or cancel your commission.

If you decide to cancel a commission, for whatever reason, refunds may or may not be given depending on if I started and how much of the commission I've written.
- Not started = full refund.
- Started, not much done = 75% refund
- Started, halfway done = 50% refund
- Nearly completed = 25% refund
- Finished but not yet shown = No refund
 

I accept both Paypal and deviantART Point commissions, however if you do wish to commission me via points, then please send all point payments through the 'Commission' widget, which is situated at the top-left of my profile page. Please do not send your points through my 'Donation' widget or through direct point transfer. If, of course, you wish to use Paypal, I accept USD ($) and GBP (£), and I may need your email address to send the Paypal link to. Thank you!

The length of your story depends on the amount of content your idea(s) hold. If you are uncertain as to which story type you should commission me for (standard or extended), feel free to note or email me with your ideas and we can go through some options.

I believe the following prices are fair in relation to the quality of my literature and the time I spend on it as well as replying to the client's notes and editing the story respectively. These prices also take into consideration deviantART commission rates, Paypal currency conversion rates and withdrawal rates, as well as the increase in recent demand for my writing commissions. If you believe that I am incorrectly valuing my pieces of literature, please note me and address your concerns in a professional manner. I will re-consider the prices I have set, however this does not ensure that I will change them. Thank you for understanding.


Standard Short Story (around 1,200 – 1,750 words): 550 / $5

Extended Short Story (around 2,500 – 3,400 words): 900 / $8.50

Standard Multi-Part Story (around 1,200 – 1,750 words per chapter; maximum 25 chapters): 500 / $4.50 per part*

Extended Multi-Part Story (around 2,500 – 3,400 words per chapter; maximum 15 chapters): 800 / $7.50 per chapter*
 

* For both the standard and extended Multi-Part Stories: Payment currently can only be in points. You would pay up-front for each chapter individually. For example: lets say you would like 5 chapters of a standard story. This would be 500 points (or $4.50) per chapter, totalling up to 2,500 points (or $22.50) for 5 standard chapters. Before I start writing chapter 1, you would either commission me with 500 points using the Commission widget on my home-page, or with $4.50 via Paypal. Once it is complete and you've received the chapter, I won't start chapter 2 until you have repeated the same process, and etc.

You can view my Commission Status (which will be marked as either 'Open', 'Full', or 'Closed') as well as my available & filled slots on my Profile Page (located in my deviantID box, which is on the right hand-side directly below my journal entry).

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a note! I value discretion above all else, so your idea(s), requirements and requests regarding my work will not be publicly published or privately disclosed to anyone.

If for any reason you cannot access the note, or you do not have a deviantART account, then feel free to send an email to silhouettedrider@hotmail.co.uk, where we can discuss any queries or ideas you may have. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you very much for reading.