Job Discussion Forums

[lumberjackej]

Hi,

For the past two months I've worked on a sort of 'Shangqiu Teacher's Guide' for the small city that I live in. Shangqiu isn't very 'user friendly', so to speak, so I wanted to create something that would make settling in here a little easier.

The guide has information on a variety of important living information, such as: how to open a bank account, where the bank/post office are, good restaurants in town, where to buy various types of stuff, important contacts and procedures at my University, etc. I've also translated a restaurant menu into English, so us foreigners don't have to take a Chinese person along whenever we get hungry. I'm nearly finished editing the guide; it's about 12 pages, and I've spent maybe 12 hours on the project. Now I'm going to offer the guide to the head of the FAO here, and hopefully get some compensation for my work. The question, then is:

What do you think is a fair price for such a guide?

I really have no idea, since I've never written such a thing before. But Shangqiu is growing and there is a small but growing foreign population here, so I figure that such a guide would be very valuable, and should fetch a good price as well.

Thanks

EJ

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你看设么？？？？！！！

[Norman Bethune]

You have already done the work. Great.

You have a finsished project. Fantastic.

Now here is my advice for when you approach the FAO you mentioned.

Do not tell him what you have done. Do not show him your finished project until you get paid money. Do not give your idea away!

Sell the concept to him. Try to get a commitment from him that he wil pay you for the kind of guide you produced. If he wants to pay you for such work, get a contract to do so. Then when you know you will be compensated, give him what you have already written.

Just by suggesting the concept to a Chinese FAO, you stand the risk that he will think your idea is worth copying. He may then write such a guide himself, or get one of his flunkies in his office to do so. He then takes the credit and any money involved.

By showing a finished product, you stand the risk that your work will be for nought.

The risk in any freelance project is that all you work will not be paid for...but rather your idea will just be stolen.

Without a prior commitment to do such work for cash, it is doubtful you will
be paid anything. Or if such a guide is actually published, that you will be given any credit at all.

The same kind of thing happens in the west. A freelancer of any kind presents an idea or finished product. He is told it is not something anyone wants or needs. Then a publication or business then uses its own workforce to do exactly the same kind of thing.

[Roger]

Your FAO will say "...our school hires a grand total of 6.4 FTs in 50 years, so what's the point of paying for a guide of a mere 12 pages that no one but teachers need?"

[Sinobear]

If your city is like any other, the restaurants will close/change hands/ change cooks, the stores will close/change hands/ change management, the banks will change policies...it never ends.
Rather than thinking about money - think about helping whomever you can when you can.
You can be treated like a movie star now...but you'll be forgotten in 3 months.