What should I charge?

Just give him a flat rate. He doesn't care about the money, he just wants the job done. Pick a number you'd be thrilled to get, and tell him that. You'll underprice yourself naturally.

Don't be a word monkey. It cheapens your market worth and limits how much money you can make on a range of projects. Same goes for hourly rates. The only real benefit offered by ether of those approaches is they offer a degree of protection against project bloat. Deal with that by quoting a fixed fee based on a maximum number of pages, making it clear that added fees will occur if that cap is surpassed. And since the client has very helpfully made it clear that you possess some unique skills that cannot be found elsewhere, make sure that's reflected in the value of what you quote too. That's my fancy way of saying quote high. As a writer, there is a lot of value to what you do. How much is really up to you. And you formulate that by answering three questions: - How long do you think it will take to do the work (assume it will take longer than you plan for); - How much is your time worth (don't short-change yourself here!); and - How much is it worth to your client to have a professionally crafted document that makes him look like an absolute genius of heartbreaking proportions (looks like he's already answered that).

I've charged per project for this sort of work. No advice as to how much you should ask, though.

How long do you think it would take you?

I say charge per word. Aim high, i.e. higher than you would for a regular print magazine (even an upscale one), because this is essentially PR work, not editorial. If you're also being expected to sub, edit and proof your own words, charge double. The UK's National Union of Journalists has a http://www.londonfreelance.org/rates/ website which might be helpful.

I agree with jonathanbell that you should charge per word. I think $2.50 per word is a fair rate for something of this type. I only charge flat rates for editing projects (I usually charge by the hour for that.) But for writing, I think the industry standard is to charge by the word. Good luck. Sounds like a great project.

Congrats on the job! My sketchy calculations: Large-size book page might be about 300 words per page times $2.50 per word, times 2 or 3, minus a little for small print run, well, I'd say $1500-$2000 and see what he says. (I work in publishing and that's a little more than we'd pay, but if he likes you and has more money than our company, do it!)

Don't be a word monkey. It cheapens your market worth and limits how much money you can make on a range of projects. Or it shows that you actually know your industry well and what fee that type of work commands.

I'm a freelance writer (corporate collateral mostly) so I go through this agony all the time. Don't view it as a mathematical calculation (e.g., 10 hours @ $100/hour or $2.50 per word). Consider the value you're providing. Sure, your time is important, but even more important is how much the client values the project. Consider: 1. He's using it to attract INVESTORS. (ka-ching!) 2. He's already indicated you're the guy he wants (double ka-ching) 3. He's willing to pay whatever you ask. (HE doesn't know the going rate either.) Allan Weiss has a great book called Value Based Consulting (or something similar) that examines this approach in detail, if anyone's interested. So when you meet review the value you offer, then quote high. You can always come down. (Or you can be like me, wimp out and settle for $1500-2000. Bah.)