Level 4 Press, Inc. and Level 4 Films, Inc. are seeking assignment writers for a wide variety of books we are developing in-house.
Our goal is to hire writers on a work-for-hire basis to write novels to our specifications. We will provide a detailed outline of the story, and editorial guidance and support throughout the process. We will also provide independent outside quality assurance reviews of the draft material. Level 4 Press, Inc. will publish the book, and Level 4 Films, Inc. (a division of Level 4 Press) will then work to produce the film adaptation.
Publication of the book is entirely within our control and, provided the specifications are met, is a “sure thing.” To be clear, however, we require writers to follow the story outline exactly as provided, and we will only publish books that do so. We have several check-in points during the writing process intended to help writers succeed on that front. On the film side, only a subset of the titles are expected to successfully navigate the gauntlet of Hollywood and eventually get made.
Writers must have the discipline and time, in addition to wordsmithing skills, to devote to this endeavor. Novels will be approximately 100,000 words and we are looking for writers willing and able to commit working 10 hours per week to our specifications/outlines, expressing their creativity within the boundaries of the provided guideposts. We will try to match assignments with writers’ preferred genres (e.g., comedy, action/adventure, historical, etc.), but we’ll also offer the opportunity for you to stretch yourself and try something new if that is your desire.
We anticipate releasing roughly sixty books in the first cycle, and forty per year after that. Writers will receive co-author/writer credit for their books and “Based on the book by” credit for any screen adaptations. Writers receive a $5K royalty advance in three installments. Writers will receive 100% of the royalties (they will not be asked to share the royalties). Royalties are calculated as 10% of book net sales. But please note that this is a work-for-hire agreement: Level 4 Press will own the rights to the created material and the only financial compensation will be the initial Payments, as well as the royalties on book sales and the same royalty on the sale of book rights for film and television (see FAQ for more info on royalties on book rights for film and television).
We recognize that the stipends are not much money for the work required. We hope that the work we have already done to craft detailed story outlines, the support provided throughout the process, combined with the publication and author credit, will balance that out to some degree. We also hope to make the entire experience fun and professionally rewarding.
