Custom Pricing Advice

[Zardoz]

Greetings.

I'm a first-time poster, life-long laser lover.
Does anyone here have advice for pricing a graphics-heavy custom laser song? I am thinking I should come up with an hourly rate and multiply that by the hours I estimate to complete it. I know that revealing one's hourly rate is considered taboo in some circles but it doesn't hurt to ask.

[hitekvoop]

Think of your creation the same way a musician would treat a composition. Is the work commissioned by a particular patron? Who will own the resulting effort?

These are questions you need to ask before you think about price. If you're going to put out a work and license it on an as needed basis to any comers, you'll end up charging less than you would if you were transferring the rights to a new owner for instance.

I would also think about your price structure with regard to project rather than time spent. Your skills will improve over time and typically creation time will go down as you become more familiar with the tools available.

At the end of the day, it's economics. Go look and see what else is available and how much they cost and try to derive your prices based on what's out there/what people are willing to pay. You should be able to find that out pretty quick.

And last, but not least, don't quit your day job

Good luck!