[Thought I would share this post from my Writer's Market group (please join if you haven't already) blog from yesterday:]
This morning, I was asked the following question:"I would just like to know what the industry standard is for a 'start up fee' for writing a biography." -Anonymous
Now, there are three things this person could've been asking.
First: "What's the price I pay someone to write my biography?" Since this person did not claim the biography as his, I'm going to assume that this is not a valid question. However, as marked in the 2009 Writer's Market, collaborative book writing fees are in the $50-100 per hour range (or $2,000-56,325 range by project), while ghostwriting runs $30-100 per hour (or $1,500-51,000 by project).
Second: "What's the price I pay someone to self-publish the biography I've written?" This person may have been consciously trying to self-publish his biography over which he poured himself. A biography is not something easily constructed; it takes a lot of research and thought into how to put a person's life on paper, especially a very interesting life. So, I'm going to assume that what this person was really trying to ask is...
Third: "What's the price I pay someone to publish my biography and get it onto bookshelves nationwide?" Well, the answer to this is and should always be, "There is no 'start up fee' for accomplishing this." It's hard to get your projects accepted by traditional publishers, but the reasoning behind that is that a traditional publisher does not ask you to pay any kind of "start up fee" for handling the distribution, the promotion, etc., or even just for publishing the book.
Of course, traditional publishers love authors who are ready to roll up their sleeves and become advocates for their books, because it benefits both the publisher and the author. But a traditional publisher does not ask for upfront compensation to get the book off the ground. Any publisher who asks you for such compensation may be a legitimate business, but they are not  traditionally publishing you either.
(What are your thoughts on self-publishing and traditional publishing?)