Anyone written a foreward?

[cwgranny]

Hi folks,

Does anyone know if writing a foreword for someone else's book is normally done gratis? Someone I know has been asked to write a foreword by a publisher and no mention of money was made -- she was wondering if this is normally something one does for free. She doesn't mind approaching the publisher about money, but wanted to know if that was even appropriate or if it's just a given that these are done for free.

I've never written one so I thought I would ask folks who might actually know.

gran

[Tish Davidson]

The only time I have written a forward has been for a friend's book, and no pay was expected or involved. It was quick and easy because I had already read most of her manuscript, and we'd been talking about the book for months. If the author is a stranger and you are expected to take the time to read the ms and then write the forward, it isn't unreasonable to expect some compensation. If you're asked by your agent or publisher to do it for one of their clients, compensation might just be their goodwill and a future request to another writer to do the same on your behalf. If you have no connection to the author, I would think some cash would be appropriate.