How to Determine Freelance Writing Rates?

Writer's Resources...

Get Paid What You're Worth

Every business has a learning curve, and sometimes, new business owners price themselves too low. Understandably, you need customers. Without customers, you don't work. If you don't work, you can't make a living and you're forced to return to a traditional workplace setting.

I don't want that to happen, and neither do you. So, it's important to pick jobs carefully and establish a rate that's fair to you and your client.

You need to determine freelance writing rates on a case-by-case basis. Yeah, it's a lot easier to have a set price per word or page. However, if you don't take into account the amount of time it takes to research and edit the piece, you may end up slapping yourself. I've made this mistake, and it's no picnic.

You estimate it'll take one or two hours to complete an assignment, and you bid low. In actuality, it takes twice as long to write the piece because:

1.) There are few resources available on the topic, in which you have to dig deep to find useful information.

2.) You have absolutely no knowledge (or interest) in the subject, which calls for a crash course in said topic before you're able to write a simple introduction.

3.)The style guide and content requirements are so extensive that you have to spend an excessive amount of time checking and re-checking the document for style compliance.

I enjoy freelance writing, and the above situations come with the territory. However, this isn't always the easiest job in the world, which is why I'm determined to get paid what I'm worth.

Some people - including clients - sit back and think freelance writer's have it made. We can work from home, take time off, blah, blah, blah....

What they fail to realize is that writer's deal with a lot of mess.....eye strain, sore hands, mental fatigue, and the annoying task of making sense of an awkward keyword phrase. And through it all, we'll have several clients who want a creative masterpiece, but aren't willing to cough up the cash.

So, how do you determine whether your freelance writing rates are too low? Consider this...

Was the assignment worth your time? If not, maybe it's time for a pay raise.