An important part of any business is keeping up the cash flow, and it’s no different for writers. Freelance writing rates vary widely, which makes it difficult to work out what to charge for your services.
One popular method is to calculate the hourly income you’d like to earn by writing, and then divide it by the number of articles you can complete in an hour. This gives you a ball park price per article to start with. That’s not ideal when you’re a freelancer, because you won’t have a consistent amount of work all the time.
Another method is to look at what other writers are charging and realistically compare the quality of your work with theirs, while taking into account any experience you have in a particular area. You can then set freelance writing rates that you feel are appropriate for your work. I charge well for pet niche content because I have a degree in that niche, and I have worked with animals for 20 years. There would be very few other writers with that sort of experience in pet and animal care.
There are two options when it comes to setting your freelance writing rates:
1. Start at the price you want to be paid for your work.
2. Start low, and as you gain experience and positive feedback, increase your price to a level you are happy with.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
If you set your freelance writing rates high, you’ll be satisfied with your income right from the get-go. However, you’ll have to compete with cheaper writers. This means that, until you build up a reputation, you may miss out on work because you are more expensive.
The second option will certainly get you more work but you’ll be writing like a demon to earn any sort of reasonable hourly rate. You may also find that regular clients won’t be impressed when you increase your rates, and they may decide to find another writer.
When you set your prices low, you are also inadvertently affecting the whole industry. Clients become used to paying low rates for content, which makes it difficult for all writers to ask for a fair fee for their services.
My suggestion, and the way I worked out my freelance writing rates in those early days, is to set your prices at the higher end of what the market will bear. You must then clearly communicate to a potential client why you are worth the fee you are asking. If your rates are high, you also have the flexibility to go lower if you wish. Perhaps you could offer an introductory offer of 50% off, to get some feedback and testimonials. Perhaps you would like to offer a discount for large orders. I have done that. I have also given a client a substantial discount just because I liked them, and their topics were fun!
One thing I have noticed about new writers is that they are reluctant to set decent freelance writing rates because they’re not sure if they’re worth it. Don’t fall into that trap. If you can research well and write with a pleasant tone, and you have good spelling and grammar, you’re worth it.
Writing articles is a great way to earn an income, but to make it worthwhile you do need to set appropriate freelance writing rates for your work. Don’t sell yourself short!
Hi,
I’m just here to honestly pick your brain!
A little about me to give you a better idea: I’m 61 and when I was younger worked for newspapers for approx. 11 years.
I have epilepsy and my first husband died of Alzheimer’s, so I’m interested in the effects of those two illnesses both on the person and on the caregiver and/or spouse. My initial idea was to try to get a story published about Alzheimer’s, but I decided that, since about every writer in the world has something to say about Alz., I would start instead with epilepsy.
When you write a story for a magazine and it is accepted (praise the Lord), is it possible to charge for the story itself rather than by the hour? And does the magazine offer you a certain amount or do you tell them what you expect? In other words, is the amount they’re willing to pay up for discussion, do they talk to you via phone or by email, or do they actually ask you what you are charging for the article? Say I am writing an 850-word story — approx. how much do you think they would be willing to pay?
Is it acceptable to submit a story by snail mail?
If you submit a story to a magazine, how long should you wait to hear from the mag. before you can safely assume they’re not interested and you can submit it to a second magazine?
Questions, questions. Thanks for your time!
Joyce
Hi Joyce
Thanks for the questions. I’m happy to help if I can.
In my experience with magazines, they pay by the word, rather than by the article or by the hour. They usually give you an idea of how many words they want, for example my last magazine gig asked for 800 words, give or take 10%.
My communication with magazines has always been by email. Snail mail is slow, and editors are often busy and can’t come to the phone. Rather than just send a story, I suggest an article topic and how it might be covered, and why I’m the best person to write the article. They then say yay or nay, and indicate what they will pay. I’ve found magazines aren’t particularly negotiable with respect to rates. As far as pay, that would depend on the magazine, but I’ve been paid from $100 for 500 words, to $280 for 800 words. It pays better than writing for the web, that’s for sure!
You can submit by snail mail but it’s slower than email, obviously. I wonder though if, with all the email communication that happens these days, whether an editor would take more notice of a professionally packaged letter. It would be important to make sure it was addressed to the right person.
With respect to your last question, I can’t really answer that because I’ve never submitted an article “on spec”. I’m always pressed for time, and I don’t write unless I know the article has somewhere to go. From what I’ve read though, some writers send the article to several magazines at once, then the first one to take it up gets to use it. A magazine will need you to sign a release before they print your article, so at that point you can let the unsuccessful magazines know that it has been accepted elsewhere.
I hope this is of some use, and I’d love to hear how you get on with your writing. Don’t rule out the idea of creating your own ebook or even a print book. You’ve certainly got the knowledge and experience to be successful!
Audrey
Thanks Audrey,
My plans are in limbo right now due to restrictions imposed on earnings by Soc Sec. Need to talk with my tax guy AND SSA.
Joyce