You Ask, I Answer: How do I know how much to charge?
I answer your burning freelancing questions on the blog. If you have a question, e-mail it to me at renegadequestions@gmail.com; if it’s a question that’s relevant to my readers, I may answer it on the blog. Have a lot of questions, or need help grappling with more personal writing issues? Consider signing up for a phone mentoring session. Check out the phone mentoring page for glowing testimonials!
Amy asks: A job opportunity I encountered asked my rate for articles. How would you suggest is the best way to determine rates I should charge per word for articles? I hate to charge too much and not get a chance at the assignment. How do I know what the magazine wants to pay?
This question is actually a compilation of several e-mails I’ve gotten this week as I get this question all the time. My response: First, I hate when potential clients and employers ask for your rates, because they’re basically asking you to guess what they’re willing to pay. Why can’t they just say, “We pay 25 cents per word” and let qualified, interested writers respond? I’ll tell you why — because they’re hoping that they’ll get a frenzy of writers offering 1,000-word articles at a fraction of a penny per word, because they’re worried about being underbid by everyone else.
For pricing, the thing is that you have to figure out what would be worth it for youto do an assignment — you can’t guess at what the magazine can/will pay. Otherwise you’ll end up writing for less than you would like and feeling resentful, and not able to pay your bills as well. But I always do keep in mind that the smaller the magazine, typically the less they pay. So I may offer a small magazine my 50 cents/word minimum rate, but I’ll ask for more from a bigger magazine.
You also need to figure out your minimum rate for writing work — and stick with it. You can turn to Writers Market, which offers a list of average rates for different types of writing, as a starting point. But you also need to determine how much you need to earn per hour to actually, you know, make a living — keeping in mind that not every hour you work will be billable. For me, a minimum of 50 cents per word usually works out — and I earn up to $2.50 per word for the higher-end (read “higher PITA”) magazines — because I’m a fast writer and at those rates I can make $250 per hour and even more.
I realize it’s a crap shoot, and we hate the idea of charging too little and being ripped off, or asking for too much and not being considered for the job. But really, you’re writing to make a living. You can’t spend all your time trying to underbid everyone else while still not screwing yourself out of decent pay. All you can do is set the rates that will let you earn the income you need, give out that rate when someone asks, and let the chips fall where they may. If that client can’t afford you, don’t worry — there are plenty out there who can, and you can spend your time working to get those clients. [lf]
Did you like this post? Please consider signing up for my mailing list to get a free packet of 10 query letters that rocked plus announcements of free teleclasses, contests, discounts, and new classes and e-books that can help you kick serious butt as a freelance writer.
If you liked that post, you might also like:
Apr 4, 2011 Advice, Money, You Ask, We Answer
Linda, the 50 cent rate is your minimum now. What about a new writer? Should they charge less, because they are new to the business? Thanks.
No — again, you need to figure out a minimum that works for YOU. 50 cents per word works for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s an industry standard by any means. It’s just what I figured I need to make to earn a living and feel good about it.
No–charge what you need to to make a living and if you can’t get it, you can’t make a living doing this. Welcome to a lot of people’s world right now. Oddly, I won’t budge for under 50 cents, either. But I never forget that a buck an assigned word (never let them pay you for edited words only) is what Gore Vidal was trying to get in the 1970s.
Alright, but it is still a gray area for me. As of now, I’m only writing part-time, so it is not a matter of putting food on the table. I guess it comes down how you value your worth. Thanks for the insight.
I try to avoid assignments that pay less than $.50/word also, but sometimes the right assignment comes along for $0.30/word and I’m still able to make over $100/hour on it. I think it’s more important to look at the individual assignment and how many hours it would take you to complete, focusing on your hourly rate rather than the per word rate. Of course, you have to give the editor your per word rate, but if you already know the details of the assignment, use this formula:
[# of hours you expect to spend on the story] x [minimum hourly rate] = X
then, divide X by the number of words to get your per word rate quote.
For example, if a story will take me 5 hours to write and I want to make $50/hour, then I will divide 250 by, say, 800 words and quote the editor at least $0.30 per word. Of course, I think it’s always better to overshoot your quote, so if they come down, you’ll still be ok (in theory).
Bottom line: I think hourly rate is more important than per word rate. But that’s just me.
Thanks, and you’re right. As I mentioned, I chose $.50 per word because it nets out to about $200 – $250 per hour. You do have to take the time into consideration when you formulate your per-word rate.
Great advice Linda. Many have written on this subject but none compare to your clarity and honesty and most do not quote actual rates. Ditto re: potential clients or employers asking what the writer’s rates are – and this applies to many industries. These people know their budgets so why not cut to the chase? Keep sharing your superb advice with us as you are spot-on and funny too.
Thanks for your nice comment, Dindy! It drives me crazy when writing clients as people to submit their fees — you know they’re just trying to create a feeding frenzy all the way to the bottom.
Most helpful. Pricing’s always a tough one. I’ve used something similar in working out various rates — a “Minimum Weekly Income” and “Target Weekly Income”. This way you can figure out both what you have to be doing weekly or monthly to break even/pay bills, and where you want your income to be. It helps to know your own lower end and where you’re heading.
Good idea!
Linda,
Thank you for writing a supremely helpful piece on what can be, for many neophyte writers, agonizing. Your specific advice regarding rates to charge and looking at it through the hourly lens is both pragmatic and wise. Perhaps, even more helpful is the implicit tone and message you convey to us all that captures the need for writers to value their time and efforts–a la self-esteem. Self-esteem cannot really be taught, but you have proven that it can be re-generated, and it’s up to each of us to value ourselves and our work accordingly–and firmly–first to ourselves, and then to our prospective jobs.
Thank you for your continued generous time and effort you expend toward your blogs in the service of honest and insightful advising. If these blogs are helping me learn, and I am human, I imagine they are helping many people!
Warmly,
///Emily
Thanks, Emily! You’re right — writers need to get self-esteem if they’re to start charging what they’re worth.