Lori Widmer has declared today Writer's Worth Day, so that's the topic of today's post. Lori's blog features some great tips for writers on earning what you're worth, and I encourage you to hope on over to Words on the Page and take a look.I can't tell you exactly how much you ought to charge for writing, because there are too many variables, and frankly, I'm still figuring this out myself. Experience, geography, and the complexity of the project all factor in. Still, there are some instances where I think it's safe to say that you're getting screwed. Here they are...
- Your 16-year-old cousin earns more folding t-shirts at American Eagle. Remember, as a self-employed professional, you have to buy your own health insurance and equipment, plus pay self-employment tax. Regardless of where you live or how experienced you are, you should be earning more than minimum wage. Period.
- Your per word rate is decent, but after three rounds of edits, the story is half the original length and your hourly rate is too depressing to even think about. Maybe you're doing this for the clip (which is fine), but it in the future, try to limit yourself to one round of edits, two tops. Anything more than that, and it's time to renegotiate your fee. I just put my foot down after revisions on an article got out of hand, and the editor finally agreed with me. Be professional, but don't be a pushover.
- You're earning $XX for every thousand page views. I don't care what some smooth-talking web entrepreneur tells you, this setup almost never amounts to much for the writer. If you don't believe me, then read what WritersWeekly recently uncovered about Examiner.com's payment model. They tried to recruit me awhile back, and I thought I smelled a rat. Turns out my instincts were right.
- Your client calls every half hour to micromanage a project and you don't bill for that time. If you're not billing by the hour, then it's time to start screening your calls! If you are, then you should tack that time onto your invoice. It will help long-winded clients stay on topic and prevent you from losing valuable work time.
- The project changes scope, but the budget doesn't change. Ah, the classic bait and switch. Sometimes you have to be a little flexible when an editor suddenly remembers they need someone to shoot photos or write a sidebar, but they don't have any extra money in the budget. If it happens once or twice, I try to go with the flow and hope it results in additional assignments down the line (karma, baby!). But if it happens consistently, then I have to put my foot down and only deliver what was originally agreed upon.
Have you ever found yourself in one of these scenarios? How did you handle it? And how do you communicate your value to a client?
Flickr photo courtesy of nathangibbs
10 comments:
Well said, Susan! While it can be difficult to help others figure out what to charge, these are clear guidelines that should be especially helpful to new freelancers and aspiring writers.
I had one client that was a micro-manager and I went from doing a little work for her to trying to fend off her quest for all my time. The money wasn't worth it and, after I returned from a vacation, she tried to cut my rates in half. That ended our relationship. I did learn valuable lessons about setting boundaries, especially with clients that email me late at night!
p.s. Thanks for word about Writers Worth Day - I heard about it through you.
I wrote for Examiner.com but decided to resign because the requirement for four articles per week was cutting into my writing projects for paying clients. I put a lot of time and research into my column, but sadly didn't get paid. For me, it was best to focus on my regular clients and my own personal creative writing.
Writers are rarely ever paid what their worth. I wrote two hiking books back to back, researched, hiked them all, created maps, wrote it. My pay was probably in the negative by the time I was all finished with that. You have to pick and choose. Pick a great gig, possibly low paying, to further your career. Then take the 'safer' route next time.
It helps for the long-term if you propose something in writing from the beginning. That way, without sounding like your being prickly, you can just brightly refer to it, wave it around if necessary and say, "Shall I revise this? or words to that effect.
Believe me, EVERYONE tries it and you have to stop it the minute it raises its ugly head. It's not that people are mean or grasping (although some are) but they just don't get it, the extra work involved.
Thank you everyone for weighing in!
@Susan: I've never written a book, but I imagine it could be a pretty labor-intensive process. I'm not sure if there's a good solution to that, or not, because you obviously need to put in the time to get a quality product.
@Fran: Yes, ALWAYS agree to the terms in writing. The more defined the scope, the better. Still, clients sometimes "forget" stuff in the contract and want to add it later and that can really eat into our work time.
Susan, I literally spit my tea on myself when I read "Your 16-year-old cousin earns more folding t-shirts at American Eagle." There's an image that tells it all!
Thanks for all your help, link love, and general chum status. :)) I appreciate help spreading the word.
Your point about the rounds of edits is a great one. If there are endless edits, that's cutting into the amount you're earning. I've fallen victim to one or two six-rounds-of-edits jobs. Never again.
The best way is to be blunt. I tell them, "you get what you pay for."
I can't tell you how often they've come back to me after choosing a lower-priced writer who mucked it up and it wound up costing a lot more to have me re-do the work than if they'd hired me to do it properly the first time.
Very few ever make the same mistake again.
They pay my rate without complaining.
Setting boundaries is so important from the get-go. The best mentors who have taught me and even employed me made me do the job until I got it right the fight time, which averaged out to an hourly rate WAY below what I was worth, but once I was up to speed and was doing everything well, they told me never to work free hours unless I absolutely want to.
The uber demanding/rude clients don't last with me. I'll finish the job, collect my payments and politely decline work moving forward.
Then again, if I'm in a pinch financially, I'm libel to do most jobs.
Susan, if the job entails a prior 1-hour meeting, and perhaps another at the end to get feedback (and edit), do your charge for these by the hour? Now that I'm asking, I suppose the answer is an obvious yes. I haven't been charging for these things.
What do you think?
Oh, anxiety. This is the toughest part of freelancing for me--negotiating, asking for things, even when I obviously deserve them.
By the way, I'm reading the book "Ask for it" which is precisely about negotiating, and especially about women's tendency not to, how much it costs us, and how to fix it. I recommend it.
@Natalia: If you're billing by the hour, then you should absolutely include that on your invoice! I don't usually bill for travel time to and from the meeting (depends on your client, most of mine don't require a face-to-face anyway), but the fact that you're taking time out of your day to meet with them makes it even more important that you get paid for some or all of that time. I'll check out that book you mentioned!
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