Comments on: Are Your Freelance Writing Rates “Highway Robbery?”

By: DeborahDera

DeborahDera — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:32:19 +0000

What do you think of the “standard average rates” published at the beginning of the Writer’s Market guide? Any opinions?

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:42:40 +0000

Leave those gigs to the magical freelance fairies who work at lightning speed and have no bills to pay.

By: Jennifer L

Jennifer L — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:27:28 +0000

I’m feeling very cranky these days about people who want to procure top-quality work…without being willing to pay for it. I just had a potential client drop off the face of the earth because I actually quoted what I believe is a reasonable price for what I would be producing for him. I can’t afford to work like a dog and not make anything for my efforts and not have any time left over to pursue better-paying assignments! I don’t think any of us can, right?

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:15:44 +0000

Yo – I offer bulk rates on certain types of projects, but don’t take on a lot of those projects simply because I make more elsewhere. It can come in handy though. For example, I offer several packages for press releases. Individually, the regular rate is $179 each. At the largest package rate, they’re $125 each. What this does is encourage regular clients to order more – not really individual clients, but middlemen clients (like a marketing, SEO, or design firm that has me write releases regularly for their clients – these are some of my favorite projects too). But if bulk rates wouldn’t do anything to help you, I’d say to stick to your regular rates.

Stephanie – Live and learn, right? Good for you for being willing to stand your ground on that. And in the end, you were probably much better off without a now-defunct company taking up space in your portfolio.

Kathleen – Good for you too! That’s often how rate increases happen – you just have to go for it! :)

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:39:12 +0000

Very interesting discussion. I’ve never had a problem with my rates because they’ve always been fairly low. Once I had someone contact me and decide I was too high.

Then I had a potential client contact me via email for a quote. I decided (with encouragement from my husband) that I had enough low paying work to keep me going 24/7. So I shot her a higher quote and told her to call me if she wanted to discuss more. Guess what? She called.

Thankfully, many people realize that you get what you pay for. Cheap rates often equal lousy writing.

By: Stephanie Smith

Stephanie Smith — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:46:21 +0000

I was approached about five years ago by a commercial website that wanted copy for their catalog for $5 per article. When I told them my rates, the editor indignantly told me she had dozens of writers willing to write for the rate she quoted. I stood my ground, and the website cratered about two months later. Evidently the “dozens of writers” were not good enough to sell the products on the website.

By: Yo

Yo — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:30:57 +0000

I have some folks approach me and ask my rates for projects (even though my rates are posted on my website). They want discounts for bulk work, and don’t understand the difference between bulk work and long term work. I give discounts for long term work because it’s something I can hopefully rely on for a period of time. Bulk work just means more work short term, and does not generally get a discount. When I explain my rates to these folks, they generally state they can’t afford it and we all wish each other luck. I’ve not had any bad experiences. I have taken low paying gigs during times when I freaked myself out and convinced myself that I’d never make it. That is always a mistake because then you get locked in to these projects that pay nothing and take time away from the big clients that eventually come. Either way, ly last low paying contract is almost over- I WON’T make that mistake again- partially thanks to Jen’s book.