Thanks again to Anne Wayman’s forum for another lively discussion about pay. This time, the discussion centers around how much you should expect to earn as a freelancer. Interesting topic, for there are as many right answers as there are writers, I suspect.
The original poster, Yuwanda Black of Inkwell Editorial, was offering her e-book on how to make $100 a day freelancing. Yet some believe that’s too little. Working every weekday, that would amount to roughly $24K gross pay annually. Remember, that’s before taxes and expenses. If this is a part-time gig, that may be enough for you. If that’s full time, you’re going to be in trouble, and I know Yuwanda agrees with that.
This is where we freelance writers need to get realistic. Without a clearly defined plan for how much we need to make and how much will disappear before we get to spend it, our freelance careers could end before they begin. I do believe that a gross of just under $24K is low, but Yuwanda makes a good argument for starting somewhere.
But it’s not that tough to make more than that. Honestly, it’s not. I make that with one client, but I still have other clients. And that’s the key – you have to be able to secure clientele or your revenue stream will trickle like an Arizona creek in August. One of the posters on the discussion forum thought that $500 a day is a much better benchmark. I have to agree with that. If you’re going at this full time, you need to think in bigger amounts. We all have the ups and downs in our workflows – I remember sitting for months with nothing before the work started rolling in. You can’t rely on that $100 or even the $500 a day to be a guarantee.
This is the most cyclical job you will ever work. It’s also the job you’ll put the most sweat and effort into if you’re going to survive.
What do you think?
Well said, Lori,
Anne Wayman
http://www.thegoldenpencil.com
Lori,
I’m going to link to this discussion on my blog.
I don’t post regularly on Fridays, but this discussion is just too interesting not to pass on.
Hope you don’t mind.
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
http://www.InkwellEditorial.com
http://www.InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com
I agree but in my case, and I know I might be in the minority on this but I would be thrilled with the $100 a day. I only say that because I only want to be part time and I don’t rely on this as an only source of income. Hubby works and what I make helps in places and only makes us more comfortable… NOW if it was only me and the kids and no hubby… then Yes, I would most definetely be needing more than $24K a year. But I persoonally would be happy to get to that level. And believe me, I am working on it! 😉
I miss being part of the forum. I wish I could come back in . . .:(
What’s happening, Devon? Can you re-register?
When I got Yuwanda’s newsletter and saw that headline, I instinctively thought it was aimed at either writers just starting out or those writing as a side business. $100/day is definitely not a livable amount when you factor in self-employment taxes, health insurance, etc. Nikki, however, is right. Income levels that some of us scoff at are what others only dream about. It’s all relative. I think each of us knows, individually, what our daily goal is. For me, it’s double what Yuwanda proposes, but that doesn’t mean I always hit it. And hey, $100 sure beats $0!