Sometimes friends are more like family. Such is the case with Anne Wayman, who with me started the About Writing Squared 5 Buck Forum for writers and creatives (still the best bargain in town at $5 a month). While I gave up the forum co-ownership to pursue my poetic side, Anne and I are still like family.
She’s the type of person who’s been there, done it, and happy to share what she knows for free. She builds community like nobody else, and creates a welcome atmosphere for writers at all career levels.
9 Reasons You’re Worth a Lot as a Writer
by Anne Wayman
Over the years I’ve worked with many freelance writers who don’t know how to make enough money to survive as a writer, let alone thrive. One of the stumbling blocks that many of them have is not understanding their worth as a writer. That’s one reason I was delighted when Lori started her writer’s worth month years ago. It gives us a chance to really look at this issue.
Rate Setting
Fee setting is always a bit mysterious, but there’s plenty of good information out there. Setting your freelance writing fees is also always an experiment so you need some flexibility.
When clients say you’re charging too much for your writing, they may couch it in terms of their budget, and that may even be true. But the other part of the message is the writing you’re proposing to do for them is not worth what you’re asking. What they’re really saying is that it’s not worth it to them – which actually says nothing much about you or your rates when you think it through.
Here are 9 reasons you’re worth a lot as a writer:
1. You’re a professional freelance writer. You’ve taken the action to step out and start freelance writing. That makes you a pro, even if have only a few credits.
2. You’re smart. I’ve never met a freelance writer who isn’t smart – maybe not about everything, but about many things.
3. You’re a quick study. You can quickly absorb new information and use that to write whatever.
4. You know your stuff. You know how to write – maybe not all the nit-picky details about grammar and punctuation, but enough so you write correctly. You also know a whole lot about several subjects, which means you have lots to share in your writing.
5. You know where to get help. You recognize you don’t know everything – who does? But you know where to get help and you’re not afraid to ask for it.
6. You know how to set and meet deadlines. You know roughly how long it takes for you to complete projects – you can meet the deadlines you agree to.
7. You know how to follow instructions. If the client wants what you’ve written in the body of an email or as a .pdf or whatever, you do exactly that.
8. You know part of your job as a writer is to help educate your clients. You know your clients really don’t understand the writing process, and often don’t understand what kind of writing works best in various situations. You happily and gracefully share your knowledge.
9. You’re not afraid to turn down clients. You know you can’t write for everyone. You trust your intuition, and you trust the rates, etc., you’ve set. If a potential client doesn’t feel like the right one or won’t meet your criteria, you turn them down – with confidence.
It may not feel all the time like each and every one of these statements is true for you – all of us, even seasoned pros, have moments of doubt. But we quickly get back to knowing as writers we are worth a whole heck of a lot. And so are you. If you don’t feel that way, find a way to embrace it.
Anne Wayman has been writing successfully for far longer than she likes to admit. She blogs about freelance writing at: www.aboutfreelancewriting.com
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