Words on the Page

a freelance writing resource.

Building Worth One Day at a Time

Those of you who have been with me for a while know that I’m passionate about writers valuing their talents appropriately – hence Writers Worth Day, my mid-May mini-fest to remind the writing world that we too deserve decent wages. But talk on several forums I frequent have turned to education of our peers. For two years now I’ve been cajoling you guys into spreading the word, heeding the message, and making positive career changes.

But as I read through one forum’s discussion, I wondered why we shouldn’t keep this message going year-round. Why reserve it for one day or even one week? Writers need help now. The answer? There is no reason why we shouldn’t promote this regularly. So I’ve decided to devote one post each week (more or less) to sharing something that’s worked for me, giving you a pep talk, and generally showing you the way to better pay.

Here’s this week’s assignment:

Start thinking of your writing as a business. It is. Changing your mindset to business mode makes it easier for you to stand firm in your rates and conduct business as a professional. Take control of your business. You’re no longer apologizing for wanting to charge for doing something you love. Baseball players charge for doing what they love – why shouldn’t you?

Okay, that was a pretty cake assignment, so you’re getting two this week. Second one:

Just for today, turn down one offer that doesn’t meet with your income goals. Drop a low-paying client or renegotiate your current pay rate. Do something that says, “Thank you, but I’m worth more.”

Second part of the assignment: this week, identify at least three more potential clients who will pay your rate without question.

Do you think of your writing as a business? When was the last time you sought out higher-paying work?

3 responses to “Building Worth One Day at a Time”

  1. Wendy J. Avatar
    Wendy J.

    Back when I decided to quit working for peanuts; I came across something that has stuck with me. A business owner had posted, on a forum that he had been thinking about hiring a writer to create his content for him. But, in his research, he was becoming concerned.

    What he was seeing from writers on their sites, blogs and on forums was that the writing field was nothing but hype. When a writer proudly claims they can write articles in mere minutes, charge a couple of bucks for them and they can spend the rest of their days lounging around or having fun; it created a sense of hype within him. If you think about the claims we’ve seen on the internet about making a 6 figure income while you sleep; this is what he was seeing. (yes, writers posted replies to his post about not believing all those writers, etc. but it bothers me he had viewed us like this to begin with)

    He went on to explain that he wouldn’t hire an electrician or plumber if they proudly said they could do their jobs in minutes for a few bucks, so why would he hire writers to do the same? That woke me up and it’s also why I don’t like seeing our profession viewed as a job you can “Work From Home!” Or “Make Money, while you stay home with the kids!” (it may be the deciding factor when you take on jobs, but don’t proudly make those claims for the world to see.)

    Writing is a profession that requires a lot of work and effort, in my eyes, and I don’t want this profession to be viewed as some kind of internet hype. Be a writer and show that you can be a professional. You can be paid much more than peanuts if you stop treating writing as a bottom of the barrel type profession.

    Reply
  2. Paula Avatar
    Paula

    Three homework assignments the first week? Did you have a previous life as the strictest teacher at school, Lori? Luckily I've already tackled numbers 1 and 2 this week. And number three is always in the back, if not forefront, of my mind.

    Also, Amen, Wendy!

    Reply
  3. Lori Avatar
    Lori

    Wendy, based only on what you just wrote, I'd hire you in a second. Exactly the point. Speed isn't, nor should it be, a selling point for writers. Attention to detail, specialized skills, subject matter familiarity – those belong.

    Oh, stop complaining and do your homework, Paula. 🙂

    Reply

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