Color me "chicken" because if I raise my rates, I don't say anything to anybody, even repeat offenders/clients.

Recently I decided to institute a two-hour minimum rate for any, ANY job. If someone asks, I'll explain why I'm charging "so much" for even a simple task like proofreading a five-page report. It takes the same amount of time to handle the ancillary work for any size job.

ALL my time is valuable.

I try to avoid working for friends. It never ends well for the friendship, in my experience.

I already turn down work that's less than £100/1,000 (apx $200). I don't usually charge hourly.

I hear you, Devon. :)) I know. I have to leave that job. I do have some income issues first, then I'm outta there, other gig or not. My game plan is this – clear the holidays, then approach the client asking for appropriate compensation. I already know they're going to turn me down. Yes, it may be P/A too, but I think it's a clear message that we value our skills more than we value a dead-end job.

Kimberly, read what Devon said. It's exactly what's going on. Open yourself up and the universe will provide. 🙂

Great reasoning, Paula. I think that fifty bucks was a nice goodwill gesture on their part, and I love that you gave one in return.

1) If $50 is enough to break the bank, you need another job.

2) It showed that I'm loyal – and someone they'll be more inclined to hire for future assignments. (In fact, since then they've actually assigned some pieces I didn't even have to pitch.)

3) I made my point: I noticed the rate had dropped.

You know what? It worked. And now that advertisers are starting to come back, they've been paying me slightly more for the same length articles.

Besides, it's a market I'd hate to lose. It's a prestigious, award-winning glossy, with fun assignments that let me speak in depth with people I'd never otherwise meet. They pay decent rates, and they pay faster than any other place I've ever worked for. Often within 10-14 days of invoice. (Bonus points that their checks show a very familiar icon/logo so new bank tellers often look at it and say, "Is that what I think it is? And why are they paying you?")

You know I'm a big believer in leaving any sort of job that no longer fulfills you on BOTH economic and creative levels.

If we wanted soul-sucking jobs, we wouldn't be freelancers.

Plus, you have to LET GO of what doesn't work BEFORE there's room for something better to come along. There's this myth that you find the new job before you leave the old — it rarely works that way. Sometimes the Universe wants to test your belief in yourself. And you have to make that leap — the Fool Card in the tarot deck — in order to land where you're really supposed to be.

It’s funny, when I start working for someone, and I don’t know them all that well, I have no problem saying no or putting my foot down on the rate. It’s just when I’ve worked for them too long that it becomes a problem.