Comments on: Worthy Tip: Stand Up

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:15:39 +0000

Andrea, publications pay anywhere from copies only to over $1/word. Beginning writers should be able to do better than 25 cents/word, in my opinion. Sometimes the pay for an unfamiliar publication will be lower on the first assignment, but if you've written for them before, you should expect a better rate. One example – I worked for one that paid $350 on the first article, $450 after that.

Don't work for copies – that's free work for the publication.

By: Andrea Franco-Cook

Andrea Franco-Cook — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:54:14 +0000

I enjoyed your post and btw, I totally agree with your approach. If I want a publication to take a chance on me, then first I have to believe in my ability as a writer.

This said, as a new freelancer, I'm unsure what a typical industry fee is. If possible, could you provide average rates for a standard publication? Thanks for your time.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:32:47 +0000

I should clarify…he needed lots of questions. The two he asked me to write were paid samples.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:31:41 +0000

That was the crazy part. He agreed to the rate, paid it, and then came back to negotiate.

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:50:34 +0000

Seriously? That's ridiculous! I hope he paid you the $25 per. Otherwise, he'd be writing them himself AND paying you through a judge.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:45:23 +0000

A little off topic, but I think you'll get a kick out of this one.

I responded to ad an to write sample questions for a standardized test. I quoted $25/question. He said it was fine, ordered two questions, and paid me. Then I got an email stating that although he liked the work, he could only afford to pay $5/question. I have to admit, it's the first time I've been asked to drop my rate by 80%!

By: Lori

Lori — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:42:34 +0000

Repeating after Joseph: They need us. Great mantra! And great news on your publishing house score! Fill us in sometime on that, okay?

Eileen, I think we're all guilty of underselling ourselves on occasion. It takes a little math and a lot of pissed-off to get better next time. :)

Mei, I've done it, too. One project dragged on for YEARS before I got final payment. Now I work a final payment date into all contracts. Another I bid a fair price only to discover that the per-line page count was ridiculous - something like cramming nearly two pages of copy onto one page. So my proposed page count was nearly double what I'd expected. So was the workload. Ugh.

Diane, I love it. We need to emulate your style.

By: Joseph Hayes

Joseph Hayes — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:54:34 +0000

Sticking to your rate means that you will, on occasion, be shown the door ("Lovely door, eh?"). But my attitude in going to a meeting is, they need me, and if you are confident in that attitude, all manner of things are possible. I've had clients come back after saying "you get that?" when they find out what they'd have to settle for paying less, and I've walked into offices for one thing and come out with much more (just did that with a major publishing house over Christmas!)

They need us. Say it.

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:48:01 +0000

I've never lowered my rate. For anyone.

Of course, accepting the same rate year in year out is the equivalent of lowering your rate as the cost of living rises and everything else goes up.

But other than that, once I'm in doing the same or similar jobs, as I've said before, the rates go up not down.

By: Mei

Mei — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:05:38 +0000

I have learned a LOT about sticking to my rates since I started reading this blog.

I am a skilled negotiator, but I sell myself short sometimes. Once (I really regret this), I closed a contract for a lower amount than I normally would, because I was having personal problems and wasn't feeling confident. I later worked out the amount per hour and felt sick about what I had done.