Comments on: Hitting the High Note

By: allena

allena — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:14:21 +0000

I'll go hourly. The best I've done (so far) is about $200 an hour for a project at the end. (It wasn't paid hourly, I just divided it out) It was a big content project for a fairly well known info company, and I managed it more than I actually wrote–I hired a LOT of writers. I feel that I made a little "too much" on my end, so I've since upped my pay rate for the writers.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:18:25 +0000

BTW – I heard that the major consumer mag cut its rate to $1/word last year.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:17:09 +0000

My best dollar amount for a single article was $4,700 for a really fun 4,700-word article. That was about 10 years ago. The trade magazine folded in 2001.

My best per-word rate was $2/word for a piece in a major consumer magazine. I think it was about 1,000 words. That was in 2004.

By: CFD Trade

CFD Trade — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:39:53 +0000

I got my very first commissioned job as a ghost writer for someone who runs an internet marketing business. I was really paid well. However, I value the experience more for it was my first.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:32:15 +0000

My highest paying job was $12K and it was for the first magalog I ever wrote, and I earned every penny of it. I worked on it on and off for over a year and it was blood, sweat, and tears. My hourly rate was a fraction of what it normally is. I swore when I was done I'd never do another magalog. But then a client came along with a product that I was passionate about, so I did a magalog for that one, and my effective hourly rate was $200/hour.

I like doing magalogs now, especially because they're a month to six weeks' worth per project. I've also found there seems to be a sweet spot with projects priced in the $2-$4K range for me (e.g., landing pages). Those I can whip out fast and end up higher than my target hourly rate every time. Smaller projects or larger projects don't seem to have the same profit margins.

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:30:14 +0000

I've had some scripting and script doctoring jobs that paid REALLY well. Especially since a confidentiality agreeement was included . . .

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:48:48 +0000

The best has to be the current "day job", although it's actually editing a bi-lingual magazine 4 times a year, for a whopping £20k (apx $31k) + bonus + benefits. If I wasn't "on the books", I'd negotiate (and get) more than that minus the benefits as it would still be a lot less than what I cost them. I love this job.

Aside from that, my best single job was an American assignment for Spa Magazine. I got $1 per word, so $3,000, + 3 days of full treatments in a local (to me) spa centre + travel expenses + photo repro fees. I never worked out the hourly rate, but I put my feet up for the rest of that month.