Lately, I’ve been enjoying Walt Kania’s posts over at The Freelancery blog. Maybe it’s because Walt has been focused on pricing recently, which is a perennial concern for writers.
His most recent post delves into what a “fair price” may be.
It’s a question I ask myself quite a lot. I bet you do, too.
We’ve all been on that conference call with a potential client, and we’ve all prepared for the question:
How much do you charge?
I’ve answered that question countless times. But I admit it — I still get a nanosecond of anxiety as I’m answering.
Is it because I don’t think I should be charging so much? But clients are already paying that rate. So what is it then? I think it’s this:
Freelance writers want validation from clients that they’re worth what they charge.
And yet we freelancers — even me — don’t see how backwards that is. How the hell can a client who has never worked with us validate our worth? And why should we look to clients to do that anyway?
So how do we get over the angst?
By asking their budget before they ask for your rate.
That may work in some cases — not all. Too many clients will respond “Well, what’s your rate?”
What I won’t do is justify my price to a new client by pointing out how many current clients pay that. Why?
Because no two clients are the same.
Walt’s post touched on that. Yes, your rate is $130 an hour, $1 a word, or $2,000 per 4-page project. But not every client will be paying that. Some may pay more. Some less. Why? For the very reason Walt pointed out: not every project is going to be the same.
Let’s look at this example:
A book editing project for a 200-page book could take you 60 hours to complete. Your rate: $15000. That’s more than your $130 an hour, but it’s a ton of work and you’re going to have to put aside a lot of other work to make room for it. Then there are further revisions, which may make up about six more hours.
An ongoing project has you writing profile articles — one a month for a year– for a media company. The work consists of one interview and 1,000-1,200 words per article. Your rate: $600 per article. Your total for all articles that year: $7200.
Are you okay with that?
I would be.
The first job is intense. You’re putting a lot of time and effort into making sure 200 pages of content carries a consistent voice, focus, and flow. You’re going to be reviewing previous work as you go to make it all sound seamless.
The second job is about three-to-five hours of your time per month. It amounts to the same 60 hours, but it’s one interview, no research to speak of, and your questions can be the same or similar and each article will still read differently. (I know — I have a job right now that has entailed similar questions for going on two years now.)
The work just isn’t in the same ballpark.
[bctt tweet=”#freelancewriting is about finding your own pricing sweet spot with each project.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
The easier the work, the less trouble I have saying yes to a lower rate.
It’s why I took an ongoing gig for $70 an hour. That sounds horrifically low, but I grossed $12,000 per year from it. And I gained experience in video scripts, radio scripts, and all sorts of advertising copy. And it was wickedly fun.
It’s why I work with a trusted publication every month, earning $900 per article for essentially expert profile pieces.
It’s why you work with that great client whose projects are a breeze, though they don’t really pay a ton.
Are all of your clients paying the same rate?
Do you think you’re running the risk of losing regular clients by standing firm on your rate? Why or why not?
How do you decide to go ahead with a client who is paying you lower than your ideal rate?
My clients pay different rates, depending on the work required. Different types of writing require different time frames, research frames, writing skills. Most of my clients are not local, at this point. You mentioned your $70/hour gig being low. I don’t know of a single client in my region who’d pay $70 for anything other than an oil change on a car. Certainly not for an hour of writing. They bitch at anything over $12. Which is why most of my clients are over the bridge — except for those few local ones who meet my rate. Plenty of businesses NEED quality writing around here. But they won’t pay for it, and their materials are awful. I’m constantly deciding not to do business with this company or that company here because their materials are so poor.
Not only that, but the majority of clients or would-be clients demand working on-site, and then they try to add tasks that have nothing to do with writing.
Oh, I know that scenario!
I get that people have budgets, but don’t expect a writer to ignore their own needs to serve you. And certainly don’t shame them or expect free work.