Sometimes you go online and for some reason, you simply don’t expect to see the stupid shit people will say in public let alone the tangle that is their thought processes.
I was on a writing forum yesterday when I saw what has to be some of the most absurd thinking I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe these writers are saying one thing and meaning another. Not that that would improve the situation whatsoever. But when in any writer’s life should this statement be uttered?
I don’t need more money, so I’m good.
That response was to a poll asking if writers have raised their rates this past year. Just paint me flabbergasted. I truly cannot fathom any situation where I would say, “You know what? I’ve earned enough. I’m never having an emergency, divorce, medical issue, etc. I’m totally golden here.”
That’s almost as bad as this response:
I didn’t raise my rates because it wasn’t warranted.
This one I can almost see what the writer meant. Perhaps her clients have agreed recently to a pretty healthy price or she’s working on one-off projects where the rates were already negotiated. But what it says to me on first glance is, “I am not worth a raise.”
Let’s talk about this. Do you feel you don’t deserve to raise your price? Have you been charging the same amount for more than two years? Are you actively negotiating with clients or accepting what they offer?
My writerly friend, it’s time to revisit your rates.
[bctt tweet=”If it’s been more than two years, you need to raise your #freelance rate.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
That’s right. You need to increase your salary, you savvy business owner.
When you were an employee (IF you ever were), you could expect a modest annual salary increase, typically around the 2-4% range. A modest raise, but you had the benefit of your employer deducting Social Security and taxes from your pay.
As a freelancer, that’s all on you now. Not only that, your salary is nowhere near steady. You could work every day for four months and then go two months with just a trickle of work.
A raise helps offset that to some extent. It also does something that I think every writer can benefit from:
It forces you to swim in deeper waters.
In other words, the more you charge, the better the level of clientele you’ll be attracting. It’s the strangest phenomenon, but it’s true. Clients who are worth having often expect to pay more for quality writing.
Happens every time. Ask successful writers. They’ve all experienced it. I’ve told the story about my girlfriend whose company was hiring and she called me to tell me to charge more or I wouldn’t be considered. Too low says you aren’t serious. You’re a dabbler. Don’t look like a dabbler. Look like you own your own business.
Funny thing happens when you raise your rate:
You attract more clients.
My rates went up — way up — after 2021. Since then, I’ve had inquiries and offers from quite a few clients. Quality, household name clients. Word-of-mouth or online resumes start to shine when you’re attracting better clients. You will get noticed thanks to the circles you now hang out in and the conversations you’re having online thanks to the projects you’re handling (and yes, you can make serious inroads with prospects just by joining the conversation).
One of the side benefits of raising your rate regularly is this:
You won’t have to beg for work.
You won’t see posts like the one I saw where a woman said she hadn’t raised her rate but had landed higher-paying clients. To which another writer immediately said to contact her if the writer needs help. Sure. This writer just worked hard to land a great client. Why not mooch off of her? Why not? Because it’s shitty and lazy. You just did all that work! Great! Now I can help you and get paid without having to do anything other than ask!
Raise your rate regularly and you won’t have to surf job boards. You won’t have to post on social media the usual “Need a writer? I’m available” post. You won’t need to appear desperate any longer. And believe me — all of those actions I just listed look desperate to any onlooker (including potential clients). There is no shortage of legitimate clients needing quality writing. What they lack is a pathway to the professional writer with whom they can trust their projects.
Time to start taking yourself — and your writing business — seriously.
Writers, when was the last time you raised your rate?
Do you give yourself an annual raise? If not, how often do you increase your price?