Protecting Your Freelance Writing Rate

Saw a discussion online a while back among writers wanting to raise their rates.

At one point, someone suggested that writers make sure to negotiate a raise with their clients.

Couple of things wrong with that thinking.

1. You’re not an employee; you are not talking to your employer.
2. Your rates are yours to set.
3. They’re not “giving” you a raise. You’re telling them your rates are going up. BIG difference.

There are far too many obstacles in the way for those of us trying to make a living freelance writing. Why create more by listening to questionable advice?

That said, here’s a fact for you:

Raising your rates means you will lose clients.

Maybe not today, and certainly not all of them at once — unless your rates made more than a 10-percent leap. And maybe even then, depending on how high your rates are now.

Either way, know that when you raise your rates, not everyone you work with currently will go along with the move.

That’s when you have a choice. You can:

1. Discuss with your client what they can afford and come to some mutually agreeable terms, or;
2. Walk away.

I know what you’re thinking — point #1 sounds a lot like negotiating a raise. But here’s how it’s different:

You’ve set your rate. Now you’re negotiating what’s acceptable to both of you based on the rate you set.

Let’s look at it this way:

You call in a carpenter to put more book shelves in your house (who doesn’t need more book shelves?).

She estimates the cost of the job plus labor and gives you a price.

You know you can’t afford it. If it were just a little cheaper….

So you ask her “Is there any way we can get the price down?”

She suggests a few modifications to your original plan that would drop the price to within your budget. Or she agrees to knock of 10 percent if you pay in full on the day of delivery.

Did you just set her rate for her?

No, you negotiated something that you could afford that would still be fair to the carpenter.

That’s what I mean by negotiating with a client.

But Lori! I have a great client right now who’s paying me about 20 percent less than other clients are paying me. What do I do about that?

That depends. It could be you’ve negotiated an acceptable per-project price with this client ahead of time, in which case I’d simply ask to revisit that conversation. I would mention that your rates are going up, and because they’re a valued client, you welcome a discussion to go over any concerns they might have.

Or you could simply raise your rates and inform them 30 days out that it’s happening, knowing you may have to say goodbye to them.

Or you can keep the rate for this client the same based on the simplicity of the work or the enjoyment you get from it.

A little secret along those lines:

About six years ago, I was working with a household-name company doing a ton of work for them. My going rate then was $125 an hour. They were paying me $90 an hour. And I was quite content with that.

Why? Because the work was easy. It was also fun. And there were never any revisions in the two years we’d worked together. My time commitment was minimal, so in the end, it probably paid comparable to the jobs that were paying $125 an hour requiring a few revisions.

The point is, whether you decide to raise rates, talk over increases with current clients, or just leave things as they are, there’s one simple truth you should keep in mind:

[bctt tweet=”Your #freelancewriting rates are entirely yours to set and control.” username=”LoriWidmer”]

You’re not negotiating a raise.

You’re not convincing someone to give you a bonus.

You’re setting your rates. You’re conveying that to your clients.

Keep that in mind, and you’ll have a stronger, more lucrative freelance writing business.

Writers, how do you handle it when clients attempt to dictate your rate to you?