lwidmer | Words on the Page

Writers Worth: A Dirty Little Secret About Pricing

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Today’s enlightening guest post comes from Walt Kania, a freelance marketing writer who discovered an eye-opening secret about setting your price. Pricing is mostly in your head. Treat it that way. By Walt Kania I used to think that our fees as writers were pre-ordained by all sorts of fancy economic and accounting factors, like…

The Long, Strange Trip

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What’s on the iPod: Got to Give It Up by Marvin Gaye Home. So here I sit in my kitchen on what I can only call a Scottish Sunday — drizzling, all-day rain that pulls the explosion of lush spring greens that much closer to the earth for both sight and touch — and I…

Writers Worth: A Different Kind of Proposition

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Today’s guest post comes from the query free writer herself, Jennifer Mattern. Writers: What’s Your Value Proposition? By Jennifer Mattern In an earlier Writer’s Worth post, Lori talked about how freelance writers need to accept their own worth in order to charge professional rates for their services. She talked about some of the ways you…

Writers Worth: Deliver Your Walking Papers

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Writers Worth: Giving it Away?

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Still out convalescing. Today is a real treat. Paula Hendrickson, whose post appeared here Monday, alerted me to the following article, written by C. Hope Clark. I contacted Hope and explained my plight — my ongoing plight to raise awareness one writer at a time. Hope graciously agreed to let us reprint her original article…

Writers Worth: How to Find Your Best Employee

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Writers Worth: Editors, Review Your Rates

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Welcome to Writers Worth Week! For six years now, Writers Worth has become a mini-movement designed to help writers at all career stages find, and assert, their value in the marketplace. Over the years, it’s gone from one day of my pushing and fussing to a week of advice and strategies, to last year’s month-long…

Writers Worth: Winning Clients

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Right now, I’m probably a groggy, foggy mess. My surgery was yesterday and I’m hoping I’m not aching, though I suspect I am. I’m told they’ll get me up today to stand and get to a chair, so that sounds very promising. Since I’m writing this four days before, I can only guess that I’ll…

Writers Worth: Accepting Your Writing Value

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What I’m reading: The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough Day after surgery. I guarantee you I won’t be around today. I’ll be concentrating on getting up and moving and healing. Not sure what shape I’m in as I’m writing this on Wednesday (my cursed punctuality gene is wedged on high), but I’d say blogging won’t…

Writers Worth: Identifying Your Worth

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What’s on the iPod: True Love by The Airborne Toxic Event What a disjointed month this is turning out to be! I’ve talked with one client about work, am about to discuss projects with two more clients, my dear MIL is lying gravely ill in Phoenix, and I have this thing inside me that’s about to…

Paula

A jump start on Writers Worth Week! Hooray! Time to start tweeting and retweeting the news.

My biggest roadblock – aside from being someone who has never been motivated by money – is that I've become accustomed to giving clients more than they're paying for as opposed to what I'm worth. I know. It's my own fault.

Be proud, though. Yesterday a local editor I've been working with on some quick and easy pieces asked if I wanted to do an actual article. Their rate was way too low for the time it would take to do it well, so I said no and explained why. She understood, but still has to stick with their budget. (She was probably confused since the day before I'd told her that I was okay with the little projects I've been doing for them since I needed to make up for the Late Payer I "fired" earlier this year. But that doesn't mean filling my billable hours with low-paying work.)

Lori, I hope all goes well with your surgery and you have a speedy recovery!

Cathy Miller

I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my back for my surgery this morning. MUCH less serious than yours. I will be sure not to mention the strange coincidence of age and an increasing number of required tune-ups. 🙂

Until Paula mentioned it, I hadn't really thought about it, but I'm not motivated by money either. But, it is one of those issues where it's okay when you are being paid what you're worth, and only becomes a major issue when you're not.

I guess my roadblock in the past is not taking into account all the extras I do. I'm getting a lot better, but I still fall short at times. For example, I have discovered not everyone dissects an issue and has full-on interviews for background information, goals & objectives. Some take whatever information is sent and create copy from that. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that. It's just not how I work. I like to know my subject backwards and forward. Some of that I can do on my own, but I still like to talk to the subject matter experts.

It's okay if you don't want to pay for that, but I'm afraid you'll need to find another business writer.

Lori, I will be thinking healing thoughts. Let me know where you want guest posts for Writers Worth & when.

Take care!

Anne Wayman

Of course my sense of worth as a writer is directly dependent on my view of my worth as a person, my self esteem if you will. Writers Worth Week is a good start and a great reminder.

Hollar if you need guest posts or other writing done while you're recovering, and take the time you need, please.

Love and blessings,

A

Paula

You get well, too, Cathy!

To Anne (and anyone else who's planning on contributing a guest post): While Lori's indisposed she's asked me to post any additional guest blog posts that come in. If you don't already have my e-mail address, DM me on Twitter @P_Hendrickson or if it's easier send me a message via LinkedIn.

Damaria Senne

Get well Lori. And I also wish your mother-in-law comfort through her illness.

My biggest roadblock used to be worrying about what the client is willing to pay instead of working out what I want to charge. I think I was operating on a "take what you can get" basis and I think clients could smell it, because they offered such low rates for demanding assignments. Now I'm confident enough to state what I'm worth. Some potential clients have gone on to other writers willing to take their rates. It's no loss.. I'd rather spend the time looking for well-paying clients than killing myself on assignments that will barely pay the bills. And it's been such a confidence booster for me to be able to say, "I charge such and such an amount," and be able to stand by my service and prices.

Devon Ellington

Get well soon, Lori.You, too, Cathy!

My biggest roadblock is moving up tiers, to the higher-paying clients. I prefer to overlap and ease one client out as the other comes in, but the universe prefers I have clean breaks to make room. More stressful, and I have to learn to trust.

EP

I think one of the hardest parts about "embracing your worth" is that life, like you said, erupts in spurts. That includes jobs, too. It's just plain hard to make calculations like that when you never know what's coming around the corner next (or not).

Get well soon!