What I’m listening to: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean It’s a Robert Burns kind of weekend — time for poems written by the bard, whisky tasting, and haggis. (Take my advice — skip the haggis.) Hence the link to the song by Dougie MacLean, who was homesick for his native “Caledonia” when he wrote what has…
Payment & Rates
Why Freelance Pricing Guides Aren’t Helping You
What I’m listening to: Wrong by The Airborne Toxic Event We’ve all done it. We’ve asked the question: “How much should I charge for …?” While there’s nothing inherently wrong with asking other writers “How much do you charge for…?”, by asking how much we should be charging, we are, once again, putting control of our businesses…
6 Traits of a Non-paying Client (and how to spot them ahead of time)
This is one of those really odd weeks for me lately — I have free time in my day. Actual free time. Three projects are in progress. Three others are ongoing work. One is completed. The occasional projects were completed last week, as well. Two others are on the way. So yes, free time. After…
The Freelance Writing Location Myth
I was on Twitter last week when I noticed a study by HubStaff that talked about freelancers and earnings. Some interesting things in there, and not all of them I agree with. Here’s one that stood out: The rates that freelancers charge are highly dependent on location, discipline, and experience, so it’s impossible to provide average…
The Freelance Money Flow
What I’m listening to: Show Me The Way by Peter Frampton I was reading a conversation recently among newer writers talking about waiting for that next check to show up. Boy, do I remember those days. And on rare occasion, I still have that same feeling. It’s uncommon though, amen. It’s also one of the…
Your Freelance Writing Rate: One Fact You Need to Know
What I’m listening to: Incomplete by James Bay It happened again. Another forum discussion on rates, another person asking about rates. This time, the writer was reviewing the various pricing guides and thinking it was either time to raise rates or use those extremely general price ranges to show clients the bargain they’re getting. I get…
Wednesday Take: Who Determines Your Freelance Rate?
An interesting week so far. One project ended, another began, and a newer client keeps me busy with plenty of neat projects. Checks too are coming in, just in time for the holidays. On a forum recently, there was a discussion about rates, which also touched on worth. If you’ve read this blog at all,…
5 Reasons Why Increasing Your Freelance Writing Rates Matters
What I’m listening to: Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 Oh, joy. A long-term project I just started a few months ago may be coming to a close, and about three months shy of when it was due to end. Ouch. There goes about $9K in earnings. However, as one door closes, another…