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Monthly Assessment: March 2015

Posted on April 3, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Raised by Wolves by U2 What a week. I’ve had no time to think beyond the two projects in front of me. My workload is rather massive, and I’m digging in and managing to make an impact. Now is when time management is my friend — thank God and my mother…

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4 Freelance Writing Truths for Beginners

Posted on April 1, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down by The Mavericks What a productive week so far — I’ve finished two magazine articles and started on four more website articles. I’m a little toasted (and it’s only Wednesday), but I’m determined to get 16 articles to the two clients I’m working…

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This Job Not That Job

Posted on March 30, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Songs About Roses by Owl John I finished the week strong and start the week even stronger. There are lots of projects on the desk, and all of them are begging for attention. Right now, the focus is to get one more article out the door by tomorrow so I can…

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Turning Conversation into Client Relationships

Posted on March 26, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What I’m reading: In One Person by John Irving What’s on the iPod: Wild Angels by Martin Sexton Not long ago, a couple came to our door. They were Jehovah’s Witness followers, and since I have known some followers, I invited them in. I served them tea and we started chatting. The husband/wife team were…

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Insurance and the Freelance Writer

Posted on March 24, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What I’m reading: The Racketeer by John Grisham What’s on the iPod: Would You Fight for My Love? by Jack White A good day yesterday — one project draft done and another started. Plus I nailed down an interview that took weeks to get. It was worth the wait. There’s been a lot of talk…

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When Do You Let Go of Prospective Writing Clients?

Posted on March 19, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Dearly Departed by Shakey Graves Tuesday was a great day off. The music was the best I’ve ever remembered it. I was glad to get back here, though. While it’s always a good time on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s equally nice to come home and relax before heading off to bed….

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Brogues, Begorrah, and Blog-versaries

Posted on March 17, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What I’m listening to: Irish bands. All day. Derrintaggart Stone Circle,  County Cork Eight years. That’s a long time to be blogging. Yet here I am, still wondering how I can be so lucky to have you all reading here every day. How ironic that I started this blog on my favorite holiday ever. I…

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Free Advice Friday: 4 Fairly Foolproof Ways to Market Your Writing

Posted on March 13, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Carrickfergus by Loudon Wainwright III Yesterday was one of those days where I was afraid to go near anything electronic. It started when I turned on The Weather Channel  (TWC) in the morning only to find it wasn’t there. Anywhere. Verizon FiOS, with their infinitely awful customer service habits, yanked the…

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Sealing Writing Deals: The Golden Bridge

Posted on March 11, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Quiet Little Voices by We Were Promised Jetpacks A new poll this week — take a look over on the right side of this page. Don’t forget to cast your vote! Happy birthday to Devon Ellington! I hope you have a lovely day, my dear. May it be a relaxing, stress-free…

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Writers, Budgets, and Samples

Posted on March 9, 2015July 6, 2016 by lwidmer

What I’m reading: The Racketeer by John Grisham What’s on the iPod: A View that Almost Kills by We Invented Paris I was talking with a writer friend last week about work. Things are going well for both of us at the moment, but we’re used to the tenuous nature of the job. What takes…

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  1. KeriLynn Engel Avatar
    KeriLynn Engel
    March 9, 2015

    I was just thinking about the hourly rate thing the other day. (Warning – long comment impending!)

    I understand this depends on the writer/client/project/etc., but up until now I've always charged per-project & I avoid sharing my hourly rate for a lot of reasons.

    It varies a lot by client, project, etc., and depends on a lot of factors. Some clients I have a much lower hourly rate but get other benefits from working with them. New clients have a lower hourly rate, but it rises when I get to know their needs better & can work faster.

    I have a target hourly rate & I meticulously track how long every assignment takes me. BUT I don't necessarily want my clients to know exactly how long everything takes me. Due to various factors, the same blog post might take me 1/2 an hour one day, or 3 hours another day. Disclosing exactly how long everything takes feels like crossing that employee-contractor line.

    Now, related to your post… I also hesitate to disclose an hourly rate because I think it does make people balk more.

    When an independent contractor quotes an hourly rate, one can't help but compare it to an employee hourly rate since it's an individual. It's the wrong mindset, of course, because our hourly rates aren't directly translatable into our salaries. It's the hourly rate we charge to run our business, not an hourly rate for our take-home pay.

    But because we are individuals, not agencies or big businesses, I think people tend to automatically equate that with our salary, and balk because it sounds like we're making way too much per hour. So a client who won't bat an eye at paying $150 for a blog post may balk at paying an independent contractor $150 an hour because that's WAY more than anyone in their business makes hourly.

    I understand some work lends itself more to charging hourly, but I tend to think I'd somehow find a way to quote it per-project instead 🙂

    Reply
  2. Lori Widmer Avatar
    Lori Widmer
    March 9, 2015

    Keri, great comment.

    I never shared my rate in the past because once you reduce it to hourly, they start watching the clock. I much prefer per-project rates as they're easier for clients to budget for and easier for me to avoid the "But you've spent four hours on this! Why?" comments.

    Your way isn't a bad way to do it at all. Eventually, you'll come across a client who won't balk at the hourly rate no matter how high it seems. That's the sweet spot. They value your work and they know it comes with a reasonable price.

    For now, I suspect I've lost the client, but if it's down to such detail, I don't think they will see the price is still the price even if stated another way it sounds worse. 🙂

    Reply
  3. KeriLynn Engel Avatar
    KeriLynn Engel
    March 9, 2015

    Haha, yeah, I don't need anyone knowing that sometimes it might take me twice as long to write something because I'm feeling sick or keep getting distracted or my cat keeps walking all over my keyboard or whatever 😀

    Yup, sounds like chances are that client would've been a chore to work with anyway!

    Reply
  4. Lori Widmer Avatar
    Lori Widmer
    March 10, 2015

    Possibly true. I don't understand why the price didn't come up sooner, but had she led with that, I would have seen the red flag immediately. The minute they focus on hourly rates, they start panicking.

    Exactly right — sometimes it's a quick job, other times not so much. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Anne Wayman Avatar
    Anne Wayman
    March 10, 2015

    I too rarely quote an hourly rate… and I want the subject of pricing to come up early in the conversation. Not first, but soon. If it's a problem I want to address that asap…

    Reply
  6. Paula Avatar
    Paula
    March 10, 2015

    As a consumer, I know I appreciate it when a plumber, electrician or other service professional breaks their hourly rate into 15-minute increments so I know I won't be charged an extra hour if they run a few minutes long. So on those rare occasions when I get to charge an hourly rate, I do that. Of course, I usually have a minimum amount, so if I knock something out super fast I still earn enough to make the effort worth my while.

    Reply
  7. Lori Widmer Avatar
    Lori Widmer
    March 10, 2015

    Amen, Anne. If it's first, it's a red flag, but it should be in there near the beginning of the conversation.

    Paula, excellent idea.

    Reply
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