Good piece. For more, I wrote a few posts on this topic myself: What to Charge: The “Profit Goal” Formula, What to Charge: The Gross Earnings Formula and What to Charge: The ABWA Pay Formula. — EES

Unedited Guest Article by Michelle L. Devon

One of the most common questions a fledgling freelancer asks is, “Someone wants me to write some articles for them and name my price. How much do I charge?”

You have to come up with a number… so what do you do?

There are lots of things you can do to determine a price to charge:

First, you can charge a flat-rate for your writing and sell it the same to every person.

Usually this is a per word rate, such as 1-100 words for XX dollars, 101-250 words for XX dollars, and so on, or it can be a flat rate per word such as $0.10-1.00 per word, or more or less. You set the rate. The problem with flat rates is that every writing is different and the research and time it takes to write varies and thus so should the price.

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One thing you can do is try to put it back on the contractor requesting your services. Tell them, “I don’t have a flat rate, but rather charge for each unique project,” and then ask them, “Did you have a budget you were looking at for this project?”

They might or might not tell you, but maybe they’ll hint at an amount so that you know what your ballpark is to work with.

If they won’t offer you any hint, then the next step is to look at other publications/sites that are similar to what is being asked of you and find out what the going rate is, or as close to it as you can get, and then set a rate that is close to that going rate.

Set your rate a bit higher than you really want or need and be prepared to offer a lower rate if they say that’s too high. After all, it’s a negotiation as it would be with any contracting type of job. Also, set yourself a threshold that you will not accept less than XX amount, and don’t let them talk you into less than that unless they can offer you some other benefit besides cash (backlink, free promotion for other things, etc that might benefit you).

Your goal as a freelancer should be to constantly increase your breadth of published credits and to make money to support you in your career. That does sometimes mean taking higher and lower payment on similar type content, BUT if someone is really lowballing you, don’t sell yourself short. You’ll get a reputation of working for peanuts and eventually that’s the only jobs you’re going to be able to get.

So, to recap:

• look at what others are paying/charging for similar content
• try to get the contractor to let you in on their budget
• don’t sell yourself short
• offer a bit higher than you are acting ‘needing’
• set a minimum threshold and don’t go below it
• and did I mention don’t sell yourself short?

Keep in mind, writing is a profession. Regardless of what some people may think or tell you, writing well is a skill, a talent, an art… and you deserve to be paid a livable wage for the quality work that you do.

Michelle L. Devon is a professional writer and freelance editor, providing editing and writing services through her company, Accentuate Services. To network and connect with other writers, please visit her free writer’s forum. For more freelance writing hints and tips visit her blog, Freelance & Fiction With Michelle L Devon.

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