Committing Freelance Writing Suicide One Word at a Time

Over the past few weeks, there’s been a lot of discussion on freelance writing boards and writing blogs about “low” freelance writing pay rates.

I don’t usually get into discussions like this, because there are so many differences between writers that discussions about pay are meaningless. Hobbyist writers write for the fun of it, and if they get paid it’s a bonus. They always have “real” jobs or are supported by a spouse. On the other hand, freelance writers who write for money as full-time writers soon work out what amount of money they can afford to write for, and what they can’t – if they miscalculate, then just like any other business, they go broke.

There’s no upper limit on the money you can make as a freelancer
Many freelancers earn six figures. You can too, as soon as you make up your mind to take writing seriously.

The problem with writers writing for low rates, is that they’re surprised when they’re taken advantage of. Why? Do they really imagine, that a publisher, or any other client, will put a writer’s interests before their own?

Writing for money is a business. I’ve pointed out the facts about freelance writing in the ezine (Freelance Writing For Absolute Beginners – How To Get Started As A Freelancer; Part One), however, it is also a fact that writers don’t realize they’re being taken advantage of until it’s happened. Unfortunately, there is no way and around this, it’s called “paying your dues”. You live, write, and learn, and after a while you don’t get suckered as often.

I don’t mean to sound hardhearted about this, but you need to know where you stand. You can’t write for money and enjoy it until you know your own worth. You need to know how much YOUR SKILL is worth to the people who buy your words.

This means that if you’re a new writer in your first five years of freelance writing, you will get taken advantage of, and then you will learn how freelance writing works. It’s a business, both from your point of view, and from the point of view of people who are buying work from you.

If you’re aiming to make freelance writing a full-time career, you will soon learn not to take low-paying work. This is because there are only so many hours in the day, and writing for low pay is just as exhausting as writing for higher pay – so you might as well be paid more.

Getting paid more starts in your own mind, nowhere else. You can’t force people to pay what you think you are worth. You need to know your own worth, by knowing the market. Then you’ll know exactly what your words are worth to the people who are buying them, and what you can charge. If the pay offered isn’t high enough, you’ll refuse, with thanks. Get used to saying NO to jobs you can’t afford to take. It’s easy, but it all starts with YOU.

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