Most freelance writers have no idea what rates they should be charging, so they charge minimal rates and are unfair to themselves.
Read Jennifer Mattern’s excellent post What Buyers Need to Know About Freelance Writing Rates. She comments: “The fact is that there are a lot of freelancers who don’t understand these concepts themselves. They look at $10 per hour as being better than the minimum wage jobs in their area, so they take on the work to learn the hard way that they’d be better off in most cases working for the local McDonalds (in a financial sense).”
Whether you’re a full time or part time freelancer, writing for minimal rates is the sure road to ruin. You can’t operate a business that way. Trying to do it will ensure that you end up tired, bitter and burned out. Not only is it bad for your mental and physical health, it’s bad for your writing too.
Be fair to yourself and charge what YOU need to stay in business
I repeat this mantra regularly to my writing students: “YOU set your rates; your clients have a budget”. Often, you’ll be contacted by clients who have no budget for a decent writer – that’s fine; they can’t afford you.
Focus on marketing your freelance writing business, get known, and you will get clients who are prepared to pay decent rates because they have a good business and they know that good writing gets them a fantastic return on investment.
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