Fee Simple: What Should You Charge?

If you are a freelance writer, then you know that the rates you charge your customers will go a long way toward determining whether you can make enough money to survive in this business or go out of business.

Yet, getting a good rate for your work can be difficult, especially in these challenging economic times where the competition for work is stiff and the opportunities limited, at least the good paying ones.

I don’t have a magic number when it comes to what you should charge as every project or assignment can be so very different. Back in the day when print writing ruled, you could charge $1 per word for a magazine feature article. What most people don’t tell you is that those jobs were given to writers whose bylines were well known to the publishing community.

Most of us wouldn’t be able to win these lucrative titles on a regular basis, but we might win one occasionally. The most likely scenario has us writing for those regional publications paying 25-30 cents per word, but even those opportunities seem fairly scarce lately.

So, how can you survive during these tough times? And, is it possible to charge enough to make a living without working 60 or 70 hours per week?

I can only offer advice based on what works for me. I realize my writing path isn’t the way you may want to go, but it should serve as a model from which you can build your portfolio:

Write For Yourself — I maintain several blogs, each of which focuses on areas highlighting my writing expertise. I write about the automotive industry, aviation, college/career, consumer issues and business primarily.  Though you don’t need to maintain multiple sites, having a place where you can demonstrate to clients your writing prowess is as important as maintaining a clip file. A blog can do that for you.

Score Big — Welcoming one or two high-paying clients beats having six or seven moderate paying clients. Then again, never have all of your eggs in one basket — eventually that basket may be turned over and with it will go your only source of income.  In any case a big client can be a tremendous motivator, just the psychological you need to advance your career.

Tier Your Clients — This point may sound contradictory to what I already said, but there isn’t anything wrong with having various tiers of clients. What I mean is this: go for a few big jobs, those paying at a minimum 25 cents per word, but preferably 50 cents or higher. If you could snag five or six of these each month, then you wouldn’t need to do anything else. Trouble is, you probably won’t therefore go after those people who pay by the article–$25 to $50 per pop–and make these gigs your primary sources of income. And, if you can stand them use some content mill work to fill the gaps. But don’t write content stuff if the pay is below $10 per article and you actually have to do some research!

These three approaches have worked for me. Admittedly, I’m not getting as many big gigs as I would like, but I do have two steady print journals who offer decent pay. Most of my work is from the middle of the road clients with, you guessed it, some content mill work thrown in.

See Also — Will You Be Reaching Higher In 2010?

Photo Credit: excl-zoo

Bringing It Home: Finishing The Year With Eagerness!

The calendar says October which means we’ve entered the fourth and final quarter of the year. Just as it is with a football or basketball game, how we “perform” in the final three months will determine whether our year was a winner or not.

Of course, come January 1st we’ll be starting over again, but I like to believe that quite a few freelancers share my thinking – how can I maximize my work now so that I finish the year with flair and, hopefully, turn a profit?

Well, the left side of your brain (analytical) has to work with the right side (creative) to pull it all off. You can do all of the analysis you want, but it is your creative side that puts words on paper – or on the screen – permitting you to make money in the first place.

The two lobes of your brain, however, must work in partnership. If they don’t then you’ll be at war with yourself and probably be nursing a major headache. Who needs that?!

Courtesy of your brain, read on for some cerebral tips to help you finish this year with eagerness and maybe even some more money in your pocket:

Left Brain Activities (Analysis)

If you’re lacking business, you can take the following steps to build up your workload:

• Contact previous customers – Perhaps a few years ago you had an assignment with a client that was successfully completed. You’re already a known quantity in their eyes, but you’ve since lost touch with them. Reestablish contact by means of a friendly note or phone call reminding them of your previous work and current availability.

• Review current assignments – One of your active clients is working out quite well, but you wonder if they have additional work for you. Maybe you’re writing articles, but have noticed that their web pages could use a makeover. Use your influence to outline what you believe could be improved on their website (problem) and what steps you would take to make said improvements (solution).

• Leave your comfort zone – Everyone has preferences when it comes to contacting customers. You may prefer to win customers through Elance or Craigslist when making cold calls to local businesses would do you much good. Resolve to try something different in a bid to expand your business.

Right Brain Activities (Creative)

Being a content building machine has its advantages, but that gets old. Mix things up by doing the following:

• Write outside your niche – Being an expert within your niche offers many benefits. Steady work. Recognition. Job satisfaction. However, it could also keep you from landing more work. Consider writing beyond your subject area, putting aside health and beauty articles for a time to write about animal care or military benefits. Or whatever.

• Use editorial style sheets – Maybe you’ve gotten a bit careless with your work or your writing style could use an overhaul. Challenge yourself by downloading editorial style sheets from Demand Studios or your local university to help whip your prose into shape. Be open to editorial criticism if your work needs improvement.

• Examine your priorities – Just how well are you managing your time every day? LOL Cats may be cute and your expertise on a writing forum may be valued, but neither task brings home the money. I’m not saying you shouldn’t interact with people online, but if you’re endlessly stumbling or tweeting throughout the day or feeling your blood pressure rising when reading political blogs, then you may need to set limits to your nonremunerative activity.

A challenging economy notwithstanding, you can put both lobes of your brain to work to come up with ways to help you work better, faster and smarter – just the steps we all need to take in order to run a profitable enterprise.

Join In!

Are you reworking your strategy for the remaining months of the year? If so, I would love for you to add your comments below. Let’s get the discussion rolling!

Photo Credit: Mózgowie Człowieka