- First, establish your minimum monthly income goal. For example, let’s say $2,000.
- Then, establish how many hours you’re willing to write in a week. Let’s say 5 hours per week / 20 hours per month.
- Divide the income goal number by the hours. In this case, $2,000 divided by 20 is $100.
- Find the per word fee in the table above which matches this hourly rate. In our example, this would be .20 per word.
One major mistake many beginning freelance writers make is to think they should charge per hour or set up to handle payments per project. While this is possible to work with if a client specifically requests it, you should always estimate your overall fees by calculating rates per word first.
But seriously, is it possible to earn good rates as a beginner before figuring out how to make direct pitches? If we take the listings we feature on Paid to Blog Jobs (although I don’t have the averages to hand) opportunities are generally available between Let’s review the takeaways on how (and how much) freelance writers charge, one more time:.03 and The most I have ever charged a client is The best clients usually come from relationship building. However, while this is the best long-term plan for sourcing great clients, it is hard to get off the ground this way when you’re just getting started. This is where job boards and forums come in. These are great resources if you are new(ish) to the world of freelance blogging..30, although that’s far higher than my average (which I’m afraid I will not reveal!)..10 per word. You’ll have none lower than However, when you’re first getting started, it’s far easier to keep it simple and only charge per word. This gives you the control to determine your own hourly rate by:.03 as a general rule, but you will get some over How much should freelance writers charge per word? Most beginner freelance writers have no idea. In fact, some freelance writers don’t know they should be charging per word in the first place..10 (although they tend to be outliers). Of course, every job board will vary in the quality of listings it provides.
- For top dollar, pitch ideal clients directly – and eventually earn referrals from existing clients.
- If you’re just getting started, try job boards to pick up your first gigs.
How To Set Your Own Freelance Writing Rates and Find Clients
It’s time to actually set your own rates and find clients happy to pay them! Being armed with the right knowledge and resources makes this process a lot smoother than playing a lot of guessing games.
I’ll finish with one final piece of advice: don’t get too misty-eyed at the thought of earning With this information, you are now much more equipped to enter the world of freelance writing and find success. The road is not always easy, but it is definitely worthwhile if you want to leave your regular job behind..10, When I started as a freelance blogger in 2011 (writing for what is now the WPMU DEV blog), I was paid $20 per hour. Based on the speed at which I worked (which seems to be pretty fast by most people’s standards), I was earning about
.03 per word at best. But that was fine, because I was just getting established, my skills weren’t top notch, and I had a lot to learn..15, or even more per word. Is it possible to earn that much? Absolutely. Is it a challenging journey? Yep. Do I encourage you to go for it? Absolutely – but be realistic about the time and effort it will take to get to the ‘top’.
This became evident when I first started hiring freelance bloggers to work with me. Quotes came in from one rupee (about In other words, you’ll be able to produce better work in a shorter amount of time as you become more experienced. Charging per hour or per project may end up robbing you of your hard earned money!.02) to one dollar per word. That’s when I realized it was important to help the community out by publishing industry payment standards.
Care to share your thoughts on freelance blogging rates? Let us know what you think below!
Once you figure out what type of work you will be doing, you need to figure out how you will charge. If you charge hourly, often the difficulty takes care of itself. After all, the more intense your efforts, the longer it will take, and the more the job will pay. A beginning editor can expect to charge right around $20 an hour. However, an experienced content editor can charge more, as much as $50 to $85 an hour (or even more, depending on what you're doing). Even as a proofreader, after you have established yourself, you can charge $25 – $35 an hour.
One of the reasons I don't like taking editing jobs is because it's such a pain to figure out how to charge. Anytime you have to set rates as a freelancer, it requires a great deal of careful thought. However, it seems like setting rates for freelancing editing is much more fraught with difficulty. When you write, it's easy to say, “This is how much I charge for a blog post. This is how much I charge for creating a press release. This is what web content will cost you.”
I have charged both hourly, and per-page, and don't really have a preference. When I'm going through and editing old posts that a blogger might have, I often charge by the hour. When I have a manuscript, though, I usually charge by the page.
- The intensity of the work: How involved is the work? The more you're required to do, the more you should charge. If you're doing serious line editing, or if you're helping with development, your fee should be higher than if you're just reviewing spelling and grammar.
- Your level of experience: Don't forget to factor in your experience. Remember — if you've been editing for a long time, a client isn't paying for the hour you spend today. They're paying for the years of experience that have made you a superior editor.
- Your area of expertise: Your ability to provide insight related to a niche area can also allow you to charge more. I'm going to charge on the low end if I decide to edit fiction. However, if I decide to edit financial content, I can charge more because financial content is my wheelhouse.
- Other services: Are you providing other services, such as layout or translation? When setting freelance editing rates, don't forget to include those services. You can charge a premium if you have value you can add.
Hourly? Or Per-Page?
The first task is to identify what type of freelance editing you are doing. Different types of editing come with different challenges and difficulties. Some types of editing are more involved than others. There are three main types of editing:
Another option is to charge by the page. (It's possible to charge by the word, but that can get tricky in some cases, especially if you have to add quite a bit.) Many editors like to charge by the page. When charging by the page, the type of editing matters. According to the Editorial Freelancers Association, the average for basic copywriting, on pace for between five and 10 manuscript pages per hour, is going to amount to $30 to $40. That breaks down to between $3 and $6 per page.
Occasionally, I am asked to edit something. When I first started out as a freelancer, I took editing jobs because I had to. Now, though, I try to avoid editing jobs. Because it's not something I'm overly fond of. But, maybe, if I really like you, I can be induced to edit something for you.
Deciding how to charge for freelance editing can be difficult. Here are some of the issues involved.
Non-fiction is everywhere, both online and in print: magazine articles, books, advertisements, business proposals, marketing plans, manuals, contracts and web content. Articles might be entertaining, informational, or instructive. A non-fiction freelance writer will have a much better chance of finding work than a one specializing solely in fiction.
Oasis11: I have to say that places like Elance are not a good place for freelance writers to obtain work. Yes, you have to bid on a job. the lower bid wins. Why would anyone want to work for the lowest they can get. It's great for the company who hires you but bad for the writer. I thought the idea was to make the most money you can. Just a thought. cafe41 July 26, 2010
Oasis11- I know that Writers Weekly also offers a listing of paid freelance writing jobs. They also have a forum where freelance writers can network and exchange ideas.
Paulla is a freelance writer and website editor who currently lives in Maine. Paulla has a B.A. in English Literature from George Mason University and over 15 years of experience as a freelancer. She relishes the flexibility and consistency of working on wiseGEEK articles, as well as the opportunity to constantly learn something new.
You might also Like
A freelance writer might work full time as a writer or have a completely different daytime career. He or she might simply write for fun, jotting down poems, posting online blogs, or trying his hand at short fiction. He or she might be a stay-at-home parent, college student or shut-in. Whatever his choice, the freedom one finds in working this way is part of the appeal.
Tanja- Well said. I just want to add that many freelance writers also belong to professional organizations that offer additional marketing assistance as well as information on other paying markets where writers can find freelance writing jobs.
A writer is anyone who puts pen to paper, whether for enjoyment, artistic talent, creative outlet, volunteer work or pay. Paid writers, employed full time by one employer, might work for a newspaper, magazine, advertising business, or any other business which needs a full time writer on staff. A freelance writer is simply a writer who acts as a small business or independent contractor
Value-based pricing does require a deeper conversation with a prospect upfront so you can discern the project’s value to his or her business and frame your conversation around that. The extra effort enables higher rates.
My goal is to leave you with at least one idea to experiment with in the coming weeks, that will put more moolah in your pocket.
Charging by the hour is likely the most common freelance writing practice. It’s frowned upon by high-earning freelancers, but still a viable option in some scenarios.
Let me explain: A project’s word count is no indicator of its value, nor the amount of time and effort that goes into it.
2. Isn’t customizing rates a lot of work? I don’t want to spend a lot of time on quotes.
One of my favorite models, retainer agreements commit you and a client to recurring work, typically at X dollars for X deliverables or hours per month.
Give tiered rates a try next time you’re asked for a quote. You’ll be surprised by how many prospects choose a pricier option when you make it available.
This model enables you to charge premium pricing because it changes the conversation from hours to value.
That’s because there is no magic formula! Your experience and qualifications will vary from every other freelancer, as will your business expenses. But if you’re looking for an answer right now, you can calculate your ideal rate with the following steps.
You’re worried that if you charge too high, no one is going to want to hire you.
But if you charge too low, you won’t be able to make a living writing.
These free writing rates are a good guidelines for copywriting rates and ghostwriting rates.
How to Calculate Your Ideal Rate
- You want to make $100,000 this year. (Remember that this is for your business; not all of this ‘freelance writer salary’ will come directly back to you as some will go into taxes, business expenses, and other overhead costs.)
- You want two weeks off for vacation and two weeks off for sick days/lazy days. You divide $100,000 by 48 weeks. You’re shooting for
You might think $40, $50 or $60 an hour sounds like a lot. But factor in taxes, business expenses, health insurance, retirement savings, vacation days and the fact that you’re hustling for work 5, 10 or however many unpaid hours a week, and you’re lucky if you take home $20, $25 or $30 an hour.
Resources like this are helpful to figure out your freelance writing salary, but they don’t always tell you exactly what you should charge, especially if you’re wondering how much should you charge for a 1000 word article.