How Much Per Word??? HELP!!!

upsidedowngrl

Noelle Nolan
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I have been applying for freelance writing jobs and some of the questions that come back to me is how much do I charge per word. I'm not sure of the correct answer for that. Apparently my answer isn't the right one because I either never hear from them again or they say they can not afford that rate. My rate is 10 cent per word. Is that too much?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Mei
 

speel00

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The standard to start out with is $0.01 cent per word, but some are more willing and open to higher pay. What it really comes down to is the company or person you work for.
 

treehugger

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Oh, honey, don't write for a penny a word, even if your a rank newbie. Unless, I guess, it's a market you really, really, really want to break into or you can write the material really, really, really fast. A penny a word is $5 for a 500 word article. Your time and energy is worth more than that.

My first paid writing gig online paid 5 cents a word, which is still pretty paltry, but is was on a topic I enjoyed writing about and I could use the finished piece as a good clip later. I think 5-10 cents a word is a decent rate for someone just starting out.
 

Fatal Serenity

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I've been reading Jenna Glatzer's book, "How to Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer". For anyone that wants to or already is in the freelance writing market, this is a MUST READ. Within the past three days I've learned about everything from payrates and negotiations to finding and researching the right magazine.

According to my research, 5-10 cents is the lowest you should go unless you really need a couple of clips and aren't worried about little-to-no pay. However, if you do settle for 5-10 cents/word do yourself a favor and make sure you only allow the publisher first electronic rights (that is if you're online, print would be first print rights). Also, if you write for this publisher again, you would certainly want to try to get paid more next time. If you settle for 5 cents for your first article, push for 10 on the next.

Again, read the chapter about negotiations in Jenna's book and I guarentee most of your questions on this topic will be answered.
 

upsidedowngrl

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I Need to Know ASAP

Hi everyone, I'm a freelance writer and have been off the scene for quite a while now. I'm back and ready to write once again.

I posted a similar question earlier.

How much is the normal going rate for a 500 word article? I don't want to charge too much to deter the client. I used to work for him on an hourly rate but now its on a per article rate. And he has asked me a price per article.

Thank you for all your help.

Mei
 

Autodidact

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I'm sorry, I don't think there is any one answer to this question. It depends on the size and audience of the publication, as well as your background and time investment. I would say it could be from $0-500.
 

blueobsidian

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My going rate depends on a combination of the prestige of the publication and the time an article will take. Five hundred words on something I specialize in will take much less of my time than five hundred words I have to research or interview for.
 

cllorentson

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Mei,

I found this page online, http://eileenmenguito.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/standard-writers-fees/ that lists some standard writing fees. It's from Nov 2008, but not so long ago that it wouldn't at least give you an idea of what to charge.

The annual Writer's Digest also lists the standard writer's fees in its appendix.

Hope that helps,

Callie Lorentson
 

RainbowDragon

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Whatver you decide, if you frame it per word, it sounds like much less than it is - would you rather pay $.25/word or $125 for a 500 word article? :)
 

Gozzy

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Like everyone else says, there are many variables and the range is massive. I've done 500 words for as much as $1,000 and as low as $50.

Why not figure out how long it will take to research, write and edit and then apply your base hourly rate to work out how much to charge as a minimum project fee?