Comments on: FWJ Poll: What Do You Consider a Fair Wage

By: LinseyK

LinseyK — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:45:39 +0000

My situation is similar to MM. I have 4 core clients, adding one or two temporary projects from time to time. I work between 25-30 hours a week, take care of my 4 kids (who are at home), and I also homeschool. I may be able to work for less than others, but I am saving over the cost of putting them in daycare. Writing takes much less time than other duties, and I spend the major portion of my day networking, communicating, and brainstorming/research. I also do most of my writing in the early and late portions of the day, saving the 9-5 hours for communication.

Work fluctuates, with some days having several pieces due at one time. I try to space things out, but those days can be very stressful!

Linsey

By: MM

MM — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:38:15 +0000

Elizabeth –
I typically work between 34-40 hours per week to make that kind of money. Those hours include researching and writing, of course, but also the “business upkeep” of invoicing, job prospecting and sending out query/cover letters. Most weeks I earn in the $750 range; it reaches the $1,000 mark when I’m pretty much pulling my hair out from the stress, but of course depends on what projects I’m working on. And I have managed to keep the same core group of 5 clients for about the last year — all have constant work for me, and all pay very well. That’s how this has worked for me.
Thanks!
MM

By: UCrave « Tara Meacham

UCrave « Tara Meacham — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:04:41 +0000

[...] did this primarily because this content site allows applicants to list their rate. Empowered by the recent discussion over at FWG, I enjoyed the opportunity to suggest what my time is [...]

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:43:49 +0000

What LinseyK and MM have said is along the lines of what I am talking about when I said I am more interested in knowing how much people are making per year rather than per article and how many hours they are having to dedicate to the job in order to earn that salary. While one person may charge $10 for a 500 word article, that person may not have to spend a great deal of time with marketing, pitching for jobs, etc. So, that person may be making a handsome annual salary while working the same number of hours as a person who makes $100 per article. To that end, I would be more curious to know how many hours someone like MM is dedicating to his/her profession (not just the actual writing of the article) in order to make $1000 per week rather than how much a writer charges per hour. With that said, this has certainly been a very interesting poll. Thanks, Deb!

By: LinseyK

LinseyK — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:36:03 +0000

Momma,

Generally, because we are “experts” it is assumed that it should take no more than an hour. I would even say that it should take less than that, as I can do 2 an hour (more or less) of these types of articles. Every writer is different, but $200 an hour for “actual” writing time is not unreasonable. You have to remember that your billable hours are different than your writing hours. You still have to pay for your time spent marketing, job hunting, bill-collecting, insurance, vacation time, sick time, etc. When you figure all that in, $100-$200 an hour is not asking for too much for a freelancer that relies solely on their work to support themselves (or a family.)

That’s just my experience, however. I’m sure others have their own take on it.

By: Momma

Momma — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:24:46 +0000

How long are people taking to write these type of specialized articles? If it only takes 30 minutes, then the pay could be less. If it takes say 2 hours, the pay should be more… so really, the answer could vary depending on your specialty/niche.

By: Tara

Tara — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:19:19 +0000

If the $20 gigs are the only ones available (or seem to be), I accept them, even if they are not on a preferred topic. Truthfully, a lot of jobs at that level involve little to no research or regurgitating very basic information in a more prosaic way. I don’t think these would necessarily meet the criteria Deb originally posted (not Google job/expert article).

At my current level, I keep writing them to pay the bills. I am still at a full time publishing job, but even at the lower-paying level, my freelance income is approaching what I make at my day job. I am also still trying to build a diverse portfolio to exhibit an expert level on multiple topics. Recently (as in the last month), I started landing those $100+ gigs; I pitched my services and offered the price up front, to much success. I needed those well-written $20 articles to get the $100 gigs, which may prove the point that those articles are worth more than $20.

At this point, I’m not finding many $100 gigs advertised, but I am getting business from referrals before I even complete the jobs. I’m also confined to searching for them on evenings and a one hour lunch break. The $20 articles are the foundation of my ability to potentially consider this as a full time opportunity in the future, now that the income is rivaling that of my day job.

I also keep getting the feeling that my $100+ clients are sure they’ve found a ‘gem’ when they hire me. Perhaps that is also an indication of a potential increase in prices.

By: LinseyK

LinseyK — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:44:30 +0000

I had a hard time choosing just one pay range, so I went with the $30-40 (then I realized that this was too low.) It all depends on where and how the article will be used. For example:

A 500 word article on a typical blog might average $40-50, assuming you don’t have to link much.

If it’s an article for a corporate blog or a company website, then I’d expect at least $60, and more likely $100.

If it’s an article for a print magazine that is being published exclusively online, I’d expect somewhere around $200.

It also depends on how much work I’ll be getting, the length of the contract, and how pleasant the editors are. Nasty people aren’t worth working with at lower rates. Nicer clients that pay quickly and regularly are worth a discount.

My rates are so varied, that it is difficult to place a single rate on an article. I would guess that I’m making anywhere from $50 for a 500-word article (low end) all the way up to 5-7 cents a character (including spaces) for web content in the 500-word range.

Business is better now that the economy is turning, in my opinion. Freelancers are cheaper to keep, even at premium rates. And for all of you who think there is no $100+ work online, you are mistaken. I thought that too, at first. I set my rates at whatever I could get, and gradually, I found higher and higher rates with each new job. The key is to only accept higher paying, and never lower paying. Work your way up and replace the low-pay jobs as the high-pay come in.

I have found much of my very high paying work from the ad listings on places like this. Also from networking with other writers, writer’s forums, and from directly contacting websites that I know use freelance writers via LinkedIn. Just keep networking! If you can write, sell, and meet deadlines, the business will grow. Consider Reading the Well-Fed Writer books for inspiration on selling your self. It’s hard work, but really, really worth it.

Thanks for the awesome survey!

By: Momma

Momma — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:39:58 +0000

Jenn, what is Marcomm writing?

By: MM

MM — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:06:39 +0000

Deb,
I’ve been lurking on FWJ for a long time but just had to respond this time. Yes, the $100+ article gigs are out there, but the quality of the writing expected and knowledge required just won’t allow for the possibility of writing several of these per hour. I earn $.50/word for a steady gig I’ve had that requires specialized research from government sources and medical journals. The good part is, I earn up to $1,000 a week doing this. I realize I’m lucky (I’m also very disciplined), but I just can’t understand why anyone would accept a $5 or even $20 article gig. If you can write 50 of these a day, how good can the writing be?

By: wombat

wombat — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:00:16 +0000

Jenn: The difference is that for print, there are information sources where you can find where it’s worth trying to pitch/network/introduce yourself – where you can find out what pay rates are for different publications.

For the web, there doesn’t seem to be any such thing, and I’m not going to waste my time pitching a $100 rate to a site that for all I know pays $10.
Because suggesting a rate doesn’t mean they’ll magically decide to pay ten times what they were expecting to pay. I had an email once from a blogging gig saying “we’d love to have you, what are your rates” and when I told them, I never heard another peep out of them!

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:33:21 +0000

AC is a rip off, I’m sorry to say. I was offered $3.08 for a 600 word article. I was offered a little over a dollar for a 300-400 word article. Lately they have only offered “performance only” work. You get $1.50 for every 1000 views. To make $10, I’d have to have over 12000 viewers.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:26:09 +0000

I’m a medical writer/editor and generally am paid $0.50/word; this is considered cheap. I have one writer who is paid $0.80/word. Needless to say, based on my experience and if this was a gig of mine, I would be getting at least $250. The thing is…I’m not sure WHAT is a fair rate for a web article but am stunned at how low the rates are.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:15:06 +0000

I chose the $20-30 mark, but I think that as a student I am more willing to go for the lower paying jobs (either I’m desperate or I just don’t know what payment to ask for, take your pick )

I based my answer on how much I think I would have to be offered in order to consider writing 500 words to make it worth my while. In the case of a simple topic (opinions, etc) I would likely even write for less, where if it were a topic for which I needed to do some research and put a little extra effort into the article, I would expect to be paid accordingly.

By: All Freelance Writing: Your Freelance Writing Resource: » Freelance Friday - October 24, 2008

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:02:23 +0000

[...] FWJ Poll: What Do You Consider a Fair Wage? [...]

By: Momma

Momma — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:03:37 +0000

To those that are “pitching” to clients directly, how exactly do you do this? Send an email, a sample article? What do you say, etc.?

Thanks for any ideas!

By: Momma

Momma — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:03:14 +0000

To those that are “pitching” to clients directly, how exactly do you do this? Send an email, a sample article? What do you say, etc.?

Thanks for any ideas!

Momma
feature blogger at Engineer a Debt Free Life
http://engineeradebtfreelife.blogspot.com/

By: wombat

wombat — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:43:41 +0000

I’m one of the $100 or more votes. My work is for print, and none of it came from job boards. Like other posters have said, my best paying work came from either pitching myself or getting recommended to an editor. I’d also love to know where that $100 and more work is on the web – I’ve never been able to find it.

By: Leigh

Leigh — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:21:42 +0000

@ Avid Writer: I found the same thing. I tripled my rates and have more work than ever. They all pay on time, and don’t give me as much grief as the lower-paying clients did, either.

By: Louise

Louise — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:29:34 +0000

The jobs I mentioned above I found on job boards. One even gave me the topics to write on. But I am in the process of contacting clients directly. I agree that I will make more money with this approach.
I think it is better to set my own rates with a client instead of accepting a rate posted in an ad.

By: NinaNina

NinaNina — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:19:36 +0000

I submitted a vote for over $100. My best gigs pay 30 cents per word, plus $50 per photograph. These are for print magazines that also run a web version. My pay rate does often dip below this level, however. For example, I just completed a six-month contract, writing fifty 750-word articles at $75 each.

By: Avid Writer

Avid Writer — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:52:11 +0000

I agree, Amy. Once I raised my rates (I voted $40-$50) I finally started finding clients willing to pay the rate I charged by pitching to them directly.

By: Amy Derby

Amy Derby — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:39:59 +0000

Deb, I would also like to add that part of the perception of “there aren’t better paying jobs out there” might be because (in my experience anyway) pay tends to be higher for folks who pitch clients and get gigs that way rather than relying on the job ads. It’s been a long while since I was on CL or similar sites every day, but I rarely saw any job ads like that (not that they’re not out there, but they’re certainly not the norm). So for a while I assumed the pay just wouldn’t be there for web based stuff. Once I started pitching around I found out there were plenty of folks willing to pay that rate. They just don’t seem to be the same folks posting ads. Still, this is on the corporate end, so that probably makes a big difference.

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:11:54 +0000

Louise – Just to clarify, I don’t believe the people are being dishonest or unrealistic. Most of the mail I receive is from people who want to break away from the cheap article mills. In the comments here and on forums all over the web most web writers complain of low wages and wish they can earn $30 an article or .10 per word. I don’t hear from many writers who earn $100 or more a gig at all. This is why I asked if $100 is what they’re earning or what they want to earn. Not because it’s that I don’t believe they earn this money but because the majority of writers I speak with tell me they don’t.

By: Louise

Louise — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:06:13 +0000

I find it interesting that when people voted for $100 or more that the assumption is that they are not being “realistic” or “honest.” Years ago I made $100 per article for Zooba.com and my rate per word was around 33 cents. Recently I invoiced a client for three articles at $100 each as agreed upon in the contract. This week I applied for a job that pays $200 for 500-650 word articles. All of these articles are for the Web. I know of several other websites that pay 25-50 cents a word but I haven’t contacted them. So yes, there is $100+ per article work available.