Freelance Writing Tips: How much should you charge?

One of the number one questions asked by new freelance writers is this: how much should I charge?

High or low?
When you're first starting out, it can be hard to know what to charge. It's tempting to try and make your prices as low as possible to try and attract clients, but try to avoid this if you can. If you start out low it can be almost impossible to get people to accept a price rise. Far better to price yourself a little higher and then either negotiate down, or offer discounts.

How much do you NEED to charge?
When you're working out how much to charge, think about how much you need to make in a month. Remember to factor in costs such as electricity, your internet connection, travel, telephone calls… As a business owner, you have to cover all of these costs, and also feed and clothe yourself.

Work out what your costs are each month, and then calculate what you need to make to cover those costs. Now work out how much work you're likely to bring in during the month. You should be getting close to an idea of how much you should be charging. For example, if your expenses total $800 per week, that's a lot of $5 articles you'll have to write.

Charging by the hour, by the project, by the day
Some writers bill by the hour, and some bill by the project. Some prefer a combination of the two, offering set-price services (a per-page charge for proofreading, for example) and an hourly or daily charge for projects which fall out with these services (ghostwriting a novel, writing a feature). The method you use is up to you.

No matter how you decide to charge, however, bear these points in mind:

 Get a clear brief
Before you start work on a project, make sure that you know exactly what the client wants. If at all possible, get it in writing. There is nothing more frustrating than finishing a first draft, only to find that the client has completely changed his mind.

 Decide how many sets of revisions will be included in the price
When you quote a client a set fee for a project, specify the amount of revisions this includes. Many writers will allow the client to request three sets of revisions, for example, for the fee they've been quoted. Once those three sets of revisions have been completed however, the client starts to incur further charges if they need more. By doing this, you help to ensure that your client doesn't end up with twelve hours of work for the price of two. (If you have a very indecisive client, this can happen, believe me).

 Have a "kill fee"
Imagine the scene: you've just spent an entire week working on a client's project, when they call and say they changed their minds, and they no longer require a brochure/ebook/press pack after all. But you already put in the work! What do you do?

This is where a kill fee comes in. Your kill fee specifies how much you will charge (normally a percentage of the final fee) if the customer cancels on you at the last minute. It's very important to have a kill fee in place to protect you from time wasters. Trust me on this one, too.

So, do you know how much to charge yet? No? Try this:

 Find out how much your competitors are charging.
This will give you a good idea of the market value of what you're providing

 If you're in the UK, check out the National Union of Journalists' Guide to Freelance Fees, at

 In the US, check out WritersMarket.com 's "How Much to Charge":

Comments

[Kat Dawes]

Thank you! Some great points.

I found it useful as I'm currently trying to work out my process - exactly what I'll need to do for each client, from pitching to getting a brief etc. The money/maths bits bore me so it's great to have some help with that side of things.