Freelance work -- what to charge?

[Dan Rydell]

I've got a friend who has a small advertising agency and wants me to do some freelance writing and editing for him.

Anyone know what the going rates are, both for writing and for editing?

 

[Dan Rydell]

Depends on the work. How much writing? What kind of assignments?

Have no idea yet. It's being sent to me tomorrow.

I'm looking for ballpark figures on hourly rates.

 

[zeke12]

Double what you get from newspapers for an ad agency.

They pay real money.

 

[mike311gd]

Double what you get from newspapers for an ad agency.

They pay real money.

As opposed to the money newpapers provide us so we can pay for our gas and a quick trip to Wendy's -- but not enough for a Frosty.

 

[zeke12]

Hey, you wanted a Frosty, you should have gone to law school, pal.

 

[audreyld]

I write at $.40/word and edit at $30/hour.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.

 

[andykent]

I write at $.40/word and edit at $30/hour.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.

UT,

That is VERY good. Other than maybe SI or other magazines of that caliber (and with deep pockets) I don't know anyone who pays that well. What you're saying is if someone asks you to do a 1,000-word story you are charging them $400? Having secured work for over 10 different outlets I can tell you that $200 for a 1,000-word story is considered more than fair, with $150 being the standard.

And yes, most freelance gigs pay per assignment, not per hour.

 

[audreyld]

I write at $.40/word and edit at $30/hour.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.

UT,

That is VERY good. Other than maybe SI or other magazines of that caliber (and with deep pockets) I don't know anyone who pays that well. What you're saying is if someone asks you to do a 1,000-word story you are charging them $400? Having secured work for over 10 different outlets I can tell you that $200 for a 1,000-word story is considered more than fair, with $150 being the standard.

And yes, most freelance gigs pay per assignment, not per hour.

Sweet.

I've just gotten lucky. Too bad no one's paying me to write 1,000-word stories.

Anyhow, I didn't have any way to judge the market, because I don't do much writing. I do a fair bit of editing, but mostly I shoot.

 

[mike311gd]

Hey, you wanted a Frosty, you should have gone to law school, pal.

Well, ****. What would Dave Thomas do?

 

[da man]

I write at $.40/word and edit at $30/hour.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.

That's nothing if you ask Jones.

If you had high-end writers doing magazine work, say -- $2 a word is not uncommon -- then you could be looking at something like $5,000 or $10,000 for a single piece. A staffer writing something like ten or twelve stories a year is making a very comfortable living (hence the exclusive part). Plus, that's a lot less organizational work than hustling out someone for three or four stories a week.

As I told Jones when he made that post, I just want to live in his world for awhile.

 

[lono]

My stuff in the last year has ranged from roughly $.30 a word to $2 a word.

There's a ton of money to be made doing freelance writing, I'm telling you. Ad agencies, corporate brochures, web sites, annual publications, trade publications ... on and on and on.

It's just we get brainwashed working at newspapers, so we think we should be treated like the undead and paid accordingly.

 

[trifectarich]

Anyone who agrees to do a 1,000-word story for $150 or $200 is screwing themselves. That's poverty level. As someone who hires freelancers on a regular basis, I'd have writers hang up on me if I offered that kind of pay. No, let me correct that; I wouldn't offer that kind of payment in the first place.

Anyone who wants to write for me at those prices, by all means, let me know. You can have all the assignments you want and my Accounting folks will love me.

 

[earlyentry]

How about this: I'm headed to a football game for$65. He asked what my fee was and, having done a previous game for around that amount, I said $65. It's for a feature story (guessing 400-600) and a notebook. Thoughts? As a side, it's for a website.
I'm guessing I should've asked for more, but my experience isn't like a lot of freelancers. I'm about a year and a half out of college.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

How about this: I'm headed to a football game for$65. He asked what my fee was and, having done a previous game for around that amount, I said $65. It's for a feature story (guessing 400-600) and a notebook. Thoughts? As a side, it's for a website.
I'm guessing I should've asked for more, but my experience isn't like a lot of freelancers. I'm about a year and a half out of college.

I'd say you should have asked for more, but it depends on the size / notoriety of the site you're working for. I'm stringing for an 80K paper and get $60 for a 400 word feature, $50 for 300 word gamer. I graduated in May and am doing this for beer / gas money as I look for jobs. In college I got $100 for doing a 500 word game and notebook for a 200k paper. Always aim high, editors can always talk you down, but it's easier to negotiate if you start high.

 

[Dan Rydell]

In my case, I'm more interested in anyone who has ever done freelance editing and charged by the hour.

Anyone done that?

My friend, an artist/designer, used to charge $50/hour himself when he was doing freelance, and that was 10 years ago.

 

[earlyentry]

Goodwin, I'm still happy about going to D-1 game and making $65. It's a helluva better way to make some extra cash than valet parking, which I did in high school and some years in college. Plus, clips are pricless for someone like me (unemployed).

 

[da man]

I did a sider from a pro game two weeks ago for a major metro, 500 words for $300.

 

[earlyentry]

I did a sider from a pro game two weeks ago for a major metro, 500 words for $300.

That's a good day's work. And if you can do that every Sunday, even better.

 

[da man]

I did a sider from a pro game two weeks ago for a major metro, 500 words for $300.

That's a good day's work, IMO.

Admittedly, that's the way high end for that kind of work. I'm usually in the $150 range.

 

[Jones]

I write at $.40/word and edit at $30/hour.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.

That's nothing if you ask Jones.

If you had high-end writers doing magazine work, say -- $2 a word is not uncommon -- then you could be looking at something like $5,000 or $10,000 for a single piece. A staffer writing something like ten or twelve stories a year is making a very comfortable living (hence the exclusive part). Plus, that's a lot less organizational work than hustling out someone for three or four stories a week.

As I told Jones when he made that post, I just want to live in his world for awhile.

The easy advice is, just jump from newsprint to glossies.

Any magazine with shiny paper that you can name -- as in, any glossy with some kind of newsstand presence -- would pay a buck a word as a rock-bottom minimum. I know "name" freelance writers who make four or five dollars a word. The trick is, magazines need fewer words than newspapers -- it's a tough nut to crack -- and they expect to get their money's worth. Send a marginal story to a magazine, and you're probably off their roster: There's good reason magazine writers might spend months on a single piece, and it's not just because we watch a lot of daytime TV, although that's part of it.

Also, you don't get paid extra for the weeks of harsh-eyed editing and fact-checking.

Which is why a salaried position is the magic bean, although then you have to lick closed all those perfume strips and blow in all those subscription cards. You wouldn't believe how cracked my lips are.