Crunching the Numbers: Setting Your Freelance Writing Rates

What You Really Need to Charge for Your Freelance Writing

So my point is this... make sure you're being realistic in your expectations. Don't set your rates on what you think the market can bear. Set them based on what you need to earn to make a solid living after taxes. If the market won't bear those rates, then you're targeting the wrong market... simple as that. Make sure you understand how to crunch the right numbers. It's completely different than hourly rates when working for someone else as an employee. You also have to account for additional self-employment taxes (at least in the US) and business expenses (all of your basic office supplies, travel time to meet clients, software, added health insurance costs etc.), so you need to adjust your income properly.

Writers always talk about wanting to earn a "6 figure income." Do the math and see what you'd have to do to get there, hour-wise, price-wise, etc. Once you know what needs to be done, it'll be a heck of a lot easier to figure out how much to charge per article or per word (because you know how much you can get done within an hour's time on average). You just have to know the facts, and then work at it... and don't fall for the hype and incorrect assumptions about what's "standard". $5-10 / article is NOT a standard rate for writing, and if you honestly believe that, you'll never be more than a "starving writer" in most locations. Target the appropriate market, build your skills, and market yourself effectively and you'll be earning much more in no time... and still have a lot of extra free time to spare.