Get Paid To Freelance

writing is something passionate to me and doing it is my happiness because it can bring changes in life.if i will write for low fees and people are happy for my writing it fine and i will be happy too.we all in life have to start from some where.

I am simply tring to figure out how in the world I can get started. I would love to wite and get paid, I only need to figure it all out.

Sharon,

I know this is a post from last year, but wanted to comment on it anyway.

For those writers who are content with low pay for their writing, I would say that you have a nice hobby and you should absolutely pursue it with your whole heart. When anything we do that benefits others gives us such pleasure, we should go for it.

However, writers who want to make a living at doing what they love have no choice but to view their writing as a business. It’s a mindset more than anything.

If we lived in a world where landlords, mortgage companies, public utility companies, gas stations and car dealerships were not in business to make money, but to just help other people, then writers would not need to write for pay to support themselves. But the cold, hard reality is that our society is based on commerce. You provide a service, I pay you a fair price. I provide a service, you pay me a fair price.

For the sake of writers who are in business for themselves, then, I would say to those who write as a hobby to do so for free, for barter, or some other arrangement that doesn’t otherwise dilute the fee basis for the rest of us who DEPEND on writing income.

Don’t get me started on writers from developing nations who are able to live on $500 a month, so charge distressingly low fees. That, more than anything, has driven down the fee basis.

Okay. Stepping down off my soapbox.

Deb Gallardo

The Story Ideas Virtuoso’s last blog post..Creative Writing Ideas From a Cat Video

Delighted to discover this site.Am dying to write too. A lot of issues on my mind I need to share with the reading world. Perhaps when I start and I achieve communication maxim then I can talk about getting paid. Any ideas on where to start? Anyone…?
Kudos to Writers out there.Your sensitizing job can never be quantified!

I was hoping to see some dollar figures on what writers are charging for their services vs. the $30 for the 500 word article mentioned in the post. I work from home writing web content, press releases and news articles for article submission sites/directories and news wires, and I’m currently charging $25 per hour. FYI. Anyone care to share what they are charging clients for their writing services? Thanks.

Susan

$25 to 30 is on the low end when it comes to regular jobs IF you don’t get a good number for projects a month. Freelance is somewhat of a gamble to me. That said I still take that risk because writing is fun.

These comments about rates for freelance are interesting. I have been freelancing full time for about 3 years now, but writing for a long time with many article clips. I recently moved to a new area (Bay Area, San Francisco), and so far am being paid a wide range of rates, including several hundred dollars for editing web site pages, $75 for an article for a large newspaper, and $200 for editing a brochure. I was just turned down for web site writing job that would have been at least $1000 for my hourly rate of $50 an hour. The client really liked my writing but couldn’t afford the fee, but I felt felt it was quite fair given the huge project. I think this shows that much of it depends on the client. Is it OK to change your rates depending on the client? I would think one would have to in order to make a living. Do you always charge by hourly fee for a more project oriented assignment? Just wondering how other folks price things….

I spent the last 20-plus years writing commercially at advertising and public relations agencies. Having reached a fairly senior management level, I gained experience developing proposals with budgets.

Now in the freelance realm, I’m appalled at the rates paid and at the levels writers bid. Compared to commercial entities, the rates we’re discussing here connote a lack of professionalism.

Say you’re going to write a 500-word piece on a topic that’s new to you. You’ll probably spend 15 to 30 minutes researching the topic. You may need to spend 10 minutes or so familiarizing yourself with the writer’s guidelines. Then, if you’re good, you’ll spend a bit of time thinking about the slant and structure of the piece–and your lead and title. Then you start writing. Proofing. Rewriting.

At $30 an article, what are you making on an hourly basis? You’d be better off signing up as waitstaff at a local restaurant.

I absolutely agree. Don’t get ripped off. Why work for free?

When I left a top London university with a good degree in English and some good student journalism experience, I was told I would have to work for free for a year if I wanted to get a paid job in journalism. Who can afford to do that? I just couldn’t – and wouldn’t – accept it. It’s exploitation.

Instead, I found a full-time job in social research, and work my nights as a freelance writer. It took a long time (and it’s damn tiring), but I managed to get a shoe in writing for a regional in the Channel Islands. I earn about £75 per 500-1000 words. This works out at about £15 per hour. I’m only 21 years old, so I think that’s really good.

Some of my friends are still slogging away for free.

Yes, that’s right and I think many of us start with low paid jobs. We move up as soon as we can, though