Frustrated as an American writer...

I've said this here before, but I'll say it again for the new writers b/c of yet another common misconception here in this thread.

$15 / hour as a freelance writer can NOT be compared to the same amount earned at a regular job! They're not the same thing. They're not even close. So yes... many of these writers, in the long run, would be better off working at a McDonalds. I'm not getting into the math and details again, but here are the basic reasons:

1. "Working hours" and "billable hours" are not the same thing if you're managing an even mildly professional freelance writing career (even part-time). You therefore automatically reduce that rate - $15 / hr is the rate per billable hour. You need to break it up to cover ALL working hours (including those on admin and financial issues, marketing, networking, etc.).

2. Freelancers pay additional taxes that employees aren't responsible for (in the US) - normally you pay a portion and your employer pays a portion. As a freelancer, you serve both roles, and you're legally required to pay it all.

3. As small as the expenses can seem, they do exist, and they do add up - employees don't have that.

4. There are no added benefits (insurance, vacation time, bonuses, sick days with pay, etc.) as a freelancer. All of that is extra and needs to be accounted for in your rates.

If you get into freelancing thinking you can compare it to a "normal" job, you're setting yourself up for failure in the long haul.

 

When I first started looking for online writing jobs I took a couple of low paying jobs that paid me 2 cents a word. I learned how much time was required to do high quality work in diverse subjects. I realized very quickly that I was crazy for working for low wages and producing great content that took x amount of time. I raised my rates and lost a couple of clients. One client that remained raised my wage and did it twice more without me asking. With this experience I realized that there were good employers out there that recognized quality content. I learned to not be afraid to turn down a job because it pays poorly.

All that said I have found that the print employers will pay more for good content. I also think that Digital Point has a reputation, right or wrong, as a place where cheap content can be bought.

There are some jobs that I see posted on the job board on here that I apply for because I would really love to write for that subject, like videogames, movies, shows and technology. I'm lucky to have some great clients that pay me a decent wage for my content. I am always looking for new opportunities but I will also not work for someone that tries to pay me an unfair wage. I think this strategy works well for me and for the writing industry as a whole because if employers realized that paying decent wages for content was the norm and not the exception then it would benefit all writers.

 

Jenn is right on all these points. My gut feeling is that the majority of new writers that appear on DP are not long-term writers; they are looking to make a few dollars for what they consider is free time. I also think that these new writers consider working at home a privilege somehow and it's valued into the prestige of their new part-time job, like staying at a computer at your home is worth more per hour of work than a McJob.

There is a huge turnover in writers looking for work in the content section, at least from my viewpoint, in the year that I have been on DP. I think all of the reasons Jenn outlined in her post factor into the turnover rate being that way.

 

But what about those writers who do want to stick with it, but for education reasons, cannot go full-time year-round with freelance writing? I'm furthering my education, so 6-8 months a year, I can only do freelance writing part-time, while the other 4-6 months, I can go full-time with it. Granted, I'm young, but I am a good writer, so I really feel like this is a "job" that plays to my strengths--more so than a job at the local burger joint would. And I plan on continuing with it in the long-run.

I obviously have the drive and the writing ability to produce quality content, but since I am young and am still in college, I'm struggling with how to market myself. How do I attract clients that will pay fair wages? Where do I look for them? I've tried Elance, RentACoder, GetAFreelancer, all to no avail. Where else is there?

 

It sounds like you have only sought work that is online. If you really want to find good paying writing jobs go buy a copy of the latest Writer's Guide Market. Send out contact queries to the editors of magazines. Almost all of them pay far better than the going online rates. If you have samples and they show that you are a decent writer there is work to be found. That is the easiest answer to your question that I can think of, otherwise, you have to do what all of us have done: build up a client list and never stop looking for new clients. I am always looking for new work but I haven't marketed myself as wisely as Jenn, internetauthor or the other talented people on here that have online websites promoting their skills and past experience.

 

I never started really low. But then I started at an agency and when I left I started freelancing with experience. I don't do as much article writing as I do ads and content for websites and seo. And either people want it to convert and grab attention or they pay for filler.

There are quality paying jobs here and some wonderful clients have found me. I've also gotten great referrals. I wish I could take all of them. But freelancing is also about managing your time so that the client actually gets the goods. And if you overbook, there will be unhappy clients.

This argument is batted around again and again. Jenn patiently posts her wisdom. She also has a article on her blog regarding the rates you charge and why. It's a good one. Jenn, you have that link?

 

Setting Freelance Writing Rates the Right Way

Is that the one you mean?

As for Web vs print gigs, I've found that Web gigs can pay just as much and are far easier to get (and quicker on the payment and publishing fronts). So if you want to stick to Web work, there's no reason you shouldn't. But you won't find most of the good gigs by "looking" - especially on forums and those lousy outsourcing sites.

Don't act like those other writers bidding - set yourself apart. Create your portfolio around your specialty (if you don't have something, write for a nonprofit, launch your own blog, etc.). Spend your forum time mostly posting about your area of expertise. For example, I get a lot of gigs for press release writing just because I post here with tips, advice, and release reviews.

If you demonstrate that you know your subject matter, people are willing to pay more for you. It's extremely rare anyone approaches me from here and then scoffs at my rates (on that note, they should be public, and laid out as much as possible in an ideal case, even if in ranges - why? - you'll keep clients who can't afford you away, and you'll attract the more serious clients who understand the value).

Stop looking. Start helping. And keep networking. It's not a quick process. But if you want it to be a long-term career possibility, there's very little way around it.

Maybe you should join a content network - not ideal, but you'll gain some respect, meet a lot of writers, make other connections, establish yourself as a niche expert, etc.

 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice.

 

I've got a few more points to add.

Be selective in your work. Evaluate periodically and eliminate types of work that are not very productive or paying well or consume too much time.

Work in areas that you know intimately or love doing is better even if wages are lower.
Because it's easier and more fun and clients will be happier because of the higher quality of articles.
Which leads to higher reputation for you and better chances of pay increases.

 

I agree, I've just started being a bit more selective, and I'm liking it, and some of my clients are too.

 

I find good copywriting jobs for people/agencies in the UK by cold-calling companies. I sell other services too, so it's a case of finding what the companies are in the market for. I'd estimate that out of around 4-500 calls per week I find about 2 leads for copywriters. I think pay is £100-250 per day. Would this work in the US?

By the way respect to the person who can write 3 x 500 words in an hour! I write bits of copy but mainly creative and reckon that 1,000 words a day is an excellent rate.

 

Again, an incredibly interesting thread. I find it hard to know exactly what to think; I agree that writers shouldn't undersell themselves or their talents, but also know how incredibly competitive the field can get. It's overcrowded, and there's always someone who needs a job more desperately than you, who's hungrier, who'll go lower.

If I were commissioning content, I'm sure I'd choose someone charging a cheaper rate, too, if the quality seemed at least "good enough" in all cases.

I made the point a couple of posts back that I really believe there are many who couldn't actually judge superlative writing, and I think that still holds; but by the same token the argument that you "get what you pay for" is clearly invalid, too.

I have to say that, reading this thread, I've been really impressed by the skills of mccar2185 - who's only 15, I think? Great stuff, and wonderful to see someone so young bucking an obvious trend towards increasingly poor use of English... but what I was going to say was that I'm sure I'd be perfectly happy with content he / she provides for the very low rates mentioned. There's obviously no quality-price correlation.

What's more, the really confusing thing about all this is that I think it IS fair to assume that, when you're starting out, charging less is the only real way to get a foot on the ladder. After all, that's exactly what happens in just about every other industry, and is certainly the case with 'regular', full-time employment. Why should someone new to writing believe any different?

I very rarely take on paid writing assignments these days; I don't write quickly enough (at least, to standards I consider acceptable!) to make it worth my while in terms of what I can charge in the face of the massive competition we're all agreed exists. So I moved into other areas.

However, before I decided to do this, I found that the best assignments came through specialist media agencies who WERE prepared to pay very good money for quality content - as much as £15-£20 an hour (they tend to pay hourly rather than per word, etc, but you'll often work at a client's premises). Double that, approximately, for a US dollar rate - so not bad at all.

What's more, I got a lot of repeat work this way - clients report back to the agency, and if they're happy, the process continues. It's the fact that I had to take on far less well-paid jobs between the good ones that eventually made me decide enough was enough!

But I'd certainly urge anyone to check such agencies out if you haven't already. A good way to build up portfolios, too, because the the best of these companies represent extremely high-profile clients.

Just a thought. And I really do wish everyone luck.

 

Hey donot be depressed , I can very well understand your feelings.But remember one thing Quality allways at Top. Cheap writers wonts survive and you will be winner one day.Donot bother for money only try to do good work.

Keep yourself busy


Regards

Alex

 

adnewbie... the problem isn't that you shouldn't expect to earn more later as a writer. Your income certainly does grow with time.

The mistake most of these new writers make is in going too low in the beginning, because:

A) They assume it's easy to raise your rates significantly later. (It's not. Most who try won't do it successfully.)

B) They charge too little to cover their needs, because they don't know what freelance rates really are compared to "regular" rates working as an employee.

C) They don't have enough business and marketing sense before jumping in to educate themselves about the real markets out there. They simply assume cheap content is the way to go, because that's what they see others doing so often publicly. (There's a reason many higher paid writers and clients aren't as publicly accessible, and available mostly through networking.)

It's never a good idea to position yourself in a service-oriented business based solely, or even primarily, on being the low-price option. Once you attach that stigma to yourself, it's very unlikely you'll ever break free from it (which limits your growth potential, and lumps you in with new writers and amateur rates far longer than you should be).

 

The only thing I wanted to add was that you have to remember the situation that some of us are in. It's not like I'm scoffing at a 5 cent a word job for a 1 cent a word job. It's usually a choice of work or don't. I'm working on marketing myself and building contacts, but it isn't that easy for an 18 year old to make the commitments necessary.

Let me just explain. I have a choice. I can work online for a self-guaranteed $10 an hour (usually above $15) or I can work at McDonald's or a local country club. The McDonald's would require me to waste about a gallon of gas to work for minimum wage at a job I'd hate with people I'd probably dislike. The country club actually pays below minimum wage since they offer an employee discount card that the government sees as something that's as good as cash. If I work at home I'm improving my typing skills, blowing off steam, learning internet entrepreneurship, preparing for future affiliate marketing, saving money on gas, and generally having a better time.

I am trying to get into higher paying fields, but it is difficult and it is less time consuming to also take on SEO jobs for 1 cent a word while also providing higher quality writer at higher prices.

Finally, it always bugs me when you point out the "real" wage thing for a 1 cent a word writer. Most of us do not do this "professionally." I will probably not make above $5,000 and therefore will not pay taxes. If I did, my deduction would cover the majority of the taxes and leave me without much income. I also don't see how an SEO writer has much in non-billable hours. Communication takes a minute or so and I can check the entire day's worth of job postings in about 5-10 minutes. The whole reason it's profitable is because the SEO work itself doesn't require much marketing.

Just my 2 cents though.

 

On the tax issue, I think you're missing something. You have to report and pay taxes even on $5000 or under as a freelancer. That's not some magic number. It sounds like you're thinking only about the income tax portion - not the self employment tax portion of things (even under $5000, you're still going to pay those added taxes, and your income tax deductions don't stop that).

Those who don't have many non-billable hours aren't ones trying to run a legitimate, long-term "career," which is what I've always said.

And yes, it requires marketing to do SEO writing. The larger competition pool ensures that. I have writers constantly coming to me privately here or through my blog begging for me to tell them how they can get enough gigs to fill X number of hours, because they can't seem to market themselves well enough to do it. And those are the $.01 / word and similar writers trying to start a "career," who think the low rates are how you're "supposed" to start. I've been working with those kinds of writers helping them get out of it for a few years now, so I can tell you it's a VERY large group. I think you're really underestimating how many writers here and in similar situations are writing at that level hoping to "make it big" someday.

I've never really cared about the amateur / "hobby" writers who just want to make a few quick bucks. They very rarely survive at it for more than a few months to a few years before they burn themselves out and are replaced by the next cheap writer. My comments are always directed at those taking writing more seriously as a career option.

 

This is how I feel about logo design. Years ago, you could charge $500-1500 depending on the client, for a logo with several variations. Today, you can just go to some chump with 3 months' Photoshop experience and get one for $15, and that is somehow acceptable to a lot of people.

 

With the tax burden and the general expenses of running a business you would have to earn 3 times your pay from a regular job to make the same level of net income as a freelancer.

 

Sorry, I was going to let this one go but I feel a need to clarify my position.

From the IRS website.

It's a gray line but part-time writers at my level don't seem to count as freelancers in the eyes of the IRS. I've always seen that I would only be responsible for declaring it as miscellaneous income on my tax returns if I file one. If I ever do earn more than $600 with one customer I believe that would count but I'd still just send in a form stating that I did not pay taxes last year and would not earn more than my standard deduction this year. Not exactly sure how the whole foreign country issue would factor in though.

 

You're still legally a freelancer. Call the IRS if you need further clarification. Having requirements from a client doesn't constitute "control" by IRS standards (which is more about where you work - like forced to work in their offices, the times you're required to work during the day, etc.). I'll bet your clients aren't withholding taxes from your pay, right? You're a freelancer; part-time or not.

Also from the IRS website:

and...

- your clients don't "control" anything but the result (by telling you exactly what they want - you decide what hours to write, where you'll write from, whether you'll accept certain billing methods, etc.).

btw... I used to cover the issue of consulting and freelancing extensively for the About.com network (and have continued to elsewhere), so this is a subject I'm very intimately familiar with.