Hi I just got off email with a writer (Indian) who used to occasionally help me out with writing jobs a couple of months back. Here's the thing, she started out at the very bottom of the barrel. When I found her she was working for less than a cent a word. Now, she informs me just 2 months later that her rates have jumped to 7.5 cents a word, and she's been offered a "retainer" by five companies, each worth $1500 per month! That's $7500 for someone who could barely make a couple of hundred dollars a month. I am really happy for her and all, but here's the thing: She isnt even that great a writer! I went back and looked at some of the pieces she'd writen 2-3 months ago and they're what you would call "average." Not grammatically incorrect, but not exactly spell binding either. Just wanted to know what other DPers make of it. Is she delusional or is it possible to jump that far ahead after just a couple of months of writing? We all know there are writers making well over 10k a month, but I assume they're all print quality writers. And WHAT is a retainer?!!
A retainer is most likely a form of deposit. It is possible to be an average writer and charge over $0.07 per word. Most of selling writing to others is marketing, not the actual quality of the work. Of course you can't sell something you don't have, but if you are an excellent marketer, you can land pretty big fish with only "good" writing. There are many excellent, print quality writers who never make more than pocket change because they don't understand how to effectively market their skills. I hope your friend is truly finding success with her writing, and know that many writers do improve over time. Like other careers, constant improvement is essential and almost inevitable. If the numbers work out correctly, she will be writing anywhere from 200-400 500-wd articles for that amount per month. That breaks down to 6-12 a day, every day. A decent amount of work for that sum of money. Congrats to her! (I'm an eternal optimist and would like to believe it's true.)
Well, if she's really doing it, she's obviously not delusional. Yes, it's possible. Not likely, but possible. 7 1/2 cents per word really isn't a lot in a general sense, depending on the type of writing and clients. Also remember, just because you think she's an "average" writer, it doesn't mean she's average in what she's doing. A lot of types of writing (from business writing to SEO articles) don't require a writer to be "spellbinding" as you put it. It's not hard at all to earn a lot from writing even just on the Web. Most writers just don't know how to do it, and they don't participate in the right markets. Earning a lot has much more to do with the writer's marketing ability for their services than their actual writing. I have to admit I'm pretty skeptical that they really got five clients at that retainer level so quickly and apparently out of the blue. I don't know the writer, so can't speak to the this case, but it's not uncommon for writers to say things like that hoping to get other clients to pay more when it's not true. As to what a retainer is... it's a payment for a certain time period where a service provider is essentially "on call." For example, with my press releases, I offer 45-day retainer packages that cover a certain number of releases. Those clients get to pay a discounted rate, in advance, to have me on call to take on their press releases in that period before other orders that come in. I do a lot of retainers for my consulting work, but they're a bit less common for writers, who tend to work more on a per project basis.
Jenn and Rebecca are right on the money. There are many good writers who don't earn as much as they're worth because they absolutely have no idea how to market their services (I, myself, am still learning). You see, this is business. And one's writing ability is not the only factor which comes into play. She could very well be an "average writer" but be an outstanding sales person. I'm just curious, were you offering her a less then 1 cent/word gig when she told you all these?
Lay life Actually she was part of a large project I was handling a few months back and was being paid directly by the client. and yes, she was being paid those paltry rates (which is why it's even more astoundig that she hiked her rates that dramatically in a just couple of months) but it was a no brainer kind of job. I was only responsible for monitoring the work of all writers . A couple of weeks into the project she informed me that she got an offer writing 300 word articles for $2.75 per piece. This was in June for crying out loud! If it really is true then of course great for her, but I have to be skeptical regarding the 5 retainers worth $1500 each stuff! Also as I recall her marketing skills werent that impressive. In fact I distinctly remember one incident when I took a little more than 4 hours to respond to her email and she sent me an angry rejoinder saying, "what does it take for you to answer my email?!!!!" or something along those lines! Just doesnt seem like some one who knows the ins and outs of marketing in my opinion. If it's true, then you guys are right. It does take a lot more than great writing to make that kind of money. Any thoughts on how one can market one's writing better? I am currently in the process of setting up my site, with links to my work and all. Any other thoughts? I ask because it seems to have worked for you guys.
rayaan> I was actually asking if the reason why you have been in contact with her recently is because you're offering her a less than 1 cent/word gig. No offense, and I'm not discounting the possibility that these may all be true, but it might also have been a brush-off. It's either she's trying to get you to raise her rates or she just might not want to work with you anymore but can't think of an eloquent and polite way to say it. I say this because I've come across another writer who admitted to doing something similar. Still, it may be true, and if it is, then good for her.
Nope, I was actually getting in touch with her to offer her more than that and for an entirely different project, but i can't afford her present rates if those are true!!
It actually sounds like a story I'm almost sure was made up by another writer around DP recently. PM'd you to see if it's the same writer (just to satisfy my curiosity). As for how to market your writing more effectively, some of the big keys are: 1. Network (with other writers, members of your niche / industry, and potential clients) 2. Establish authority or expertise in your niche (you should be specializing in one to a few niche topics you're knowledgeable about if you want to increase your income, especially quickly). 3. Set up a decent portfolio. It doesn't have to be anything snazzy, as long as it's a real portfolio (not just a member page on some freelance site for example), and has links to (or copies of, if appropriate) some of your better or more recent pieces. You can feel free to chat with some of us more on writing issues and marketing your writing at my writing forums. And check out the publicity / marketing section of AllFreelanceWriting.com for weekly tips.
It depends on her experience and what she is writing about. I know once I started writing about only one specific subject, my pay rate increased by seven times what I was previously making.
it always makes me laugh the amounts that i see people working for on forums and for decent projects. the fact is that most people devalue their work and worth. they then devalue copy writing full stop if your a decent writer why cant you choose what your customers pay for an article? or any work that you do? go offline and find work as well as online youll be suprised that there is work and you will get paid what you are worth. 100 to 150 dollars for some customers here in the UK is reasonable. daily rates are $500 at least for decent writers up to $750 Kind Regards Stephen Doyle email: web: ccuk-ltd.com Killer Copy Writing Super Human Sales Training Direct Marketing
well as others have already said, it is possible if she has been developing her expertise in one area or say 2-3. then her pay rates can definitely increase because you see, when you just concentrate on one area or a few of them, your knowledge in that particular field increases manifolds as compared to what others have. So that pays. But many a times, many people do opt for these sorta techniques to increase the pay rates for their existing clients or X-Clients which i personally feel is very unethical and cheap. It's always better to be crystal clear with your clients as its a mutual relation and both needs to be comfortable with each other. If you are not comfortable, you wont be able to work with each other. So if, there is a need for hike in payments, a writer should communicate that to the client and I am sure, if the client likes the job and the writer, he will do increase as much as he can afford, now if that works fine, the writer should be happy and still if it doesn't then that can again be communicated. In this way, the relation doesn't get spoiled for any future correspondences as well. Regular Communication is the key to 99% of the problems.
If you're determined, you can achieve that income level and even more. TIME + EFFORT + COMMITMENT = SUCCESS. Best of luck to ya!