Freelance Writing Questions: Setting Rates

One aspect of freelancing that always stymies new writers is how to set the right rate for the freelance writing job. In fact, even experienced writers who are bidding on a new area might have difficulty. A post the other day on rates for blog posting provoked some discussion. There are a few resources that I use when trying to decide what rate to charge for writing.

Writing Rates In Canada

If you want an easy ready reckoner, then check out Writers.Ca, which has a rundown on professional rates for different types of writing. Writers.ca admits that there are large discrepancies between the rates offered depending on location and experience but it is a good starting point. It’s also close enough to US rates to be useful to American writers (or those who write for American clients, like me :) )

Writing Rates In The US

The National Writer’s Union provides detailed information on rates actually paid for writing through an online database. The catch is that you have to be a member to get the latest information. However, you can see what writers were being paid in 1999, and the NWU even tells you how to work out what that should equate to today. Writer’s Market also gives guidelines, but this information is now available only to members.

Writing Rates In The UK

For UK writers, the National Union of Journalists provides two great resources. The freelance fees guide gives the NUJ’s suggested minimums for several types of journalistic work. However, it’s also worth checking out the rate for the job database, which shows what freelancers are actually earning for the writing they do. That database is updated regularly. Finally, if none of these resources helps you, use your research skills and see what other writers are charging for particular types of writing. Take their rates as a guide, look at their samples and see whether your experience and skills will allow you to charge more, less or the same. Take an average across a couple of sites for best results. Finally, as a follow up to my recent post on writing income, there are two more posts to read. One is from the Web Content Copywriting blog on Setting Writer Rates. See also Rachel Kaufman’s post on negotiating writing rates. Got more freelance writing questions? Ask them here.