Freelance Limbo: Do You Know How You'll Go?

A couple of weeks ago I posted about an offer of several assignments from a (potential) client new to me. Want to know the rest of the story? 

My potential client assigned me four blog posts, with specific topics, and gave me a word count of 500 words for each; she then asked what I would charge for them. Deadline was four days. I expected each to take several hours, and emailed to tell her I'd be happy to do them for $200/each. 

That was too high for her; she countered with $50/each, for a total of $200. I offered to go as low as $150/post, but said that that's as low as I'm willing to go for original content. 

She never responded. 

So, I'm out of a $200 assignment, for 2,000 words--of original content. For $0.10/word? Well, I'm okay with ditching that bullet.  

In the meantime, I accepted three new assignments. One is for 700 words, $1,050, and will require some background reporting and three interviews. The second is for 2,000 words, pays $1,000 and will require significantly more reporting and legwork-but I'm willing to do it for $0.50/word. (Do I wish this market paid a higher rate? Of course, but I can't always control what a market will pay me.) And the third is a short piece, 350 words, for $650, about $1.85/word. It also has a tight deadline and will require some legwork, but I've already starting to pull the research and line up the experts I'll need. 

(For the record, I don't always get assignments that pay so well per-word. One of my regular clients pays about $0.35/word. Another pays about $0.30/word. But I know how long those assignments will take and can usually make close to my $100/hour rate regardless. And with ghostwriting projects, I'm usually paid per-project, not per-word.)  

So, I can't control how high (or low) a market will go. What I can control is how low I will go. And $0.10/word for original content? That's too low--at least for me, right now. 

My advice? Know how low you will go--and stick to it. Because if you're saying "yes" to poorly-paying work, you have less time to pursue the better-paying markets--and that will hurt you in the long run. 

**Want to know more about how to make more money as a freelancer? Check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, a freelancing classic that helps both new and experienced writers boost their bottom line. 
My newest  book,Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, shows writers how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field. And if you're brand-new to freelancing, I recommend Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. 

The Sell-your-First-Article Series: Steps 2 Through 5

Last post, I introduced the 14-step process to pitching, selling, researching, and writing an article--whether it's your first or your fortieth. Step 1 is coming up with an idea for an article--and if you read this blog, you already know that I always suggest you pitch something you're uniquely qualified to write. 

What comes after the idea? Finding an appropriate market for it. So let's move on to step 2: 

Step 2: Choose the market.

Idea in hand, I had to figure out where I could sell the story. In this case, I decided Fitness, a market aimed at fitness-conscious women in their 20s and 30s, would be a perfect fit, so I pitched it there first. In chapter 2, you learned about the different types of markets and how to locate potential ones.

I like to start with my “first choice” market (usually the market that pays the most, or that I’ve written for before), but I keep a list of other possible markets in the event my first choice says no. If that happens, I move on and resub the query to another market.

It’s easier than ever before to analyze a potential market; most print and online magazines now have their writers’ guidelines posted online. This is no substitute for actually reading the publication you hope to write for, however.

Review your target market with a critical eye. What subjects does it cover? What types of articles (i.e., features, profiles, service, and short pieces) does it include? How long are the articles? How many articles does a typical issue feature? Do the pieces rely on a lot of expert voices, “real” people (think anecdotal sources), or a combination of both? What kind of “tone,” or voice, does the market have?

Look at the ads, too; they will tell you more about the readers of both print and online publications. The more you know about the market, the more likely you are to pitch an idea that an editor will want to assign.

Step 3: Write a query.

Next up, the query letter. We talked about query letters in chapter 3. Remember that you want to capture the editor’s attention; explain why her readers will be interested; describe how you plan to approach the story; and demonstrate that you’re “uniquely qualified” (yup, there’s that phrase again!) to write the piece.

Here’s the query I wrote. It’s relatively short and simple; my comments appear in brackets:

Dear Heather [I’d written for her before; otherwise I’d refer to her as Ms. or Mr. Last Name]:

You say your best friend can eat anything without gaining weight? Maybe it’s because she can’t sit still. [Brief but attention-getting lead.]

A recently published study conducted by the Mayo Clinic found that fidgeting may not just get your through a boring meeting—it may help you maintain a whittled waist, too. Sixteen volunteers were fed an extra 1,000 calories a day for eight weeks. While all of the volunteers gained weight, participants burned off about half of those calories each day due to increased non-exercise activity thermogenesis (“NEAT”)—things like fidgeting and changing position. Yet some participants burned a lot more calories through NEAT than others, which means that fidgeting may actually help you lose weight. [Because I’m pitching such a short piece, I’m keeping the query itself short as well.]

Interested in a short piece about this new research for “Fit Buzz?” I’ll interview one of the study researchers for this informative piece, which will be about 200 words. [I’ve suggested the section of the magazine I think this story will fit in. This also lets the editor know I’m familiar with her publication. And I suggested a length of 200 words because the guidelines said the section uses pieces up to 200 words. I suggest you always include possible word count as another way of demonstrating market familiarity.]

As you know, I’m a freelance writer who’s written for Fitness before, and believe your readers will enjoy this piece. Please let me know if you have any questions about the story. [I had a relationship with this editor already so my ISG doesn’t have to be that strong. If not, I would have written the best ISG I could, mentioning my long-time interest in fitness and nutrition, for example. The very fact that I came up with this idea on my own makes me somewhat uniquely qualified, too. At least I think so!]

Thank you very much for your time; I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Very truly yours,

Kelly James-Enger

If I hadn’t worked with Heather before, I would have confirmed the name of the editor who was in charge of the “Fit Buzz” section by calling Fitness and asking for her name and email address. (Today, you may be able to find this information from the publication’s Website. Otherwise, call or email to make sure that you’re contacting the appropriate person.) Then I proofread the query, and emailed it.

Step 4: Get the assignment.

In this case, I didn’t need to send a follow-up email. Just two weeks later, the editor called to assign the piece. She asked me to keep it to 150 words, and we agreed on a rate of $1.50/word for the story. I’d written for Fitness before, so I was familiar with the magazine’s multi-page contract. Otherwise, I would have wanted to read the contract and make sure I was comfortable with its terms before proceeding. 

**In the next post, we'll talk about how to start researching this short piece. In the meantime, Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, from which this post is drawn, in now in print. (Prefer the Kindle edition?)

If you're interested in writing articles, be sure to sign up for next week's Write Now! Mastermind class. Rochelle Melander will be  interviewing me for How To Pitch And Sell Articles To A Variety Of Freelance Markets. The call is free, but you need to sign up at http://www.writenowcoach.com/resources/write-now-mastermind.html. I hope to "see" you on the call! :) 

Never Been Published? Nailing your First Assignment (Part 1)

Brand-new to freelancing? Or have you been attempting to get published without any success? This post is for you. 

When I started freelancing, I had no experience, no connections, and no clue. I didn’t have a journalism degree, and everything I knew about freelancing I’d learned from reading books like Writer’s Market. But I hadn’t been living under a rock for thirty years. I’d had a life—at least something of one. I’d graduated from college and law school. I’d worked as a lawyer for more than five years. I’d experienced a “starter marriage.” I’d gained 45 pounds (yikes!) my freshman year of college, and then lost the weight and kept it off. I’d flirted with vegetarianism and then committed to it in my late 20s. I was a child of divorce who’d grown up in a blended family. I’d been a runner for more than a decade.

I could go on and on, but here’s my point: Nearly all of my first assignments as a new freelancer were topics I had some experience with. And that's not a coincidence.  

For example, as a young, unhappy lawyer, I changed jobs four times in five years. That experience led to my first freelance sale—a piece on surviving your last two weeks on the job—to Cosmopolitan. My next sale was a story on avoiding legal problems as you plan your wedding. At the time I pitched it, I was planning my second wedding—and I was a lawyer, remember? That piece sold to Bride’s.

Other sales followed, and I realized that while I was sending out dozens of queries, the pitches that were getting assigned all had something in common. The personal experience I had with the subject matter seemedto make up for my lack of actual writing experience. Here’s how I used my background to garner some of those assignments:

          *My husband and I were both in our late 20s when we met, and each had our own apartments. When we moved in together (I relocated to live with him), we had some disagreements about whose furniture should go where, how we’d decorate, and what we’d keep and what we’d get rid of. With the average age of newlyweds continuing to rise, I figured this topic—combining two households—would be a great topic for a bridal magazine. I sold the piece to Bride’s.

          *Remember how I’d toyed with vegetarianism? That’s why a story in the local paper on a new vegetarian group caught my idea. I happened to know the founder of the group through a businesswomen’s group I was a member of, and pitched a piece on how to create your own local vegetarian group (this was long before Facebook and other social media) to Vegetarian Times and it sold. My editor was so happy with my work that she assigned several other stories to me afterwards.

          *I’d met my husband through a “fix-up,” and while we clicked immediately, it was a case of opposites attracting. I’m a natural extrovert; Erik, not so much. Yet after years of dating fellow extroverts (who are great, really!), I found that my perfect mate was on the introverted side. That led to a pitch for a story titled, “When Opposites Attract,” which sold to For the Bride. The story gave advice to newlyweds on how to recognize and appreciate each other’s differences, and was the beginning of a decade-long relationship with the magazine.

          *My pastor was training for RAGBRAI, or the Register’s Annual Great Race Across Iowa, and using the event to raise money for charity. I pitched a piece about him for the religion section of the local newspaper, which assigned it. The story only paid $75, but it was a fun profile to write and helped me get other work from the features editor at the paper.

Get the idea? So start thinking about the topics and areas you already have a background in and can pitch to get your first few assignments. Once you gain experience, you have a good shot of getting other work, but starting out it makes a huge difference to pitch ideas you’re what I call “uniquely qualified” to write.

Trust me, you already know more than the average person about a variety of subjects. Take your employment history. When I first started freelancing, I’d already worked at a variety of jobs. I’d done everything from practice law to deliver pizzas to lifeguard. I’d sold donuts and filed dental insurance claims. I even served drinks at a country western bar, where I briefly dated a fiddler named Jesse. But I digress.

No, I couldn’t sell an idea based solely on my experience politely telling a 60-something geezer to get his hand off my butt, pronto, or on running a snack bar during “adult swim time,” when hungry children swarmed the window waving their parents’ $20 bills. If I pitched a piece on say, how to handle sticky work situations or discipline children that didn’t belong to you, I’d still have to plan on doing additional research and conducting interviews with experts and real people. But I could use my unique background to get my foot in the door as a new writer.

So if you're brand-new to the freelancing biz, think about your life, and start making a list of all of the subjects you could write about. Don’t stop with your own experiences. Think too about people you know and/or have access to, like I did with my pastor. Your friends, your family, your neighbors, your coworkers—they’re more than people you know. They’re potential article ideas! 

Next up, the best market for a new writer to pitch! 

***This post was drawn from Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. It's aimed at brand-new freelancers who want to go from unpublished to published and paid--and includes a special offer just for readers that I've never seen an author offer before. The Kindle edition is available now; the print edition will be available by March 30. 

More seasoned freelancers will be more interested in Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, which is now available on Kindle (coming soon in print)! This freelancing classic has been updated to include chapters on markets and book writing; new queries/templates; advice on social media and blogging; advice on the latest ways to make money; and tips on adding corporate work to your freelance repertoire.  

Celebrating the OYIW ("The Oh-Yes-I-Will!") Moment

Last post I shared the fact that I'm in the midst of a deadline crunch. The bad news is that I'm still there. The good news is that on Tuesday, I hit an important milestone--the "oh-yes-I-will!" moment for a book I'm ghostwriting. I can never predict exactly when the OYIW will occur, but it always does. It's that sweet moment when I know that I will make my deadline. 

Let me explain. Yes, I always intend to make every deadline--and in fact, have never missed one in 15 years of full-time freelancing. Why? First, I avoid the "planning fallacy." The planning fallacy refers to a proven fitness concept that people almost always underestimate the amount of time it will take to lose weight or get into shape. The same is true for freelancing—most writers think that assignments won’t take as long as they wind up taking.

Not me! I always assume that a project will take longer than I originally expect—and plan for that. I suggest you do the same. For example, if you think an article will take a total of five days to research and write, plan for it to take seven. If you believe a book proposal will take you six weeks, plan for eight. It’s better to have more time to finish a project than not enough.   

Second, I get the lay of the land, so to speak, as soon as I take on an assignment. For articles, that usually means doing background research and identifying potential sources. After I’ve come up with potential sources (whether experts or “real people” anecdotes), I start contacting them to line up interviews. I have to have my interviews done before I can write the piece. If I'm working on a book project, I'll skim over the material I have, make notes about research I need to do, and sketch out a timeline for the work. I won't necessarily stick to it, but it gives me a jump on the project before I officially start it. 

But I've found that there's almost always anxiety attached to the work I take on that is large in scope (think books/book proposals). I worry (you might say, obsess) about those big projects pretty much from the time I sign a contract until my client says, "great job!" (and pays me, of course.) 

That doesn't mean I'm not confident in my abilities--I have a pretty good sense for what I can do. But I worry about my work, and my ability to do it, and do it on time. I'm just wired that way, and despite going to yoga twice a week, am not likely to change. And you know what? I think some level of anxiety/concern/worry is normal, especially for a challenging assignment, and that it can spur you to do better quality work. At least that's my theory. 

But when I hit the OYIW moment, my anxiety fades. I may still have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm no longer worried whether I will do it. I know I will. For me, the OYIW is the the 5-mile mark in a 10K (6.2 mile) race. 


Even if I've lost enthusiasm for a project, the OYIW gives me a second wind. I can see the metaphorical finish line. I'm able to push harder now. I'm motivated to push harder now. I'm focused, confident, and productive--and I hit my deadline, usually beating it by days (or weeks!). I bask in the glow of a completed assignment, completely anxiety-free...until I sign the next big project, anyway. 

*Readers, what about you? Do you have this kind of writer's anxiety? Do you experience a similar moment with your challenging assignments? And does it spur you on to finish? I'd love to hear your comments. 

**Got a book you want to write (or have written), but aren't sure about your publishing options? Stay tuned for an announcement on my Jan 5, 2012 Webinar on publishing options today for Writer's Digest. And in the meantime, if you're want to break into ghostwriting, please check out Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books. I'm teaching a ghostwriting class for Writer's Digest right now and will post here when it's offered again.  

Why I've Never Missed a Deadline--and How You Can do the Same

I am nothing if not reliable. I never missed a deadline as an attorney, and I’ve never missed one as a freelancer either. And you better believe I use that as a selling point with clients I haven't worked with before.

So why haven't I missed a deadline? It's not because I'm a compulsive. (I admit it.) It's not because I'm a "type-A" personality. (I admit it.) It's for one simple reason: I’ve never taken a deadline I couldn't meet.

Before I accept an assignment, whether it's an article or a book, I estimate how long that story or project will take—not just the writing of it, but the research of it as well. A 1500-word piece that requires several expert interviews, for example, is likely to take less time to research than a shorter article that relies heavily on “real people” sources. (I’ve said before that I hate “real people.” Well, not real people in general, but real people sources. See, real people—aka anecdotal sources—take much more time to locate and identify than experts.)

I learned this lesson early on. When I accepted an article on the sexual problems newlyweds might face and how to address them, finding experts was a no-brainer. Then I had to find the dreaded “real people”—in this instance, newlyweds who had experienced some kind of sexual challenges and who had sought outside assistance for them. And who would, you know, talk to me about it! Can you think of anyone? Me neither.

While I had lined up sexual therapists to interview, privacy law prevents them from sharing their patients’ names. So I was stuck beating the proverbial bushes for possible sources—and spent weeks making calls, sending emails, and begging everyone I could think of to help me with the piece. I did eventually come up with some usable anecdotal sources--they did get to use pseudonyms--but it still took far longer than I expected. Six weeks, in fact. (My new rule: no more writing about sex.)

Back to deadlines. As I said, I’ve never missed a deadline because I always make sure I have plenty of time to research, report, and write the piece. Then I build in a bumper. If I think the assignment will take four days, I’ll ask for six. If I know I can bang it out in two weeks, I’ll try to get two and a half.

Get the idea? I know, considering my current assignments, that I’ll be able to meet my deadline before I say yes. Then I start the background research immediately—because after all, I can’t interview my sources until I’ve identified and located those sources. And I can’t ask them intelligent questions until I’ve done enough background so I’m conversant in the subject. I try to get my research, including completed interviews, done at least a week before the story is due.

That gives me plenty of time to write, and to do any additional research to address questions that crop up as I write the piece—before the deadline is huffing its fetid breath on the back of my neck.

I also use the “double-diary” system to make sure I don’t blow a deadline. I write down the assignment in my assignment notebook and then I make a note of it on my calendar. (Yes, you can use Outlook instead. I still like having a paper calendar that I can flip through and see what’s approaching in the days to come.)

So, before you say yes, make sure you can meet the deadline. If it’s going to be tight, ask for more time. And if you know you can’t take it on, turn it down and let your client know why. Better to turn down to work than to accept it--and then fail to deliver.

The Secret to Getting your First Magazine Assignment

I'll be traveling to Oklahoma City tomorrow for OWFI's annual writer's conference. (Please come up and say hi if you're there!) My first pre-conference session is on "Breaking In: The Basics of Writing for Magazines," which is one of my most popular writing-related programs.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I advise new freelancers to break in by pitching a story they're uniquely qualified to write. You demonstrate this in your ISG, or "I'm-so-great" paragraph of your query where you highlight your relevant knowledge of/experience with the subject.

And that is a wonderful start. Just don't make the rookie mistake of thinking that your experience is enough to write the piece. I see inexperienced writers do that all the time, and that's a major reason their queries don't sell. This isn't an essay you're writing--it's an article. That means that 95 percent of the time, you're going to do research and conduct interviews to write your piece.

Your personal experience is a great starting point, but it's only the starting point. Let your editor know you "get" it with a killer query that not only highlights your ISG but the types of sources you plan to interview/use to write the piece. Trust me--this strategy lets you avoid a common rookie mistake and boosts your chances of getting your first assignment.

***

Readers, what do you think? If you're new to the biz and in pursuit of your first clip, you'll find 20 queries that sold (including those from newbie freelancers!) in Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money (Kindle edition).

Ten Good Reasons the Editor Said "No"

When you freelance, rejections are part of the territory. In fact, I don't tell students what to do if they get rejected--I tell them what to do when they get rejected.

But new writers (and even experienced ones) often wonder why. Why didn't their pitch sell? Why did the editor say no? Or worse yet, why did the editor fail to respond?

In no particular order, here are a few of the most common reasons:

1. You misread the market. Your idea may have been excellent, but it wasn't right for that particular publication. Remember, your query should answer the question, "why will readers care?"

2. Your editor actually loved the idea...so much that she's already assigned something similar to another writer, or has a piece like it in inventory waiting to be run. Sorry--you can't do anything about this reason, but at least you know it's not you.

3. She never got it. That's why following up is so critical. How can an editor respond to something she never received?

4. You pitched an idea that would be assigned to a staff writer. Make sure you read the magazine's most current guidelines so you know what types of work is assigned to freelancers. Pitching something that would be written in-house shows that you didn't do your homework beforehand.

5. You didn't provide enough detail about how you'd approach the story. How long will the piece be? What kinds of sources will you interview? How will your structure the article? Will you include a sidebar or two? The more detail you provide, the easier it is for your editor to envision your piece--and say yes to you.

6. Your query is sloppy, whether it has mispellings, grammatical mistakes, or other glaring errors (like spelling your editor's name wrong). To an editor, sloppy query=careless freelancer.

7. You pitched too late. In other words, you queried a holiday idea to a national magazine in October. Magazines have varying lead times, so make sure you've giving yourself plenty of time (typically about six months for national pubs) when you pitch a seasonal topic.

8. The editor is overwhelmed--and hasn't had a chance to read it yet. That's another reason to follow up on every query you send. You're not being a pest; you're being a pro.

9. Your idea is nothing special. To set your query apart, don't pitch an idea like "five simple ways to lose weight." A unique or counterintuitive spin, like "eat more, weigh less" or "laugh yourself thin" is more likely to stand out--and sell.

10. She thinks you stink, she thinks your ideas stink, she thinks your work stinks, and she wants you to lose her contact info--permanently. Kidding! That may be the first thing you think of when you get a rejection, but this isn't why editors reject you. More likely you just had the wrong idea for the wrong editor at the wrong publication at the wrong time.

Readers, what do you think? Have I missed any of the major reasons editors say no?

Market like a Maven (or, How to Succeed in your Freelance Biz)

Hopefully my post from earlier today (see below) didn’t scare you. The message? Marketing is critical to any freelancer’s business but it doesn’t pay off until you get paying work. So how exactly do you do that? By marketing efficiently, effectively, and consistently.

If you freelance for magazines, websites, and/or newspapers, the query letter is the most important weapon in your freelancer’s marketing arsenal. Use these 6 techniques to make your queries stand out from the pack:

• Capture the editor’s attention. Let me tell you about my first few queries. They sucked! I started most of them with language like, “I am a freelance writer who is interested in writing for your magazine...” Snooze alert! Now I start my queries with a lead—almost always the lead I use for the article itself. You want to intrigue your editor just as your story will intrigue readers.

• Pick up the phone…or at least send an email. Magazine editors come, go, change positions, titles, and responsibilities with alarming speed. Don’t rely on outdated writers' guidelines to tell you who the appropriate editor is—pick up the phone and ask the receptionist for the name (and correct spelling) of the editor you’re looking for. Got “phone phobia?” Then send out an email…but I find calling gets me the info a lot quicker.

• Demonstrate familiarity. Let the editor know you’ve read her publication by saying something like, “Interested in this idea for your ‘Latest News’ [or whatever section/department is appropriate] section?” You’re not just another writer trolling through Writer’s Market for a quick sale—you’ve done your homework, so let him know.

• Make it easy for him to say yes. When I pitch a story, I suggest a working title, word count, possible sidebars, and list the types of sources I plan to interview. If he likes my idea, and my angle, all he has to do is pick up the phone and assign the piece. Think like your editor, and offer him a package, not just an idea.

• Strut your stuff. Highlight your relevant writing experience and demonstrate to the editor that you are “uniquely qualified” (keep reading this blog and you'll hear me use that phrase again and again!) to write this article. If you’re pitching a gardening piece and grow award-winning cucumbers, mention that. If you’re writing on social media and have 10,000 followers on Twitter, include that. If your profile subject has agreed to be interviewed for the piece, let the editor know. You want him to read your query and think, “Wow—this writer is the perfect person to do this story!”

• Don’t give up. When you get a rejection (what I call a “bong”) from an editor, follow up immediately (with a day or two) with a new query. Start off saying something like, “thank you for your response (not rejection!) to my query about [fill-in-the-blank.] While I’m sorry you can’t use it at this time, I have another idea for you to consider.” Then include your new query. By doing this, you’ll start developing a relationship with the editor…eventually nail an assignment. Case in point: it took me multiple queries to crack big markets like Woman’s Day, Redbook, Health, and Fitness, so don’t give up. The next query you send may be the one that nets you your first assignment from that magazine...and turns your marketing into actual money.

Ask for More Money...and Get It

I’d been freelancing fulltime for more than a year before I summoned up the courage to ask for a better deal than whatever was on the table. Before then, I simply took whatever the editor offered, scampered off, and was grateful. (For example, my first article, which sold to Cosmopolitan in 1996, sold for $850… for 1,300 words. That’s what the editor said she could pay, so I took it. This was at a time when the magazine paid $1/word and up for articles. Did I ask for more? Did I even try? Of course not. I was so thrilled to finally get published I would have sold the piece for $50. Good thing I didn’t tell the editor that.)

With 13 months’ experience came some confidence, however. Also the realization that while I was working 50- to 60-hour weeks, I wasn’t making that much money. Granted, some of my work was for the local newspaper, where I was paid anywhere from $35 to $75 for a story. But another factor was that I kept saying “yes” to any work that came my way without ever asking for more. So I decided to try—and I think you should too.

Feeling nervous? That’s OK. I’m going to make it easy for you with some specific techniques you can try:

Be nice. Meaning, I don’t attack the editor for a less-than-stellar offer. Instead, I express my gratitude to her and remind her that I do want to work with her. Then I ask for more. Try something like, “Thanks so much for thinking of me for this piece—I’m looking forward to working with you on this topic. But considering the length/scope/deadline/insert-reason-hereof the piece, do you think you could do a little better money-wise?”

Give a reason. Bottom line—I want more money. I just do! But that doesn’t give my editor a reason to give it to me. That's why I give her an explanation of why I want more money—the complexity of the story, the number of sources I’ll have to interview, a tight deadline, a piece that requires some expertise in the subject matter, whatever fits. I want to give her a reason to say “yes.” Years ago, an editor I’d worked with before called to assign a 2,000-word piece on oral contraceptives that included five sidebars—and then offered $1/word for it. That’s not a terrible rate, but it wasn’t enough to justify all the time I was going to put into the story. I told her, “I really want to write this piece for you, but obviously this story is going to take me weeks of research and interviews, especially with all the sidebars. I don’t think $1/word is really fair for this particular story. Can you do better than that?” She immediately agreed to $1.50/word, which gave me an extra $1,000 just for opening my mouth. (In retrospect, I realize she agreed too quickly—she probably would have gone even higher. Oops.)

Cite your standard. If the per-word rate is much lower than what you usually get, mention that. Try, “I’d love to write for you, but for this kind of work, I usually get more per word. Is there any way you can do better?”

Prove your worth. You may be surprised to learn that I don’t try to negotiate every offer. If a new editor comes to me with an assignment at a fair rate, I take it. Then I do a great job on the piece…and ask for money the second time around. Remember that whether you’re a new or seasoned writer, the editor’s taking a chance on you—there are plenty of talented freelancers who are lazy about deadlines or turn in sloppy copy. Once I’ve proven myself, I’m in a much better position to ask for a higher per-word rate for the next story. That’s when I ask for a raise, using language like, “I’m so happy we’ll be working together again! Because you’ve worked with me before, you know I’m going to do a good job for you, and turn in the story before deadline. Considering that you know I’ll deliver for you, can we bump up my per-word rate?” (Or, “Can you do better money-wise this time around?”)

Keep the door open. I’ve asked for more money from editors and been turned down. My motto? It never hurts to ask. When an editor says, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do any better,” or “we have a set rate for writers and I can’t change it,” I don’t complain. If I want the assignment, I say yes, and say, “No problem—I understand! It never hurts to ask, right?" And if I don’t want the assignment, I just explain that I can’t take it on but that I do appreciate the editor getting in touch. I never burn a bridge…and you never know where your editor may end up!

So why not try? Yes, it’s easier (and less stressful!) to simply say “yes” or “no” to an offer than to try to negotiate with an editor, but that’s no reason not to try. Take a deep breath, summon your courage, and ask if the editor can do better. You may be surprised at the answer.

One more thing--writers often fear that if they ask for more money, they’ll lose the assignment. In more than 13 years of freelancing, that has never happened to me. The worst case scenario is that you’ll ask for more money, the editor will refuse, and you’ll have to decide whether you’re willing to take the work or not. Best case? You make more money—simply by asking for it.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to ask for more money on your next freelance assignment. Let me know how it turns out. And if you have any negotiating techniques that you’ve found effective, please share them here!