Don't Be Afraid to Talk Money, Part 2: Setting Your Freelance Rates

Welcome back to the Blogathon, day 7! 

Yesterday I posted about the importance of knowing what a market pays before you pursue it. When you write for money, it makes no sense to me to work without knowing what you'll you're going to paid for it.

However, what happens when you're approached by a new client or market that asks what you charge? You don't want to throw out a number, say something like, "I have no clue," or promise to get back to there person. You need to know your hourly rate.

But how do you know what to charge? 

There are several methods to help you determine what to charge: 

• One method is to figure out what you want to make in a year, and base your hourly rate on that overall figure. This works best for seasoned freelancers. (Laura Laing, in her fascinating book, Math for Writers, devotes a section to helping new freelancers determine their hourly rates. If you're serious about freelancing full-time, it's worth a read.) 
• A second is to determine what the markets you want to write for usually pay, and base your rate on that. 
• A third is to determine what other freelancers charge for that kind of work, and base your rate on that. 
• Another is to consider your level of experience and your value to potential clients, and base your rate on that. As with the first method, this is more useful for experienced freelancers, or those who have a unique, in-demand skill set. 

If you're a new freelancer, or a more experienced one getting started in a new area, I suggest a blend of methods two and three. Do some market research to determine what clients typically pay for the work. Let's say you're a freelancer who wants to branch out into copy editing, and you discover that agencies pay copywriters $15 to $25/hour. 

Then you search the web for other copywriters after checking say, six websites, you find that they charge between $30 and $45/hour, depending not the project. As a new copywriter, your initial hourly rate for clients might be $30/hour, based on your research. As you gain experience, you can always raise your rates. 

Get the idea? Do the research and determine your rate for freelance work before a client asks you about it. You'll look more professional and feel more confident about going after work. 

Today's assignment: Determine your hourly rate for freelance work. 

**Readers, this is the first time I've ever blogged seven days in a row...it's actually the first time I've ever blogged more than three times in a week! What do you think? Are you following the blog? Do I have new readers out there? Are you hoping I'll cover a specific topic? Hello? Anyone? Bueller? Please comment and let me know. 

And finally, for my usual book plug: If you want make more money as a freelancer, I highly recommend my books on freelancing:

• Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets is written for brand-new freelancers in search of their first clips.
• Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition is a freelancing classic that helps both new and experienced writers boost their bottom line.
• Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, shows how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field. 

2+2=4: How Math Can Make you a More Successful Freelancer

As a freelancer, I may work alone, but I'm always looking to other writers for strategies they use to become (and stay) successful--and then adopting them myself. That means I try to keep up on what new topics are trending among fellow freelancers (say, the demand for content marketing writers). But I have to admit I was surprised to learn of a new book for writers about something that impacts you as a freelancer (and a a person) every day--yet one you may not have given much thought to--math. So I did a Q and A with Laura Laing, a freelance writer and the author of Math for Writers: Tell a Better Story, Get Published, Make More Money.

Q: I became a writer because I didn’t want to do math. :) Seriously, why is important that writers understand math? And how can math help you pitch more effectively? 

A: Let me allay your fears right off the bat: You don’t need to have a great understanding of trigonometry or Euclidean geometry or calculus. The math that most writers depend on every day is pretty darned basic. But there are basically three reasons math is useful to writers: It can help you tell a better story, get published and make more money. It really is that simple.

Not all readers are as enamored with the written word as we writers are. In fact, when was the last time you wrote a reported story without including at least one number? Numbers help readers better understand what you are conveying. And sometimes those numbers come in pretty ugly and difficult-to-understand packages. In that situation, it’s the writer’s job to wrangle those numbers into a format that gives even more meaning to the story.

And of course writing is critical for pitching — whether you want to write an article or a book. The query is basically a sales piece, right? You want to sell your services, ideas and expertise to an editor. Numbers have always been important in sales. For example, to demonstrate to the editor that your idea is a good one for the publication’s market, you might cite a statistic that links your story to the magazine’s readers. And it might be more impactful to translate a large number to a percentage: Instead of noting that nearly 26 million American have diabetes, it might be more striking to say that 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes. 

Finally, there is tons of math in the business of managing a freelance writing career. I believe that every freelancer should know their hourly rate, be able to set a project rate, and have a good sense of the time it takes to complete assignments. In addition, freelancers can use math to manage their goals and client diversity. This protects them when the unexpected happens — like a client suddenly bails or the bottom falls out of a particular industry. When writers avoid this kind of math, they’re pretty much throwing money away.

Q: Give me an example of a common math mistake, or one you’ve seen writers make. 

A: Percentages and percentage points are not the same thing, but that fact can be glossed over or completely ignored. Here’s a made-up example: 

"Average interest rates on personal savings accounts have grown by 1 percent since last year, increasing from 2 percent to 3 percent.”

But the interest rates haven’t increased by 1%. They’ve increased by 1 percentage point. In fact, in this example, the percentage increase is 50% — way more impressive than a mere 1%. 

But the biggest mistake I see writers make is avoiding the math altogether. I know lots of writers who feel completely out of their realm when it comes to computations. It’s a real shame if the story suffers because the writer feels intimidated by the math. 

Q: Tell me a little bit about how the book came about, and why you decided to write it in the first place. 

A: A lot of my writer friends were really surprised when I published my first book, Math for Grownups. “You know how to do math??? But you’re a writer!!” As I talked to more and more writers about math (and revealed my former life as a high school math teacher), I realized that a really big chunk of them were absolutely terrified of math. It didn’t take me long to decide that my second book would be Math for Writers. 

My whole take on math is that everyone can learn it. But as adults, we often come to the table with really bad experiences — condescending teachers, prolonged frustrations, that giant red X. A lot of the work I do is convincing people that they can overcome these mental blocks and get good at the math they need to really be successful.

Q: I think I see a knowledge and understanding of math as yet another way a writer can stand out from the crowd, so to speak. You’ve been a very successful freelancers, so I have two questions—what attributes do think are important to thriving today as a self-employed writer? And what attributes have helped you succeed? 

A: I think successful freelance writers are strategic. This means setting measurable goals, knowing which rules to break and when, and managing their business in ways that maximize opportunities. It also means putting our emotions in our back pocket sometimes. That doesn’t mean we ignore our feelings — not at all! — but in order to make decisions, it can be good to recognize that our reactions to situations may not be the best barometer. 

Here’s an example: This year, I made the decision to fire my biggest client. I’d been working with them for four years, and in 2013, they represented 50 percent of my income. I might have allowed my fear (a very normal reaction) to keep them on board. Instead, I mapped out a plan for replacing the work. (Yes, I used math, but it was really basic stuff, I promise!)

Of course there are other useful attributes as well: perseverance, creativity, diligence, and a willingness to take risks. I’ve found that with a clear plan that’s based in facts that I can verify, these other values fall right into place. It’s so easy for me to get off track when I don’t know where I’m going!

**Thanks so much to Laura for this Q and A, and be sure to check out Math for Writers: Tell a Better Story, Get Published, Make More Money. Visit her website to check out her full virtual book tour roster and sign up for a free, live teleseminar just for writers who need math: http://www.mathforgrownups.com/math-for-writers-book-tour/