What Freelance Writers Made in 2013

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I talk about money a fair amount. As a freelancer, I think it's important to know not only what you're making, but what other freelancers are making. It's also also helpful to know what markets are paying--you can negotiate for more money for a publication that you know pays more than its offered rate, for example, and set rates for projects that are in line with what other writers are charging. 

So I'm happy to share the results of a freelance income survey conducted earlier this year by FreelanceSuccess.com, a resource for established, professional nonfiction writers. (I've been an off-and-on member of FreelanceSuccess--known as "FLX" to subscribers--for years, and often recommend it to new freelancers. It's an excellent of market info and a place to connect with smart, successful writers.)

FLX surveyed 100 of its members in early January, asking what they'd made in 2013. Of the full-time freelancers:    

• 1.5 percent made less than $10,000
• 9.1 percent made between $10,000 and $24,000
• 10.6 percent made between $25,000 and $39,000
• 36.4 percent made between $40,000 and $74,000
• 28.8 percent made between $75,000 and more, including 
• the 13.6 percent who made $125,000 or more.  

That's more than a quarter of writers making $75,000+, good news for those of us who aspire to make serious money as writers. 

Self-described "part-time" freelancers reported the following income: 

• 22.9 percent made less than $10,000
• 22.9 percent made between $10,000 and $24,000
• 22.9 percent made between $25,000 and $39,000
• 25.7 percent made between $40,000 and $74,000
• 5.7 percent made more than $75,000. 

Not surprisingly, the part-time writers make significantly less than their full-time peers. But with more than 30 percent grossing more than $40,000, I still think you can work part-time hours and produce decent money. (I do!) 

Just as important, forty-eight percent--nearly half--of freelancers said they made more in 2013 than in 2012, while another 30 percent made about the same amount of money. 

And just what types of work were these freelancers doing to make money? The top eight answers included: 

• 39.1 percent were doing corporate writing
• 33.3 percent were doing marketing writing
• 32.2 percent were writing for websites 
• 26.4 percent were writing blogs 
• 23.3 were ghostwriting
• 19.5 percent were writing for consumer magazines
• 18.4 percent were writing social media posts
• 12.6 percent were writing for trade magazines

Thanks to Jennie Phipps of FLX for permission to share these figures. Regardless of what type of writing you do, however, there are simple ways that you can boost your productivity and make more money. Next post, we'll share some of them. 

** Don't forget, the luck of the Irish offer ends at midnight, Monday, March 24! Use the discount code SHAMROCK (all caps) for 25 percent off of the cover price of Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, and Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. 

Why Your Pitch Didn't Sell

Pitching and getting rejected is part of freelancing. But wouldn't you rather pitch more effectively--and sell more of your ideas from the outset?

As writers, we sometimes get caught up with what our own great ideas. I've been guilty of this, too. I come up with an idea that I think is compelling, and I write the pitch. I craft a strong lead, give plenty of detail about how I plan to approach the piece, and highlight my unique qualifications. Then it doesn't sell, and afterwards, I realize I neglected an essential element--why readers of the publication I pitched will care about the story.  

In fact, you must demonstrate this in every pitch, especially markets that are new to you. Remember that a solid query has four elements: 

• A lead to catch the editor's attention; 
• More detail about the topic to prove that the topic will work for this market, what I call the "why-write-it" section;
• The "nuts and bolts," where you explain how you plan to approach the topic; and
• The ISG, or "I'm-so-great," where you highlight your unique qualifications to write the piece. 

You make your case for the story in the "why write it" section. Here are some examples of how I've demonstrated why readers will care about a topic: 

• When pitching a woman's magazine a health feature on the surprising causes of fatigue, I cited a recent survey that stated that "fatigue" was in the top ten health complaints for women. I was assigned a 1,800-word piece at $2,5000. 
• When pitching a true life feature about a woman who had a mysterious disease, I highlighted the inherent drama of the story, including the fact that she had sought treatment from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic--and the doctors there had told her she wasn't sick. (She in fact was very ill.) I was assigned a 1,000-word story for $500.  
•  When pitching a piece on heart rate training for a men's body building magazine, I pointed out that most men who lift hate doing cardio (they'd much rather pump iron) but that my article would show them how to do it more effectively and efficiently. I was assigned a 1,200-word piece for $1,200. 
• When pitching a health website about the connection between religious weight loss programs, I cited both their growing popularity posture and the fact that one of the program directors had a current, best-selling book. I was assigned a 700-word piece for $700. 

Get the idea? Look at your idea and make sure you can demonstrate to the editor why her readers will be interested in the topic. You'll boost your chance of getting the assignment! 

**Today is one of my favorites holidays--St. Patrick's Day. In honor of my Irish grandmother, Colleen, and my daughter's Irish "first mom," Chaleigh, I'm offering a special offer on my Improvise Press titles. For a limited time, you'll get 25 percent off of the cover price of Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, and Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, when you use the discount code SHAMROCK (all caps). 

The Luck of the Irish=25 Percent off of Improvise Press Titles!

Monday, March 17, marks one of my favorites holidays--St. Patrick's Day. In honor of my Irish grandmother, Colleen, and my daughter's Irish "first mom," Chaleigh, I'm offering a special offer on my Improvise Press titles. For a limited time, you'll get 25 percent off of the cover price of Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, and Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, when you use the discount code SHAMROCK (all caps). 

And tune in Monday for a post on an essential element that's lacking from many queries--and how to make sure yours stands out from the pack!

How to Write a Content Marketing Proposal

Not sure about how to write a content marketing proposal? That's the topic I just covered for Jennifer Goforth Gregory over at her extremely helpful blog, the Content Marketing Writer. Check it out for tips on how to help you write a proposal that gets you the content marketing gig!

How Diet Mountain Dew Helped me Sell a Story: Another Query That Worked

Hate writing queries and pitches? You're not alone. I get more questions from freelancers about queries (and contracts) than about any other topic. I've found that queries from new writers fail for two primary reasons--they're either too short and lack detail, or they're too long and lack focus. Finding the right balance and giving enough detail so that the editor can say "yes" without going overboard takes time and practice. Having a template always helps! 

I'll be speaking at the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic's Spring Assembly on Friday, April 4, 2013. I've been asked to show dietitians how they can write about diet and nutrition--and get paid for it--and as part of that, I'll be emphasizing the importance of a strong query. Here's a query that worked for me that I'll be sharing with my audience, with my comments in blue:   

Dear Ross:

Your eyes don't even open until after your second cup of coffee? No sweat, right? Think again. If you're hooked on Red Bull, Redline, or just the ever-popular joe, your caffeine addiction may be hurting your health. Research presented last fall at the American College of Emergency Physicians' annual meeting found that over three years, more than 250 people reported symptoms of caffeine abuse to a Chicago poison control center. Thirty-one were hospitalized from medical complications due to caffeine intake. Other studies have found that caffeine intake increases the level of cortisol and other stress hormones. [I like this lead. It's timely, mentioning the recent research, and shows that I've done some background reporting to write this query.]  

Yet athletes have long realized that caffeine has performance-boosting effects, and a slew of studies support it. In the last year alone, published research found that caffeine boosts speed during short-term, high-intensity exercise and the amount of weight (for a 1-rep max) you can lift during a bench press trial. And a survey of 140 elite athletes competing in the Ironman Triathalon World Championships found that 9 in 10 planned to use caffeine-containing substances before or during the competition. [Where did this research come from? I'd just finished a piece on using caffeine for athletic performance for a fitness magazine. I include it here to show the editor that I'm already informed about this topic.]

If you're competing in a 5K or want a lift before a demanding workout, how much caffeine should you take for optimal performance? And how do you determine your "safe" upper limit for caffeine consumption? In other words, how much caffeine is just right? [Here's the question that my article will answer, and I believe that readers of this publication--in the case, The Chicago Tribune--will want to know that answer! My editor agreed, and assigned the piece.] 

“The Caffeine Conundrum: Performance Boost or Health Risk?” will address this issue, describing the growing problem of caffeine abuse and its related health dangers. It will also describe caffeine's fitness-related benefits, and help readers determine how much caffeine is right for them, depending on their fitness goals, lifestyles, and other factors. I plan to interview experts such as Danielle McCarthy, MD, at Northwestern University (lead presenter of the ACEP caffeine abuse study) for this story; a possible sidebar will include a sidebar of caffeine-containing foods and beverages, with the amount of caffeine each contains. While I estimate 1,000 words for this piece, that's flexible depending on your needs. [I've provided a working title, and suggested possible experts and a sidebar. I've also described what my article will include.]

Ross, I hope you'll find this important topic a good fit for your "Health" section of Q. I think the popularity of caffeinated drinks and the fitness aspect of this subject make it a great fit for your readers, and hope you'll agree that it's a topic worth exploring. I've been a fulltime freelancer for the last decade; my work has also appeared in magazines including Redbook, Self, Health, Continental, Fitness, Woman's Day, and Shape. (And as a Diet Mountain Dew addict, I think I can bring a unique perspective to this story!) [This is what I call the ISG, or I'm-so-great. Play up your background, experience, even your caffeine addiction if it will help you sell a story!] 

Let me know if you have any questions about this pitch, and I'll be in touch soon with another story idea as well. 

All my best,

Kelly


I think it's clear why this pitch sold. Yes, the query is a little long--usually my queries are just four paragraphs--but I wanted to show the depth of my knowledge of this subject. Do the same with your pitches, and you'll boost your chances of getting a sale. 

**Want to see more queries that sold, and why? Check out my two latest books from Improvise Press: 

• Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition
• Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets

 

Blast from the Past: Dollars/Word Versus Dollars/Hour

Hi, readers--I'm in the midst of the project that will not end. If I was charging by the hour, this would be good news--I'd be making more and more money. However, I'm being paid a set fee (or a project fee), which means my hourly rate is plummeting. It also means that I have close to zero free time, which is why this week's post features a "blast from the past"--one of my most popular posts--about a semantic difference that many freelancers ignore to their peril.  

So, let's talk about what you're making per-word for the articles you write. Is it $1/word? $2/word? $0.40/word? $0.25/word? Even less? 

You may be surprised that I've taken on assignments that pay $0.40/word, even $0.25/word, and yes, even less than that. I don't care about the per-word rate as much as I care about what I make per-hour.

Per-word rates are the norm in the freelance world. This figure, multiplied by word count, tells you how much you’ll make for writing a particular story. But it may not tell you whether it’s worth it to take it on. The real question is how much time the story will take. The assignment amount, divided by the number of hours you put into it, gives you your hourly rate for the piece.

Knowing how much time an article (or any other project, for that matter) will take gives you a concrete idea of the return on your time. And those $1/word and up assignments can be mighty misleading. Sure, it’s a bigger check than writing for a market that pays a lower per-word rate. But are you really making more money?

For example, let’s say I do a 1,000-word story for a national magazine that pays $1.50/word. Fair enough—I’m getting paid $1,500 for my work. But what happens if between researching and writing the query, writing an outline (per my editor), researching the article, finding sources, doing interviews, transcribing interviews, writing the piece, turning in the piece, revising the piece (per my editor’s request), finding new sources (per my editor), interviewing those sources, turning in the final revision, submitting my backup material, answering additional questions from the editor (say, nine months later…it happens), I’ve put 25 hours into my story? That means I’ve made $60/hour on that story.

Not bad, but here’s the thing—compare that to a 1,000-word piece on the same topic for a smaller magazine that pays only $0.35/word. Yet I know the editor and my query is just a short paragraph. The story requires some background research and several interviews, and takes me a total of five hours to write. (No revisions requested! Yay!) That a total of $350, for five hours’ worth of work—or $70/hour.

At first glance, the $1,500 piece looks like a better assignment—and it is a bigger check. But my experience has been that national markets (and I’ve written for more than 60 of them) expect a lot more work from you to earn that higher rate. In many cases, I’ve found that regional magazines, trade publications, websites, and specialty magazines actually pay better per-hour than big national pubs. And that makes them worthwhile markets for me.

What about you? Are you tracking your time…or just your dollars?

**Readers, I'm working on a list of topics to cover for the rest of the winter. What questions do you have about freelancing? Comment here and I'll be happy to consider them. In the meantime, if  you're serious about turning your passion for writing into profits, check out Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. Already making money as a freelancer, but want to take your career to the next level? Then you need Six-Figure Freelancing, Second Edition: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money. 

A Simple. Proven Way to Find Even Hard-to-Find Sources

Do you find that locating--and interviewing potential sources--one of the time-consuming parts of freelancing? Me too. That's one reason I always start looking for sources within a day or so of accepting an assignment--I need to identify my sources before I contact my sources before I line up interviews with my sources before I interview my sources...you get the point.

If there's a way to make this process easier, I want to know about it! So I was excited to learn about Source Sleuth, and what it does for freelancers. I spoke with Ryan Evans, its founder recently for this Q and A: 

Q: Let's talk sources. Just how important is finding the right sources is for journalists/freelancers?  

A: The daily routine of a writer can be pretty hectic and it's tempting to plug in sources quickly and move on to the next assignment. But finding a good source can make a huge difference, both in an article, and in a career.  

Here are some of the things a good source can bring to the table:

• Credibility - A high-caliber source not only makes a story more credible, but it shows your editor that you have a good network to draw from.
• Articulating ideas - Writers have to write about a wide variety of topics and quickly understand complex issues. A knowledgeable source can distill a complex issue or give nuance to something that seems simple or uninteresting. 
• Fact checking - While you are digging up information, you'll uncover things that need to be verified. Having a few good sources can keep you from getting burned. 
• Diversity of opinion - Having a few different opinions go a long way in articulating complexity or highlighting different perspectives. 
• Controversy - Sometimes a source will provide a quote or commentary that is controversial. While you may have to endure a few crazy comments, controversy gets people excited and can drive a lot of interest.  
• Visibility - Having a well-known or respected source can significantly impact how much people talk about and share an article. This has a huge impact on the number of times your piece is seen. 
• Networking - When you build a relationship with a influential source, you can often call on that source to connect you with people in their network later. 

A good writer is a good storyteller. It's hard to tell a good story without the right people, so it's usually worth the extra work to find them. 

Q: There are other sites (e.g. Help a Reporter Out) that appear to provide a similar service to SourceSleuth. How is SourceSleuth different? 

A: Many query sites send their queries to a massive email distribution list. Because of that, they are better at finding sources who have had a particular life experience (did something embarrassing at work party, had a makeover go awry or went through a nasty divorce). We focus more on finding someone with a particular expertise or informed perspective, rather than a life experience. 

One of the problems with sending queries to an enormous email list is that the queries are open to the public. You run the risk of being scooped or irritating the publication by using their brand name. 

Another problem is that while the queries sent to email lists typically get a lot of responses, most of the responses will be unqualified, pitching off-topic or just don't make sense for the story. As Ryan Holiday demonstrated with his prank on HARO (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/07/18/how-this-guy-lied-his-way-into-msnbc-abc-news-the-new-york-times-and-more/), relying on sources that haven't been vetted can be risky. 

We care a lot more about the quality of sources than the quantity of sources we provide. With other services it's pretty common to get dozens of responses, but none of those sources have been vetted. Any writer who has used these services knows they don't have strict requirements or filters for people responding to a query.

Writers come to us, not because they'll get dozens of sources, but because they'll get a handful of vetted sources that make sense for a story. We have someone who is responsible for connecting writers with quality sources for every single query that comes in.  Because of that, we successfully connect writers with sources for 90% of our queries. 

Q: That's an impressive statistic, Ryan. So how do writers/freelancers work with Source Sleuth? Can you tell me a little about the process? 

A: The process is pretty simple. Writers fill out a form on our website and usually within 24 hours we'll introduce a source via email who is interested and qualified for the story. 

Q: How do you [Source Sleuth] locate potential sources? 

A: While we try to keep the process for the writer very simple, what we do behind the scenes is a bit more involved. 

Over the last year, we've built a proprietary database with hundreds of thousands of sources. When a query comes in, we search profiles in our database to see if we have someone who fits the query. 

While our database is pretty robust, it's not perfect. When we don't have a quality source in the database we use a combination of research techniques, tools and good old-fashioned legwork to find sources. Either way we do it, we have someone who personally approves each source. 

Q: That's good to know. So, tell me why you decided to create/launch the company, please.  

A: I'm fascinated by the changes going on in media. A lot of people are cynical about where the Internet is taking journalism.  Google created a short-term incentive for publishers to crank out a massive amount of low-quality content. Social media clamors for Buzzfeed to crank out animated gifs. 

But I think some of these things are just the growing pains of the transition to new media. Technology has provided the opportunity for writers to publish at little or no cost and connect with niche audiences. There has also been an explosion of tools and great resources for writers - like this lovely blog :) - that make writers much more efficient. 

I don't think the trends that have given low-quality content undue attention are permanent. Yes, people want to be entertained. The Kardashians and Miley Cyruses of the world are always going to get attention. But readers also want to be well informed. They need quality journalism and writing from publishers and writers they can trust. I'm a big believer that quality will prevail and I want to be involved in this evolution. 

==============

Thanks very much to Ryan Evans for this post. Evans is the Founder of Source Sleuth (www.SourceSleuth.com). Ryan is passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation.  When he’s not working, he spends time with his wife and chases his three little kids around the park. Find Source Sleuth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sourcesleuth