Hi all, I've recently been asked to contribute some articles to a cycling website that's looking to expand. Trouble is, I've no bloody idea what to charge per-piece, as that's what the Editor has asked for: my going rate per-piece. Having broken down previous articles that have been published that I've been paid for, the highest rate was $0.12/word, the lowest was $0.03/word. The articles that I'll be writing are roughly 2500 words in length, but the Editor says that the length isn't all that important, it's quality that he's after. There are myriad factors that come into play here, and I'm stumped on what to charge... I think it'd fall under "Special Interest", if that's of any help to anyone. Hoping to get some guidance. Cheers, Jack. P.S: Mods, if this isn't the right place for this, feel free to move it.
How long would it take you to research and write the piece? How much experience/expertise do you have? How much revenue can the website realistically have?
Hi, thanks for the response. How long would it take me to research and write? Probably a couple of days, four at the most I'd say. It would all depend upon the content, time spent writing/researching, days where I'm away or 'out' for a large portion of the day, etc. With regards to experience and expertise, I've been doing freelance writing for about two years now, and have since expanded to include interview pieces in my writings, which is how this Editor found me initially. My writing has been mostly for my own blog, and a local cycling webzine. I've had an interview published by a Canadian canoeing magazine. I'm hoping to get another two interviews published in Canoe & Kayak in the US in the next week or so, and have two interview pieces set to go in an Australian adventure travel magazine, one later this year, the next one would be published in the middle of 2016. With regards to revenue, I have no idea.
I'm not sure if the four days is solid work time, or if the being "away" would mean away from the job, doing something totally different. I'd say freelancers are definitely entitled to a living wage. If we assume 2500 words and you charged within the range you've been charging so far, you'd be looking at $75 - $300 for each article. If it would take you three or four hours to write the article, $75 seems reasonable. If it takes you a solid four days, like 32 working hours, then $300 is really on the low end. That's below minimum wage, at least where I live. I have no concrete experience with freelancing to draw on - I'm just trying to find a scale you could realistically apply. (Maybe you could contact some of the other people who've contributed content to the same website and see what they charged? Or to a similar website?)
Being "away", would mean away from the job, yes. As usually, when I've gotten assignments in the past, I've been pretty stringent about hammering out the piece and getting it sent off. I suppose this is where it gets dicey and clouded, as there is no real standardized rate, at least not that I've found. According to the Professional Writer's Association of Canada, their guidelines that I've found online say anywhere from $1-$3/word for "special interest" pieces. Which, to me seems like a hell of a lot, given that my previous earnings have been so low. I was thinking somewhere between $0.10 to $0.20/word, or just saying, "That'll be $200 please.", but again, I'm not sure, since this is such a subjective and broad spectrum thing. That's a good idea regarding contacting other contributors, they might shed some light. Cheers!
