Writer’s Worth Day
May 16, 2008 by Lillie
Lori Widmer at Words on the Page has declared today as Writer’s Worth Day to encourage writers to expect and get decent wages for their work.
I haven’t looked at any of the bidding sites in a very long time, but I’ve read other bloggers talk about the ridiculous prices that some projects pay. Often beginning writers have no idea what a fair price is for their work, and they’re excited to have an opportunity to write and get paid for it. They accept low pay because they think they have to do so to get started.
I’ll talk more about setting rates in a future installment of my series-in-progress on starting a freelance writing business. This post is just a reminder that freelance writing is a business, even if you’re doing it part-time. Businesses have to earn enough money to pay expenses and make a profit. As a freelance writer, you don’t have an employer providing insurance, vacation, holidays, and other benefits. You are responsible for the full amount of your Social Security tax; as an employee, your employer contributes half of it. You have to pay for your own computer, phone, and Internet. And your time is worth something!
Think about those things when you’re tempted to write an article for $1. If you want to give away your work, volunteer to write for a worthy cause as a charitable contribution. Start your own blog and write posts to your heart’s content. But if you put yourself into the market as a professional writer … expect to be paid like one.
Thank you for your support, Lillie! You make a very good point – if you want to give your work away, work for a nonprofit. Excellent advice, for now the writer must pause and think “Am I about to give this away?” instead of “Oh, goody! Clips!”
We need to understand our actions a bit more. Why are we bidding on jobs with such horrid pay attached? What does that say about us as “professionals”?
I say any writing job that does not pay you at LEAST minimum wage is not worth investing time in. And that’s a per-hour minimum wage, not $5.85 for the ENTIRE 9-day, 16-hour-a-day project.
Loris last blog post..Raising Awareness One Writer at a Time
I’m working with students right now in a freelance paper writing business (somewhat unethical, but what can I say? we all need to get paid), and writes I pay make great money! Good luck to you.
I like your this post very much.Thanks for inspire for blog.I will try to open a blog of my own and will try to write posts from my heart’s content.
reises last blog post..Wie sind die Erfahrungen von Urlaubern, die Lastminute Reiseangebote gebucht haben?
@ Lillie: I couldn’t agree with you more. I have always been very aware of not going down that cheapskate payment road as it serves no one in our industry.
I especially loved the how you put it all into comparison with holiday pay, etc. It’s amazing how many writers are prepared to write $2 articles.
In the end it depends I guess were we live too as $2 in one country might pay the bills. However I don’t agree with these rates because they ruin the industry.
Monika Mundells last blog post..Client Testimonials – Freelance Writing Guide
Yep, I get a whopping $6 for each of my newspaper columns. But they take less than an hour to write, and I really enjoy doing it. Plus, I have an ulterior motive. I’m using the columns to get together a book proposal.
So maybe I’ll end up getting paid for the same work twice.
Coffee Talk
Thanks, Lillie, for all your helpful advice!
Renaes last blog post..Holding Together
That’s interesting. I don’t know anything about these bidding sites, but I can see how that would be frustrating for someone to underbid everyone, this lowering the value for all writers! Thanks for the tip.
Renaes last blog post..Holding Together
You’re right about not selling yourself short. Good luck with your blog.
I think it’s sad how writer’s are forced to write for so little. Many are wise to it and able to find other jobs but it is not easy with these low paying sites out there.
Diane Brunners last blog post..Carnival Blog – How Renaissance Festivals Have Grown Over the Years
Renae is writing for a newspaper. Is the process the same for blogging, that the material can be repurposed for a book later on?
Sally Fergusons last blog post..Cultivate Your Calling!
Thanks for this blogpost. I don’t think it’s fair that writers have to work for free. It’s their profession and they should get paid for what they do. Most creative fields are that way in the beginning though.
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