What are You Worth as a Writer?
April 25th, 2007 by WellwrittenwordsI have been having some serious doubts about the writing community lately. I started Freelance Writers Manifesto in answer to a need, thinking it would be a hub for writers to discuss their problems and that it might quite possibly develop into a useful resource. After the initial frenzy, which I suspect was because some people thought they might be getting something for free, interest has died down completely.
This is sad. I don’t particularly need Freelance Writers Manifesto, because I have a steady little business going. So if no one else is even prepared to make comments on my posts, I’m thinking seriously of taking it down.
For today I’d like to make some points:
1. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
2. No one can make breakthroughs except you–headway can only be made by hard work.
3. Ultimately, a person only gets paid what they think they’re worth. It’s a sad fact of life. If you agree to work for peanuts, then that’s what you’re worth.
Comments anyone?
Posted in The Business of Writing |
May 18th, 2007 at 10:51 am
I’d like to leave a comment about point number three. “Ultimately, a person only gets paid what they think they’re worth.” I can’t believe how much this point rings true for me. For me, the first place to start was a salary guide from The Creative Group (www.creativegroup.com). After reading how much agency copywriters make, and talking with other freelance copywriters — ultimately, it still boils down to what you think you’re worth. And seriously, shoot for the stars. Your clients are coming to you for your valuable service. You’re worth every penny.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Celeste, I wish you every success. You’ve made a connection that far too few people every make. You really are worth every penny!
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:00 am
I just had to comment on this post, and I hope you excuse the length of this. I understand what you’re saying here - and you are 100% right. But quite a few of us aren’t doing this as a second job, or as a hobby - it is our one and only job. When you first entered the job market in the world, did you land a Corporate level position fresh out of the shoot? Likely not. Most of us started at minimum wage and worked our tails off until we attained a better position. Were we worth more? Of course we were! I wasted a college degree flipping hamburgers for almost 2 months once - in between jobs. You have to start somewhere.
Now with that said, let me explain a trick I used. Early on in my professional writing career, I knew I was accepting “bottom of the barrel” assignments, and ridiculously low pay. This is when I used a “Pen Name”. The only time I ever used my real name was on pieces of very high quality that I knew were likely to get exposure. On these pieces I never gave exclusive rights, and never “sold them out” for rebranding. In time, I made the financial ends meet by whoring out my pen name on the bottom feeding assignments - and I allowed my real name the luxury of picking and choosing the assignments I accepted - and demanding better pay. In time - this strategy worked beautifully.
I now can afford to stay home, write exclusively in my own name - and write on contract for some rather high end clients. So don’t knock the “bottom of the barrel” assignments - use them to your financial advantage to better yourself. Just like you might a job flipping burgers - while you wait on a better job.