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Don't
Disgrace Yourself by Lowering Rates
by Brian S. Konradt of BSK Communications
and Associates
You charge $65 an hour — it's what your time is worth. One year you
realize you need extra work bad, and the first client you find only
wants to pay a fraction of what you charge for your time. The client
might say to you: "I'd really like to hire you, but your prices are
too high. My offer is $25 an hour." Do you accept the assignment
because you need the extra business, or do you turn the client away?
The answer: turn the client away. Freelancers may not have fixed
standards and guidelines as to what to charge in commercial freelance
writing, but we do have a silent code of ethics as to what is good and
bad business practice.
For example, it is good business practice to quote a higher price for a
project in order to leave room for negotiating; and it is bad business
practice to work for free (pro bono work may be the exception) or charge
less than what you've committed yourself to charging in order to secure
an assignment.
By charging less than what you're worth, you abase your value and
professionalism as a writer, and you disgrace the value and
professionalism of every commercial freelance writer. By setting lower
fees just to get work, you also set lower standards for commercial
freelancers. You should also consider the worth of your self-esteem and
self-respect. Do you really feel professional charging $25 an hour — a
beginner's rate — on an assignment that warrants your $65 an hour
rate? Do you really want clients to view you as the low-cost bargain
writer?
Do not cater your services to clients who lack respect for your
profession. Commercial freelance writers are professional writers who
provide professional writing services to professional clients.
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Brian
Konradt is the owner and operator of
FreelanceWriting.Com (http://www.freelancewriting.com),
a web site dedicated to help writers master the business and creative
sides of freelance writing. Mr. Konradt is also the principal of BSK
Communications & Associates, a communications/publishing business in
New Jersey, which he established in 1992.
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