Video: Freelance writing speed

Been too long since I did a video—and I felt like dressing up in my scrubs—so here are some quick followup thoughts to last week’s post on “How much time will it take to write copy?”.

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How much time will it take to write copy?

Dear Dr. Freelance: I have a client who is constantly asking me how much time it will take me to write copy for their website. I feel self-conscious, because I typically consider myself to be a slow writer (and I pride myself on being precise). Nonetheless, he wants to know how long it takes me [...]

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Twitter ghostwriting rates

Dear Dr. Freelance, I am a rookie soon-to-be freelancer based in Europe who’s wondering how much to charge for Twitter ghostwriting. The background: I am currently finishing a webdesign/copywriting project for a small software startup. Since they are both colleagues of mine and they were offering me the chance to collaborate on future projects, I [...]

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Freelance Forecast survey results

It’s here! Download Freelance Forecast 2011 (pdf, 1.5MB). Many thanks to all the freelancers and freelance clients who contributed their opinions and insights to the third annual Freelance Forecast. Bookmark or RSS this blog for the announcement of the 2012 survey in December. If you participated this year, you’ll automatically be notified when the new [...]

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Book Review: The Worthy Writer’s Guide

Freelancers come pre-installed with a certain measure of talent. But the reality is, as the legendary 1980 Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks put it in Miracle: “You think you can win on talent alone? You don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone.” Unlike a hockey player, you don’t have to suffer through gut-busting [...]

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Hey freelancers, check out Writers’ Week

I have quite a few posts in the hopper after my extended summertime hiatus, but in the meantime wanted to give a quick plug for Emily Suess’s Writers’ Week project, scheduled for September 12-16. She’s lined up a writing contest (with some sweet prizes), educational resources for freelancers, and a ton of guest blogs—should be [...]

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5 fast ways to perfect your elevator pitch

This week’s guest post answers the common freelancer query, “How should I respond when someone asks me what I do?” As freelancers, we know how important it is to create the perfect project pitch—from research to a targeted cover letter to hand-selecting your best clips and layouts.

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The real minimum wage

I was talking with a longtime freelance associate yesterday about two pricing issues she’s having. First, she’s trying to find a way to charge a premium for her services when the client wants to buy extensive rights vs. one-time, one-purpose rights. Second, she’s got a potential ghostwriting job and is attempting to calculate an appropriate [...]

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Who’s your longest-term freelance client?

My friends Lori Widmer of Words on the Page and Anne Wayman of About Freelance Writing hosted a nifty little Twitter confab yesterday, #writingsquared. During the session, I asked the crowd, “Who’s your longest-term freelance client, and how did you acquire them?” One person cited a 19-year relationship that came after a speaking engagement — [...]

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There’s no freelance free lunch

Dear Dr. Freelance: Recently, an entrepreneur starting a new firm contacted me for a freelance website job. I agreed to a price well below my normal rates – with an additional 35% courtesy referral discount because: 1) his funds were limited; 2) I liked him and wanted to help him; 3) becoming a resource for [...]

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