posted Mar 24, 2009 3:16 AM by harjot dhodi
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updated Jul 2, 2009 9:30 PM
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Freelance writers and editors often find themselves doing projects that are billed by the hour. Sometimes these projects also involve expenses, like phone, travel, etc., that will be reimbursed. Keeping track of the hours worked and reimbursable expenses is absolutely necessary if you are to be paid the correct amount. As with all thing freelance, there is a wide variety of methods for keeping track of the time spent writing and, and of billable costs.
No matter how you track, your system should include at least the following:
- Project name
- Nature of the cost (writing, research, phone, etc.)
- Billing rate
- Hours worked
One general formula I have come across is as follows:
- Determine what annual salary the writer might earn as an employee of the company (for example, Rs. 500,000). Divide the annual salary by 2,000 to obtain a "net" hourly wage (Rs. 250). Double the hourly wage to cover the writer's direct and overhead expenses (Rs. 500). This gives a "gross" hourly rate. Increase the gross rate by 25 percent to cover overhead time Rs. 625. This would be the writer's "billing" rate. Multiply the billing rate by anticipated production hours to arrive at fair payment for a freelance assignment.
- When setting freelance fees, remember that you get what you pay for. Busy, good professional writers must earn enough money for their time to maintain a profitable business. If you offer less, you will have to settle for beginners or non-professionals, who will likely require more editing, rewriting, fact-checking and time on your part.
- Professional writers will expect payment on acceptance of their work. For major projects, they may require one-third to one-half upon undertaking the job, with an additional payment midway through, and the balance upon completion.
- Payment amounts, date of payment, and rights purchased can all be negotiated. If you "take" in one area, expect to "give" in another.
- When negotiating payment, consider the value of the material to your publication, its value if it were to appear in a competing publication, and the value to the author in appearing in your publication.
There are a few websites where you can find RFP of freelance writing projects, but I think their payment is nominal and it will be deficient even to pay your internet bill. Visit www.elance.com, www.freelanceprojects.com …..try your luck.
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Adding on behalf of the Silence user:
I would like to post my experience regarding Freelance Writing projects here:
1. It’s important to mention a very important aspect of most Freelance Projects - Deadline. Many Freelance Projects come out to the freelancers because someone else who was working on that project could not complete it on time (reasons can be many such as - the person quit, or got stuck, or workload became unbearable etc), so in that case many projects are floated in a time crush situation. It’s very important to know the deadline, before you make any commitment.
2. Freelancing is a world of – self discipline. Before anyone accepts any project you have to weigh many aspects – how will you complete it, do you have all required information and tools to complete it, how will you schedule its completion, will you work on it on daily basis, or on alternate days, do you understand the project requirements clearly or not, have you discussed each and every aspect with the client or not, do you have written proofs for each communication or not, how will the knowledge transfer occur, over phone, chats, web meetings or video conferencing, what times zones are you in, and when will these meetings be schedules.
And there are many other aspects also which come up in the course of discussion – for example, how many iterations of rework will you accept, who will review the final work, who will be your point of contact.
Freelance work is different from regular employment, and every freelancer has to be pro-active in his or her approach.
Discipline is the key to success.
I have seen many freelancers complain about the projects, but rarely have I seen any person who completed the work on time, kept all the promises, stayed in touch with the client even after the work has been delivered so that if some issues come up they can be settled.
Very few freelancers are truly committed.
I also do not agree on the monetary part mentioned in this article. Freelancers can make very good money only if they are dedicated and committed. There is a lot of money in freelance market, only if you are intelligent enough to pick the right project at the right time.
Calculation of rate is also not done as mentioned in this article. While freelancing you have to step out of your current experience level and job position. It does not matter how much you make annually, or quarterly. Freelance rate setting is done mostly by the client and a freelancer bids for that project, offering the best rate. Personally, you do that calculation based on the complexity of the project, the hours you would take to complete that project and the best offer which is neither shockingly high or low than what the client has fixed.
Freelance markets suffer from a tendency called “randomness”, this means that when the market rates go up or down, freelancers are the first one to be hit by it. So freelance market is a slightly random when it comes to types of projects being floated, rates offered by the client and rates expected by the freelancer.
Nothing can be predicted with certainty in freelance market. It’s a direct demand and supply market, and freelancers compete against each other for success.
But on the other hand, if you are a good fisherman – you can catch the shark smallest bait. The sea is all yours.