Long shot: Making a rate sheet for copywriting/proofreading & content creation

[Melaine]

This may not really get any responses, but ya'll almost always have the best resources and responses for all of my questions!

I need to create a rate sheet and I'm honestly clueless about pricing. How do I decide what to charge for writing, proofing and "polishing". I don't think hourly rates will apply since it will be more project based assignments. Any feedback on this?

[twowhat?]

I know freelancers who will charge only on a flat project fee basis, which seems like a good idea because each project will be different and you can get all the details you need before developing an estimate but you have to be very specific in your SOW to state exactly what is included (e.g. copyedit 2000 words; number of rounds of revision, expected timelines, etc) - that way if a project runs out of scope, then you are able to make a case about needing an additional SOW to cover it.

Having said that, you can totally have a rate sheet for yourself to help with estimates. And content creation rates are higher than copyedit rates. I would take some of your past projects and what you earned (if it was an amount you were happy with) and back-calculate based on how long it took you to get a ballpark of hourly rate as a start. And it's possible some clients might not know how big a project will get and you will want to have an hourly rate that you could change. Just don't shortchange yourself!!!

[Melaine]

I know freelancers who will charge only on a flat project fee basis, which seems like a good idea because each project will be different and you can get all the details you need before developing an estimate but you have to be very specific in your SOW to state exactly what is included (e.g. copyedit 2000 words; number of rounds of revision, expected timelines, etc) - that way if a project runs out of scope, then you are able to make a case about needing an additional SOW to cover it.

Having said that, you can totally have a rate sheet for yourself to help with estimates. And content creation rates are higher than copyedit rates. I would take some of your past projects and what you earned (if it was an amount you were happy with) and back-calculate based on how long it took you to get a ballpark of hourly rate as a start. And it's possible some clients might not know how big a project will get and you will want to have an hourly rate that you could change. Just don't shortchange yourself!!!

Thank you, these are really helpful points!

[lizzywednesday]

...

I need to create a rate sheet and I'm honestly clueless about pricing. How do I decide what to charge for writing, proofing and "polishing". I don't think hourly rates will apply since it will be more project based assignments. Any feedback on this?

I used to deal with contracts for author work (either submitting research or entirely revised volumes) and the payscale had its roots in hourly work, but was more scaled to the number of words submitted or the scope of the job.

When I was considering posting my own rates, I looked around on indie work sites to see what others with similar experience to mine were charging.

I think I was considering chunking things up by word-count, along the lines of (arbitrarily) $50 for the first 250 words then $20 for every 250 after for short pieces (i.e. - college essays, personal statements, etc.) with additional charges for proofreading and consultations.

[sariana]

I agree that you should be looking more at per-word rates rather than hourly rates.

[lizzywednesday]

I agree that you should be looking more at per-word rates rather than hourly rates.

And don't forget to charge what you're worth - your time is valuable!!