Setting your rates as a freelance writer or editor can be difficult.
Knowing your own worth means knowing what others have been charging in
similar situations. The easiest way to find out the rates of others is
to join a professional organization. Groups such as the National Writers
Union and the Society for Technical Communication publish annual salary
surveys.
Why Rates Matter
The rates you charge affect how you are perceived as a freelance writer
or editor. Charge too little and you might not be taken seriously. Charge
too much and you won’t have enough clients.
Freelance writing and editing is much tougher today than it was as recently as the 1990s.
Hourly Rates
Unfortunately, hourly freelance rates have remained stable since 2005.
Checking the salary surveys of several organizations of freelance writers
even points to declining hourly rates — and that’s not adjusting for
inflation.
Original content creation generally earns $45 to $55 per hour.
Editing and basic proofreading are far more dependent on the type of
materials being edited. This is ironic, since writing technical material
tends to require specialized skills. While a technical writer earns roughly
what a creative writer earn, a technical editor can charge more than
a fiction editor.
| Content Type | Editing | Authoring |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate | $35–45 | $45–60 |
| Mass Market | $30–40 | $40–50 |
| Academic Publisher | $20–30 | $40–45 |
| Journalism | $20–30 | $30–45 |
| Other Markets | $30–35 | $35–50 |