Never Hesitate To Charge For Your Writing
Over in our forum someone talked about a client who asked for something extra. The client was a non-profit; the cause the writer supported and the extra would take only an hour or two. The writer wondered if it was okay to charge the client for those extra hours.
It’s so tempting to get sucked in and not charge for things like this. Particularly when it’s for a cause, or something we really want to do. But darn it, those two hours are valuable and so are the writing skills we bring to them.
One way to look at a situation like this is to ask yourself what a doctor, accountant or lawyer would do – and the answer way more often than not is they would charge for the extra work.
Writers are professionals too. We may not have fancy paneled offices or a support staff or even x number of years of formal education. But we’ve learned our trade and we do it well.
We needn’t be embarrassed to charge. Heck, just because we make writing look easy, we all know it isn’t.
Although there are occasions when we may want to donate our writing, those situations should be rare. As one forum member put it, don’t ever hesitate to charge for your writing. Period.
Write well and often,
Subscribe to Abundant Writing News
Tags: business, fees, freelance-writing, pay, writersRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Business of Freelance Writing, Notes from a Writing Coach
8 opinions for Never Hesitate To Charge For Your Writing
Rick
Jan 7, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Hi Anne,
What wasn’t mentioned is if this is a personal cause for the writer. If so, the writer might want to consider donating their time. (Is there a CPA out there who can tell us if his donated time is tax deductable?)
If it isn’t a personal cause then by all means charge. Because it is a non-profit organization doesn’t mean that they don’t have money to spend. There was a time I did some work for a non-profit organization at reduced rates. When I got to know the book-keeper better she let me know that I should be charging my full rate. Reason? Non-profits cannot show a profit. They must spend/distribute all of the contributed money.
Don’t feel bad about charging a non-profit organization–they have to spend the money!
Mary Jo
Jan 7, 2007 at 2:51 pm
As someone who is both a writer and a lawyer, I have encountered this situation many, many times.
My practice has been to set a given number of hours (or projects, or however you define your work unit) for pro bono work. You can allocate, it monthly, quarterly, or yearly. I set a yearly limit of hours and then break it into quarterly amounts.
When asked to do something for free, I can see if my time donation fits into my big picture for giving back to the world. If it does not, I just say that I am at the maximum volunteer hours for the quarter. Occasionally I offer a discounted rate if it’s a project that I am in the middle of, otherwise I just quote my going rate.
I have never had anyone quibble when it’s presented like this.
Anne Wayman
Jan 8, 2007 at 9:07 am
Pro-bono is fine as long as it’s done, as you say, out of passion and a desire to contribute, and if it doesn’t eat into earning time.
Thanks
Anne Wayman
Jan 8, 2007 at 9:16 am
I love the idea of setting up x number of hours a year for pro-bono work, then sticking to it. Wonderful, thanks
alicia
Jan 8, 2007 at 9:24 am
Great post, Anne. And I agree, the labors of love shouldn’t cut into earning time (unless, of course, it’s a major labor of love that you just can’t resist and you have the savings to make up for the lost earning time).
Anne Wayman
Jan 8, 2007 at 5:44 pm
;)
Kelly Boyer Sagert
Jan 8, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Writing for free is fine if it is a choice, choice NOT being defined as being arm-twisted or guilted into doing so.
As an example, I’ve just agreed to edit our Rotary newsletter for 2007, for free — but I see that as a terrific opportunity to network with 100+ successful business people. So . . . I’m mentally categorizing this as a marketing / PR effort.
Anne Wayman
Jan 9, 2007 at 7:35 am
and if you track your time you might be able to deduct some of it for tax purposes.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: