It’s about getting paid

At least it is, for me, right now.

I’ve set out on the freelance road and I’m freaking out. I’m used to bringing home a regular paycheck from a newspaper (and, briefly, a public relations agency, but that’s a whole ‘nother post) for more than a decade. Now, I’m a hustler H-U-S-T-L-E-R hustler.

Things haven’t been going badly, but so far I’m making in a month roughly the same amount I used to make a week. It’s unnerving. But I have a supportive husband who reminds me how much and hard I’m hustling. So that’s a good thing.

There are a lot of ideas out there about how much to charge for the services I offer which includes writing features and press releases, editing, and pitching stories to the media. But I’ve noticed most suggestions aren’t really suggestive at all. Instead, they say not to undercut your skills, to consider the time you’ll spend on a project, etc. It’s gotten to the point where I just scan posts for dollar signs. I’ll save you some time – there are no dollar signs.

So I did something I consider to be a large, though tax-deductible, step. I bought 2008’s Writer’s Market. For me this is a big step. It may not be a large one, but it’s an investment – it says I’m really doing this, I’m freelancing. So far the best part for me has been the “Beyond the Basics” chapter. It has dollar signs! For just about every writing service it gives an average, the high and the low rates being paid across the country (and Canada).

True, I’m not giving you the dollar sign either, but at least I’m telling you where to find it.