Dear Lizabiz,
While setting one’s own rates ultimately remains a personal choice, it
can be a confusing business at first. Fortunately there are quite a
few sources available with guidelines and advice for the prospective
freelance writer to help in arriving at a rate that is both fair and
competitive. Here are some links to information that will hopefully
give you an idea of current guidelines and an idea of what others are
charging for this type of service. You will notice that some are by
the word, some by the page, some by the hour, some by the project, but
all provide a way to evaluate and value the project depending on how
much work you estimate it will require, and/or how long you think it
will take to complete, combined with an accurate assessment of your
own abilities and qualifications. Bear in mind these references are
for information only, and do not in any way constitute professional
advice. Please see the disclaimer below.
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Here are links to some guidelines/reports from professional
organizations on freelance rates for services including editing and
ghostwriting:
Writers Guide – Current Freelance Rates (as of April 2003):
http://writersguide2002.tripod.com/guide/id36.html
Writers Market:
http://www.writersmarket.com/content/howmuch3.asp
WriterFind: resources and information for freelancers, including
results of surveys around the world on freelance rates:
http://www.writerfind.com/resources/survey.htm
Writing World: Article with links on setting freelance rates for
writing services: http://www.writing-world.com/rights/fees.shtml
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Examples of current rates being charged by individuals
(writers/editors/ghostwriters):
WriteWerks: http://www.writewerks.com/rates.html
RTP Writers Group: http://pages.zdnet.com/boyetted/id2.html
EBA Creative: http://www.ericbandersoncreative.com/rates.html
Ebook Helper/Ghostwriter: http://www.ebookhelper.com/Ghostwriter.html
Just Write Editing: http://www.justwriteediting.com/rates.htm
“The Ghostwriter:” http://www.theghostwriter.net/rates.html
Williams Writing, Editing & Design:
http://www.williamswriting.com/edit/editfees.shtml
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Companies and publishers offering editing services and ghostwriting
with published rates (or rate ranges):
A-1 Editing Services:
http://www.a1editing.com/fees.htm
Black and White Editing Services: http://www.black-white.us/ (*Note:
this site is interesting because they give a range of words per hour,
which can be helpful as an estimate in calculating and/or setting an
hourly rate.)
Ghostwords:
http://www.ghostwords.com/ghost-writing-ghost-writers-rates.html
Griffith Publishing:
http://www.hodi.com/ghostwriting_services.html
An e-book about Ghostwriting, with advice on rates:
http://www.hodi.com/ghostwriting.pdf or the html version, here:
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:Iu5v5vAjbucJ:www.hodi.com/ghostwriting.pdf+ghostwriting+rates+OR+%22how+much+to+charge%22+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Hawkeye Editing, Inc.:
http://www.onlinefreelanceeditor.com/services/ghostwriting.html and
http://www.onlinefreelanceeditor.com/payment/fees.html
Llumina Press (click on the “ghostwriting” link on the left side of
the page):
http://www.llumina.com/
Success Literary Services:
http://www.successliterary.com/rates%20&%20services/
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Discussion forum:
http://www.freelancewriting.com/yabbprivate/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=finances
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Assorted articles and advice on freelance writing rates:
http://www.freelancewriting.com/reports/report11.html
http://www.freelancewriting.com/reports/report32.html
http://www.freelancewriting.com/reports/report36.html
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If you’d like more information on this subject, or additional examples
of rates being charged, it wouldn’t be difficult to continue searching
on your own. The search terms I used that had the most relevant
returns were
ghostwriting rates OR "how much to charge"
rates ghostwriting OR editing OR writing OR "editorial service" OR
"freelance writing"
“editing services”
However, I believe the above links, especially since taken together
they do provide an overview of a fairly standard range of rates for
ghostwriting and editing services, ought to give you a fairly solid
foundation from which you may proceed to construct your own rate
structure. If you have any questions or anything needs further
explanation, please use the “Request Clarification” feature before
rating and closing your question, so I can be sure you’re satisfied
with the information provided. Best of luck in your venture.
Regards,
Byrd |
