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Income as a Freelance Writer

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Determining what you are worth as a writer can be a little tricky. It is also one of the most important steps in becoming a successful freelance writer. It is important that you at least set a financial goal for each year. It may take a year or two to actually start making enough money to be able to live on your freelance writing income alone. A lot of this is determined by the number of clients you are able to secure.

The upside to being a freelance writer is that there is very little overhead and start-up cost. As a result, the income you bring in will be money in your pocket. There are a few start-up costs such as a computer, furniture for a work area, and office supplies. The ongoing expenses are: monthly long distance phone and Internet, publication subscriptions, association dues, postage costs, and office supplies.

As with beginning any new business, it is helpful if you can pay down your monthly debts before beginning. For example, if you have a high car payment, consider trading down for a car with a more manageable car payment. Having less debt allows you to spend more time on beginning your freelance writing business rather than having to work an outside job.

You may be used to getting a normal paycheck which is based on an hourly rate or a yearly salary. It can be a bit confusing when starting out as a freelance writer and converting to being paid by the word or project.

Setting a goal of annual income will help you to determine which projects to choose. Research the publications and how much they pay before accepting projects. Take into account the time that will be spent on completing the project. This is not only time spent writing, but time spent researching, printing, mailing, and other tasks. This will help you to determine the actual hourly rate for a project. Beware of pricing yourself too low, seasoned publishers, editors, and copyrighters may wonder if you are any good if your rates are too low. After you have been writing for awhile and have begun to build a client base, give yourself a raise. If you are not raising your rates as you go along, no one else will give you a raise.

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