• About Me
  • Blogs
    • Romance Readers Cafe
    • All About Karin
  • Books
  • Write Now Editing
  • Contact Me

Karin Beery

Writer, Editor, Coach

Contemporary fiction with a healthy dose of romance!

October 8, 2013

Know Your Worth – Don’t Write for Free

Photo Credit
Photo Credit

I recently received an email from an online proofreading service asking me to use and review their website. They offered me a $20 Amazon card for my services. That’s not a lot, but it’s more than I usually get paid for my posts. I whipped up a brief story, then went to the site to see how it worked. Imagine my surprise when I had to first sign up for a subscription (the cheapest of which was $11.50). So … they want me to write a promo piece for them, and they want me to pay them to do it?

I’m not a financial genius, but I’m not an idiot either.

When starting out as a freelance writer, it’s tempting (and sometimes necessary) to take low paying or pro bono work. I’ve taken low paying jobs for publications that I enjoy and want to support. I don’t get paid for my blogs, but I love blogging – it’s an outlet for me, not a chore. Now that I have five years of experience and over 300 published articles, however, I can afford to be more selective. I need to be more selective.

It can be pretty depressing to look for writing jobs and see that people are only willing to pay $10-25 for 500-2000 word assignments. Depending on what you’re writing, that can work out to $10/hour or less. Considering all of the specialized skills and training required as a writer, you’re almost better off working at McDonald’s. Before you take any of these low paying jobs, take an honest look at your career, goals, and the publications. There are times when it’s a good idea to take the free job because it will put you on a national platform (one million readers seeing your by-line could be worth it). When you’re years into your career (as I am) and people want you to pay to write for them (as this particular website), the time isn’t worth the effort.

Be honest with yourself about what you can and can’t afford to do. Building a name for yourself is one thing. Being taken advantage of is something completely different. Don’t let anyone do the latter. You’re a writer. You’re a professional. You’re time is valuable. Make sure you know what you’re worth.

Article by Karin / Professional Development, Writing Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Sign-up for my monthly newsletter and get the FREE, unpublished, for-your-eyes-only prologue to Summer Plans and Other Disasters!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Search KarinBeery.com

Find Me

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Testimonials
    • Editing
    • Write Now Editing
  • Blog
  • Contact

Archives

Categories

a2z ACFW ACW anecdote blog Blogging Blogging tips book giveaway Book Promotions book review BookSneeze characters Christmas conferences contest craft editing Fiction Fun Fiction Writing free book freelance writer giveaway goals guest blogger Inspiration interviews Linore Rose Burkard Lisa Lickel Marcher Lord Press motivation platform plot Professional Development query reading Teresa Slack The Ramblings Uncategorized Write-To-Publish Writing Writing writing coach writing conferences writing prompt writing tips

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About Me
  • Blogs
  • Books
  • Write Now Editing
  • Contact Me

© Copyright 2015 Karin Beery · All Rights Reserved · Design by Pink Haired Pixels/Carol Jones Media

· All Logos & Trademark Belongs To Their Respective Owners·