When I started venturing into freelance writing a few years back, I was able to land good-paying gigs from clients willing to pay my skill’s worth in exchange for well-researched and well-written articles. I even had clients who were willing to pay the right amount for rewrite projects. These days, I am utterly disappointed and disgusted by how clients low-ball the services of freelance writers. They think they can easily get articles for a dime a word. And if a writer refuses to play their game, they’d leave a message saying that there are other writers out there who are more than willing to write great articles for them in exchange for a dollar.
Indeed, there may be many freelance writers out there who are willing to sell their work at extremely lower prices. However, in the end, it all boils down to quality of work. Isn’t it true that quality almost always come with a higher price tag? If you want quality, you pay the price. There is a big difference between VIP accommodations and economy, right?
Writing is not an easy task. You just don’t sit on your bench and write non-stop. A good amount of time is usually spent on researching and on the writing itself. Ideas don’t just come naturally into the surface. They are usually dug and sourced deep from the recesses of the writer’s brain. You think writing is easy? Why not write the article yourself instead of hiring a ghostwriter to do it for you?
I understand some writers need to lower their rates in order to earn competitively. With the many writers out there, the competition on getting new clients can be extremely tough and lowering rates may be the only way to get clients. However, I hope that clients will be reasonable enough when negotiating rates. Even writers from India and the Philippines need to eat, too —they also have bills to pay and needs to fill.
A dollar per 500-word, anyone? How about $2.50 for an article consisting of 500-700 words? These are the usual offers I now see on Craigslist and many other writing sites. And recently, I came across a prospect client telling me that he wants articles for $2.50 instead of my usual asking price because, according to him, I live in the Philippines and he can hire just about anyone with that price. Now, isn’t that disgusting?
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