Since 1993 I have been a freelance writer, editor and text editor. I have a lot of experience in setting prices for freelance writers and editors. However, I seriously underestimated one recently, which cost me over 50% of the potential profit. It just goes to show that even with experience you can fall into this trap if you’re not careful.
3 tips for estimating/pricing freelance writing work
Here are three tips on some precautions to take when estimating/pricing freelance writing and editing work so you can get paid in full every time you owe.
I. Do Not Provide a Final Estimation: Unless you are absolutely confident that you can complete the work within this time frame, do not provide a final estimate. If you’re not sure, give a conditional estimate.
In my case, I’ve given a final estimate because I’ve worked with this client before. But some factors have caused me to underestimate the amount of work.
What is a conditional estimate of a free writing task?
For reference only, this is when you cover a certain task until you know more details, for example you can understand it thoroughly and make a more accurate estimate, which brings me to the next technique…
2. Evaluate the work correctly: My mistake was that I did not complete the work thoroughly before giving a final evaluation. This document is only 12 pages. I should check every page before returning to the customer. Instead, I only read the first few pages.
The problem is that the pages that require the most work are on the back of the document.
3. Stick to your freelance policy: At my (SEO) writing agency we don’t start projects for at least 50% of the deposit. Then prepare to edit the calendar based on the date.
In this case, the client missed the initially agreed settlement date, which would delay the project’s due date. Even if he pays later, I told him that we could still deliver the project within the originally agreed deadline.
This has caused a knock-on effect on some other projects. If I stick to company policies and postpone the deadline based on the payment term, it won’t happen.
Estimated Freelance Writing and Editing Work: Conclusion
Estimating/praising free writing and editing is a skill – it takes some time to be “correct”. I’m a little lax in estimating various aspects of this job. This cost me profit. Learn more about how I seriously underestimated the price of this freelance editing job. Pay attention to these tips so you don’t do the same.
Article source: http://EzineArticles.com/7560346