Welcome to Friday. If you’re like me, you look forward to weekends during the busy times especially. Today I’m floating on the remnants of the wonder-drug codeine and its counterpart penicillin. I’ll kill this sinus infection or myself. Either way, I’ll not be sick much longer.
Today’s worthy tip:
When dealing with client negotiations this week, next week, next month, stand up for yourself. I mean don’t go into your negotiations thinking “I don’t know what to charge and what if they think I’m crazy/unskilled/untalented/stupid/fat/ugly…?” First, yours is not to care what anyone thinks of you – you have to think you’re worth it. If you wear that idea like the best outfit you’ve ever had, you don’t need anyone else’s opinion to define you.
But about the what-to-charge question: before you approach ANY client, know what you’re charging. Notice I didn’t say know what they’re willing to pay. Again, that’s not up to you. What is up to you is how much you need to make in order to earn a decent living. If you know the exact figure and you know going into a client negotiation that you’re charging exactly what you’re worth and what you need, you’ll be more inclined to stand up for that rate if it’s challenged.
And it will be challenged. This is where most writers get antsy, the resolve weakens, the fears chew away at the psyche and their prices drop like the stock market back in 2008. Ask yourself why you’re giving in. Is it because you really think this client is right about your rates or is it because you don’t want to be rejected? I’ll bet it’s the second one.
So this is a two-part tip, the second of which is this: don’t tie personal feelings into your business. Your rate is not you. It’s your business model. If someone doesn’t like your rate, it doesn’t mean you’re unlovable. Love has nothing to do with business. It means you either need to negotiate if you’re willing or bid that person goodbye.
So what if they’re upset that you won’t lower your rate? So what if they think you’re a horrible person as a result? You know better because you’re not going to let someone manipulate you with guilt trips or other emotional warfare. The price is the price is the price. You’d no sooner argue your grocery bill total than you should let someone argue your fee for services.
When was the last time you lowered your rate because of someone’s opinion? How do you handle negotiations? Well? Badly? How can you do better?
My grandmother's attempts at guilt tripping over the years have made me immune. 🙂
I think another element of this issue that some writers struggle with is the notion that if something has to change, it has to be their rates. However, the client is just as capable of accepting less.
The service provider sets the rates. That's all there is to it. They don't have to be completely rigid if they like to negotiate a bit based on projects, but they do have to know they minimum and stick to that. If a client can't afford you, they can't afford you.
The next time a client asks you to lower your rates, try this approach: ask them what their budget is, and then offer fewer or adjusted services in return. You show them that you're willing to work within their budget, but that if they don't have the budget for the project specs they're asking for, they need to be willing to adjust their expectations.
In most cases where I've done that, the client has a sudden realization of what they were asking you to do when it's flipped back on them, and they end up paying the higher rate for the original service requested. It's funny how budgets can magically grow like that, but they often do.
Another important element is making yourself a writer that clients really want to work with. The more they want you, and specifically YOU, the less grief you'll get about rates.
Great advice, Jenn. The flexibility doesn't have to conflict with our own standards.
I have fumbled negotiations in the past and ended up working for less than I deserved, on projects I didn't enjoy, with clients I didn't like. Now that I know better, I do as Jenn suggests – trim back the scope of the project for a lower fee. Before I have the final price discussion, I make sure I understand all the project specs. Then if the client wants to find a way to cut his costs, I'm able to suggest components of the project that can be eliminated or scaled back.
I also negotiate on payment terms sometimes. My standard terms are 50% down, 50% upon completion. But sometimes I'll offer a 10% discount for paying 100% up front, or offer to break the fee into three payments instead of two.
I have learned a LOT about sticking to my rates since I started reading this blog.
I am a skilled negotiator, but I sell myself short sometimes. Once (I really regret this), I closed a contract for a lower amount than I normally would, because I was having personal problems and wasn't feeling confident. I later worked out the amount per hour and felt sick about what I had done.
I've never lowered my rate. For anyone.
Of course, accepting the same rate year in year out is the equivalent of lowering your rate as the cost of living rises and everything else goes up.
But other than that, once I'm in doing the same or similar jobs, as I've said before, the rates go up not down.
Sticking to your rate means that you will, on occasion, be shown the door ("Lovely door, eh?"). But my attitude in going to a meeting is, they need me, and if you are confident in that attitude, all manner of things are possible. I've had clients come back after saying "you get that?" when they find out what they'd have to settle for paying less, and I've walked into offices for one thing and come out with much more (just did that with a major publishing house over Christmas!)
They need us. Say it.
Repeating after Joseph: They need us. Great mantra! And great news on your publishing house score! Fill us in sometime on that, okay?
Eileen, I think we're all guilty of underselling ourselves on occasion. It takes a little math and a lot of pissed-off to get better next time. 🙂
Mei, I've done it, too. One project dragged on for YEARS before I got final payment. Now I work a final payment date into all contracts. Another I bid a fair price only to discover that the per-line page count was ridiculous – something like cramming nearly two pages of copy onto one page. So my proposed page count was nearly double what I'd expected. So was the workload. Ugh.
Diane, I love it. We need to emulate your style.
A little off topic, but I think you'll get a kick out of this one.
I responded to ad an to write sample questions for a standardized test. I quoted $25/question. He said it was fine, ordered two questions, and paid me. Then I got an email stating that although he liked the work, he could only afford to pay $5/question. I have to admit, it's the first time I've been asked to drop my rate by 80%!
Seriously? That's ridiculous! I hope he paid you the $25 per. Otherwise, he'd be writing them himself AND paying you through a judge.
That was the crazy part. He agreed to the rate, paid it, and then came back to negotiate.
I should clarify…he needed lots of questions. The two he asked me to write were paid samples.
I enjoyed your post and btw, I totally agree with your approach. If I want a publication to take a chance on me, then first I have to believe in my ability as a writer.
This said, as a new freelancer, I'm unsure what a typical industry fee is. If possible, could you provide average rates for a standard publication? Thanks for your time.
Andrea, publications pay anywhere from copies only to over $1/word. Beginning writers should be able to do better than 25 cents/word, in my opinion. Sometimes the pay for an unfamiliar publication will be lower on the first assignment, but if you've written for them before, you should expect a better rate. One example – I worked for one that paid $350 on the first article, $450 after that.
Don't work for copies – that's free work for the publication.